Winter suddenly looks a little cheerier with the NZIFF to look forward to!
The film festival will open in Auckland at The Civic on July 28, in Wellington the following week, Christchurch and Dunedin on August 11, with the regions – Hamilton, Tauranga, Hawke's Bay, New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Masterton, Nelson, Timaru and Gore – to follow. Details of the regional festivals are still to be confirmed.
The films making up the programme will be announced over the coming weeks.
The NZIFF publicity says the 2022 edition will be a more focused version, shorter in duration in the main centres and some regional centres, with fewer venues and fewer films, "but still with a commitment to retain the high quality of programming and calibre of titles which are at the heart of the film festival".
As well as The Civic, NZIFF 2022 in Auckland will also be at ASB Waterfront Theatre, with selected weekend screenings at Hollywood Avondale. In Wellington, NZIFF 2022 will be at Embassy Theatre and Roxy Cinemas, while in Christchurch the festival will be based at Lumière Cinemas, and in Dunedin screenings will be at Rialto Cinemas Dunedin.
This smaller-scale festival was a one-off while NZFFT rebuilds its base for the future and the festival expects to be back in all our usual venues plus a few more for 2023.
NZIFF 2022 will feature 50-60 films in the programme for the four main cities with the potential for Auckland to also have some additional films from the 2021 programme, and a smaller programme of films would screen in the regional centres.
And while the programme will feature fewer films in 2022, there will be a strong focus on festival films direct from Cannes and other major global festivals, together with providing an all-important showcase for New Zealand films – documentaries, features and the well-established shorts selections, New Zealand’s Best and Ngā Whanaunga Māori Pasifika Shorts.