A dozen screenings I’ll be making a beeline for at this year’s NZIFF, among many others. For films I’ve already seen and endorse, check out those I’ve written about for this year’s programme. Also highly recommended: Genesis (for the full experience, seek out Philippe Lesage’s NZIFF16 gem Les Démons first), anything by Agnès Varda, and everything in the retro section. — Tim Wong, Publications Manager
Films — by Collection
- Film Talks: Jane Ross
- Flicks.co.nz
- Letterboxd Community
- Letterboxd Crew
- Lumière Cinemas
- Staff Picks: Bradley Pratt
- Staff Picks: Charlotte Underhill
- Staff Picks: Daniel Burger
- Staff Picks: Emma Carter
- Staff Picks: Ina Kinski
- Staff Picks: Jessica Hof
- Staff Picks: Lauren Day
- Staff Picks: Lauri Korpela
- Staff Picks: Lynnaire MacDonald
- Staff Picks: Michael McDonnell
- Staff Picks: Nick Paris
- Staff Picks: Rebecca McMillan
- Staff Picks: Sandra Reid
- Staff Picks: Sharon Byrne
- Staff Picks: Tim Wong
- Wellington Film Society
Staff Picks: Tim Wong
Bacurau
Fierce politics and top-notch furious filmmaking collide to potent effect in this Cannes-lauded portrait of a near-future fight for survival in the remote reaches of northern Brazil.
Beanpole
Dylda
Talented Russian filmmaker Kantemir Balagov won Best Director at Cannes (Un Certain Regard) for this hugely impressive account of post-war Leningrad, and the friendship of two women at its devastated centre.
Fire Will Come
O que arde
Oliver Laxe’s slow-burn Cannes gem combines arresting landscapes with the smouldering inner life of a reticent ex-con whose return to his mother’s home in the Galician countryside sparks tension.
Hale County This Morning, This Evening
This artful and poetic study of ordinary black lives from acclaimed photographer-turned-filmmaker RaMell Ross competed for Best Documentary Feature at this year’s Academy Awards.
In Fabric
A cross between Suspiria and an old Farmers catalogue, the latest from retro genre stylist Peter Strickland, centring on a demonic dress at a posh department store, gleefully satirises fashion and consumerism.
The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão
A vida invisível de Eurídice Gusmão
A saga of sisterhood for the ages, Madame Sata director Karim Aïnouz’s sensual ‘tropical melodrama’ won top prize at this year’s Cannes Un Certain Regard section.
Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound
An ear-opening and revelatory history lesson on the unsung power of sound in cinema, Making Waves interposes fascinating interviews with dissected scenes to educate and exhilarate even the seasoned cinephile.
Midsommar
Ari Aster’s buzzworthy follow-up to the terrifying Hereditary centres on an American couple whose festive encounter with Swedish pagan cultists slowly but surely descends into madness. Late confirmation.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Portrait de la jeune fille en feu
Winner of Best Screenplay and the Queer Palm at Cannes, Céline Sciamma’s striking 18th-century tale of romantic obsession burns bright with female desire and the craft of a masterful filmmaker.
The Whistlers
La Gomera
Breathing new life into the Romanian New Wave, Corneliu Porumboiu crafts a rollicking genre movie set in sun-soaked Spain, where the best laid plans of a bent cop hinge on learning a secret local whistling dialect.
The Wild Goose Lake
Nan fang che zhan de ju hui
Gangland subterfuge tumbles into a dazzling nocturnal manhunt in Chinese director Diao Yinan’s film noir par excellence – a modern genre classic in the making.
Varda by Agnès
The late, great French filmmaking icon’s swansong is a magical self-reflection on art, movies, invention and Varda’s own lust for life inside and outside of the cinematic frame.