A panorama of the best and brightest films that drew our attention on the world stage during our intense engagement with international cinema on the festival circuit this year.
We’ve had an incredibly wide palette to choose from, with the selection from Cannes Film Festival yielding some of our most exciting choices in the frantic fortnight before we closed our schedule.
A Catalonian, peach-growing family face upheaval in this moving and nuanced reflection on identity, place and time by Carla Simón (Summer 1993 NZIFF 2017), awarded the Golden Bear at the Berlinale 2022.
This refreshingly authentic depiction of finding love right on your doorstep, and from unlikely directions, abounds with humour and the transformative power of song.
Juliette Binoche, Vincent Lindon and Gregoire Colin form a turbulent love triangle as old flames endure in Claire Denis’ sexy and volatile relationship drama.
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Marie Kreutzer’s bold and subversive costume drama features an imperious Vicky Krieps as the restless Empress Elisabeth of Austria, struggling to break free from the restrictive confines of courtly life.
Ralph Fiennes and Jessica Chastain headline a star cast dealing with the fallout from a debauched weekend in Morocco in John Michael McDonagh’s blackly comic skewering of privilege.
Single mum Julie (Laure Calamy, Call My Agent!) races against time in this forceful, authentic drama underpinned by a thriller momentum.
Icelandic filmmaker Hlynur Pálmason follows up A White, White Day (NZIFF 2019) with this stunning historical epic which recalls the grandeur and madness of Herzog at his best.
Léa Seydoux stars as a busy single mom, juggling caring for her daughter and her ailing father, who finds love in unexpected circumstances in Mia Hansen-Løve’s nimble romantic drama.
Based on Denis Johnson’s cult novel, Margaret Qualley and Joe Alwyn star in this heady and alluring romantic thriller from NZIFF fave Claire Denis, directing her second English-language feature.
A gloriously animated fantasy reimagining of Anne Frank’s story from the lauded director of The Congress (NZIFF 2013) and Waltz with Bashir (NZIFF 2008).
In 19th century Macedonia, a young shapeshifting witch learns what it means to be human by inhabiting the lives of others in this one-of-a-kind feature debut from Australian-Macedonian filmmaker Goran Stolevski.