Rather than reiterate all of the films in Bill’s selection, which features titles on my Not to Be Missed list, my collection is a non-exhaustive list of films that have left their imprint on me between our 2014 and 2015 editions. I include one I have not seen – starring Marlon Brando – because ever since I first read about the film and saw excerpts from it, it’s been top of my anticipatory list of cinematic pleasures.
Films — by Collection
- Darren Bevan
- David Larsen
- Films for Teens
- James Croot
- Letterboxd
- Meet the Filmmakers: Auckland
- Meet the Filmmakers: Wellington
- Patricia Watson
- Rebecca McMillan
- Staff Picks: Angela Murphy
- Staff Picks: Bill Gosden
- Staff Picks: Cianna Canning
- Staff Picks: Felicity Drace
- Staff Picks: Hayden Ellis
- Staff Picks: Jenna Udy
- Staff Picks: Kailey Carruthers
- Staff Picks: Kate McArthur
- Staff Picks: Lisa Bomash
- Staff Picks: Lynn Smart
- Staff Picks: Megan Duffy
- Staff Picks: Michael McDonnell
- Staff Picks: Olivia Young
- Staff Picks: Poppy Granger
- Staff Picks: Rachael Deller-Pincott
- Staff Picks: Sandra Reid
- Staff Picks: Sibilla Paparatti
- Staff Picks: Tom Ainge-Roy
- The Lumière Reader
- Tim Wong
- Wellington Film Society's Picks of NZIFF 2015
Staff Picks: Sandra Reid
![45 Years](/assets/resized/sm/upload/ti/gj/mo/e1/45%20YEARS%20copyright%20Agatha%20A.%20Nitecka-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=ee8c35b015)
45 Years
Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay are deeply affecting in award-winning roles as a retired Norfolk couple preparing for their 45th-anniversary party, when a ghost from the past raises awkward, long-buried questions.
![The Assassin](/assets/resized/sm/upload/hy/by/8o/ac/ASSASSIN%20(THE)_KEY%20STILL-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=eea54924c0)
The Assassin
Nie Yinniang
Shu Qi plays the eponymous killer in this ravishingly beautiful foray into historical martial arts territory from Taiwanese master Hou Hsiao-hsien. Winner of the Best Director Award at Cannes.
![Girlhood](/assets/resized/sm/upload/44/f1/mv/on/Girlhood%20NEW%20KEY%20(2)-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=700da713b7)
Girlhood
Bande de filles
Newcomer Karidja Touré makes a mesmerising impression as a teenager drawn out of her shell and into a black girl gang in Céline Sciamma’s energetic and deeply empathetic drama, set in the tough suburbs of Paris.
![The Lobster](/assets/resized/sm/upload/gg/ha/go/4i/THE%20LOBSTER%20KEY%20-%20Photo%20Despina%20Spyrou-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=76f3bb0e0d)
The Lobster
Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos (Dogtooth) casts Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, John C. Reilly and Léa Seydoux in a surreal English-language fable set in a world where singles are forced to couple up or be turned into animals.
![Phoenix](/assets/resized/sm/upload/zo/gz/dq/ar/Phoenix_New%20Key-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=adab01bb86)
Phoenix
The director and riveting star of Barbara reunite for another moving film noir-inflected tale of love and profound suspicion, this time set amidst the reconstruction of Berlin in the immediate aftermath of WWII.
![Results](/assets/resized/sm/upload/0e/fx/vi/ge/Results_KEY%20STILL%20Photo%20credit%20Ryan%20Green-credit-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=eb9bbbad38)
Results
Guy Pearce and Cobie Smulders, personal trainers in an Austin gym, and their new New York schlub client, Kevin Corrigan, embark on colliding paths to self-improvement in Andrew Bujalski’s wry rom com.