Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival 2024

Māhutonga

Illuminating the pathway to the storytellers from Aotearoa is our constellation of Māhutonga - lighting up the Southern Skies via the Southern Cross.
Flagship film: Never Look Away 
Lucy Lawless makes her directorial debut with a raucous documentary exploring the life of another warrior princess — fierce and fearless Kiwi war photojournalist Margaret Moth. Presented in association with NewstalkZB

Fresh

First narrative features from brand new voices of international cinema.
Flagship film: Brief History of a Family
Equally mysterious and revealing, Lin Jianjie’s debut feature Brief History of a Family provides a dispassionate, almost analytical look into the dynamics of estranged family relations in contemporary China.

Frames

Works that explore and expand the language of documentary filmmaking.
Flagship film: The Speedway Murders 
First-time filmmakers Luke Rynderman and Adam Kamien present a stylistically unique and visually stunning feature that delves into the unsolved 1978 Speedway Burger Chef murders while shifting away from the traditional true crime documentary format.

_{(Top left: The Speedway Murders, top right: Brief History of a Family, bottom: The Speedway Murders)} 

Portraits

Character-driven narrative and documentary films that draw us into the lives of ordinary and extraordinary people.
Flagship film: My Favourite Cake
Seventy-year-old Mahin has been living alone in Tehran since her husband died and her daughter left for Europe. One afternoon, tea with friends leads her to break her solitary routine and revitalise her love life.

Widescreen

Narrative and documentary films that provide snapshots from diverse realities from across the globe.
Flagship film: The Teachers’ Lounge 
Driven by a captivating central performance, this unsettling Oscar-nominated classroom thriller thoughtfully probes the grey area of student care versus culpability, and to what degree our systems promote or constrain our humanity. Presented in association with Goethe Institut

Nocturnal

An evening strand devoted to irreverent genre and out-of-the-box films.
Flagship film: Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person
A sensitive vampire meets a depressed teenage boy in this deadpan romantic comedy about two loners connecting.

_{(Top left: The Teachers' Lounge, top right: My Favourite Cake, bottom: Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person)}
 

Rhythms

Narrative and documentary films centered around music and its forms.
Flagship film: In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon
Paul Simon is that rare popular artist who has produced vital music across seven decades. Drawing on archives and intimate new footage, this comprehensive documentary examines the creative career of a lifelong seeker. Presented in association with Coast

Visions

Works showcasing the distinct cinematic style of revered masters and emerging talents.
Flagship film: Evil Does Not Exist
Ryusuke Hamaguchi follows up his Oscar-winning film Drive My Car with a modern eco-fable that provides a gorgeous meditation on humanity’s relation to nature and an unnerving commentary on the price of progress.

Journey

Presenting films from specific countries or regions, beginning in The Himalayas.
Flagship film: The Monk and the Gun 
Is “political freedom” worth the cost of familial or social discord? When Bhutan’s king abdicates in favour of democratic reform, a strange series of events unfolds, where the old and the new collide in wondrous fashion.

Treasures

A section of hand-picked classics and recently restored films.
Flagship film: Days of Heaven
Reclusive auteur Terrence Malick’s sophomore effort, beautifully restored in 4K, is a bewitching, visually ravishing pre-World War I fable of passion and betrayal on the sun-drenched Texas prairie.

_{(Top left: Evil Does Not Exist, top right: Days of Heaven, bottom: In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon)}