Being a programmer for NZIFF I'm lucky enough to have seen a good portion of the selection already. A lot of my picks were my favourites from Berlin earlier this year. Standouts include the aptly named girl-meets-wolf whatsit Wild, the equally wacky mermaid musical The Lure and Lewis Klahr's fantastic short film compilation Sixty Six. Other great short films are on show in the Love-Sick Shorts programme particularly The Exquisite Corpus by Austrian found-footage maestro Peter Tscherkassky. French sports drama Mercenary is a smart and funny discovery, while Jim Jarmusch's Gimme Danger delivers just what you would expect and is a must for anyone who digs Iggy and The Stooges. Finally I'm most looking forward to catching up on a number of Cannes titles including Paterson, Neruda, Elle and Endless Poetry.
Films — by Collection
- Cactuslab
- Dominic Corry
- Dunedin Film Society: Raphael Richter-Gravier
- Letterboxd
- Staff Picks: Andrew Harrison
- Staff Picks: Ant Timpson
- Staff Picks: Bill Gosden
- Staff Picks: Caroline Palmer
- Staff Picks: Cianna Canning
- Staff Picks: Collette Wright
- Staff Picks: Felicity Drace
- Staff Picks: Hedda ten Holder
- Staff Picks: Jo Scott
- Staff Picks: Kailey Carruthers
- Staff Picks: Kate McGee
- Staff Picks: Lynn Smart
- Staff Picks: Melanie Rae
- Staff Picks: Michael McDonnell
- Staff Picks: Nic Marshall
- Staff Picks: Nick Paris
- Staff Picks: Rebecca McMillan
- Staff Picks: Rosie Jones
- Staff Picks: Sandra Reid
- Staff Picks: Tim Wong
- Wellington Film Society
Staff Picks: Michael McDonnell
The First, the Last
Les premiers, les derniers
Two bounty hunters searching the flatlands of Western Europe for a stolen cellphone cross paths with two lovers on the run from the end of the world in this deadpan delight from Belgian actor/director Bouli Lanners.
Gimme Danger
Jim Jarmusch pays tribute to seminal proto-punk champs the Stooges and their wiry frontman Iggy Pop in this tremendously entertaining rock doco, charting their rise and premature demise through to their late-career revival.
Midnight Special
Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Adam Driver, Kirsten Dunst and newcomer Jaeden Lieberher star in this dazzling, genre-defying sci-fi/chase movie from the director of Mud and Take Shelter.
When Two Worlds Collide
When mining and clear-cutting contracts threatened their native lands, indigenous Peruvians took to the streets. This film documents their years of struggle against the ruthless tactics of a furiously antagonistic government.