A section of hand-picked classics and recently restored films.
Festival Programme
Films — by Strand
Treasures

Abraham's Valley
Vale Abraão
One of the most essential films in Portuguese auteur Manoel de Oliveira vast filmography, this dreamlike 1993 film posits Flaubert’s Madame Bovary into 20th century Portugal’s sun-drenched Douro valley.

Angel's Egg
Tenshi no tamago
This surreal anime from the mind of a young Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell), remains just as unique as it was in the 80s. Returning with a stunning 4K restoration that brings its dreamy visuals to stunning life.

Chain Reactions
A diverse ensemble of creatives including Stephen King, Takashi Miike and Karyn Kusama illuminate the enduring cultural legacy of Tobe Hooper’s low-budget 1974 slasher The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

Hard Boiled
Lat sau san taam
John Woo's influential cops vs. gangsters gun-fu classic comes back to the big screen with a pristine 4K remaster making it a perfect time to revisit or discover one of the greatest action films of all time.

I've Heard the Mermaids Singing
Patricia Rozema’s queer indie comedy from the 80s Toronto New Wave offers a sharp dig at artworld pretensions, even as it celebrates the wild, imaginative power of women.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Frequently cited as the greatest horror film ever made, Tobe Hooper’s raw, deeply disturbing journey into a sweaty, grimy, all-too-real hell still has the power to shake you to your core.

Trenque Lauquen
This novelistic Argentine mystery invites us down a rabbit hole into a cinematic warren of interwoven stories. A critical and cult favourite regarded as the best film of 2023 by cinephile tastemakers Cahiers du Cinema.

War Stories Our Mothers Never Told Us
Seven women reflect on the emotional cataclysm of World War II in Dame Gaylene Preston’s landmark contribution to the collective memory of Aotearoa, which has lost none of its raw power on its 30th anniversary.

Werckmeister Harmonies
Werckmeister harmóniák
Frequently singled out as one of the best films of the 21st century, Béla Tarr’s melancholy, mud-deep world of simmering mob chaos foretells of resurgent fascism in the heart of Europe.