Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival has revealed its full programmes for the major cities and the regions, except, of course, Auckland. In case you missed the disappointing news, the Auckland leg of the NZIFF, due to open 28 October, has been cancelled due to Covid 19 restrictions. This year's festival now opens in Christchurch on Friday 29 October, followed by Wellington on Thursday 4 November.
Highlights from the 2021 festival which will screen in Christchurch and Wellington include Wes Anderson’s star-studded homage to the golden age of journalism The French Dispatch; Maggie Gyllenhaal’s award-winning adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s The Lost Daughter, featuring a powerhouse performance from Olivia Colman; decorated Chinese Master Zhang Yimou’s love letter to cinema One Second, and Bosnia and Herzegovinia’s contender for the 2022 Best International Feature Oscar, Jasmila Zbanic’s Quo Vadis, Aida?
Dame Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog will launch the 50th Jubilee edition of the Wellington festival at flagship venue The Embassy Theatre. Cannes Film Festival’s Palme D’or winner Titane is to close the festival in an unforgettable fashion, with Paulo Sorrentino’s Venice Grand Jury Prize-winning masterpiece The Hand Of God anchoring the middle weekend in centrepiece position.
Wellington will celebrate the 50th year of the film festival with a special screening of Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, introduced by founding director Lindsay Shelton. There will also be a series of special screenings in honour of Bill Gosden, who directed the film festival for almost forty years before his death from cancer last year.
We know many of you worked on films which were selected for this festival - congratulations to you all, we hope those who can, will get out and support you.
Unfortunately the NZIFF is unable to present online for 2021
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Image: Olivia Colman in Lost Daughter