For 30 years, Ant Timpson—founder of the notorious Incredibly Strange Film Festival—has annually curated a programme of cinema provocations from all quarters of the globe.
Festival Programme
Films — by Strand
Incredibly Strange
#Manhole
A man is trapped after falling down a manhole in this delightfully bonkers single-space survival thriller from Japan that keeps the twists and surprises coming thick and fast until the very end.
Chop & Steele
Found footage pioneers and pranksters Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher embark on a nationwide tour showcasing the very worst America has to offer and put their friendship (and legal team) to the ultimate test in this hilarious doco.
Good Boy
In this pitch-black Norwegian thriller, Sigrid thinks she's met her perfect match with the charming and handsome Christian, but there is one catch—he lives with a man who acts like his pet dog.
Hello Dankness
Cultural anarchists Soda Jerk remix hundreds of bootlegged clips into a gutbusting, memeified satire on the parlous period before and after the 2016 American elections.
Late Night with the Devil
A live television broadcast on Halloween 1977 goes horribly wrong, as all hell literally breaks loose. This pitch perfect period recreation serves up an equal mix of 70s showbiz cheese and demonic thrills.
Mars Express
A private detective and her android partner track down a notorious hacker in the dark underbelly of a Martian metropolis in this superb cyber-punk-noir animated feature, packed with humour and action.
River
Ribā, nagarenaideyo
The team behind festival hit Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes (NZIFF 2021) return with an ingenious comedy in which the staff at a traditional hot springs hotel are trapped in a time loop that repeats every two minutes.
Shin Ultraman
An irony-free kaiju blockbuster that simultaneously pays respectful homage to the original Ultraman mythos while re-energising the beloved character with kinetic high-tech filmmaking.
Sisu
A one-man death squad will go to outrageous lengths to get his gold back—even if it means killing every last Nazi in his path. Jalmari Helander’s gleefully entertaining actioner delivers gory mayhem by the bucketload.