NZIFF 2018 Christchurch 2 Aug–20 Aug 2018

Films — by Collection

Staff Picks: Kailey Carruthers

How time flies...

As I celebrate my 5th consecutive year at NZIFF I look forward to fully immersing myself into 16 days of extraordinary cinema in Wellington (and possibly beyond). This year's line-up has my heart aflutter with big award winners, numerous films by women (including super duo Soda_Jerk) and the new inclusion of the Feminism genre on the website.

More of a tasting platter than a hard and fast selection of must-see titles, my staff picks represent my most anticipated titles of the 2018 fest. See you at the cinema!

Shut Up and Play the Piano

Philipp Jedicke

Rapper, piano virtuoso, performance artist, gifted collaborator or evil, smirking genius, Jason Beck aka Chilly Gonzales crowd-surfs the academy and puts on a hell of a show in the year’s wildest, funniest music doco.

Border

Gräns

Ali Abbasi

An ingenious and twisted blend of crime drama and supernatural romance, this thrillingly unpredictable Swedish film from the writer of Let the Right One In delivers a fresh spin on Nordic mythology.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post

Desiree Akhavan

Chloë Grace Moretz delivers a heartbreaking and nuanced performance as a queer teen shipped off to a gay conversion camp in Desiree Akhavan’s touching drama, this year’s Sundance Grand Jury winner.

Girl

Lukas Dhont

Belgian filmmaker Lukas Dhont won the award for best first feature at Cannes with this empathetic, emotionally rich portrait of a 15-year-old trans girl who aspires to become a ballerina.

The Kindergarten Teacher

Sara Colangelo

Maggie Gyllenhaal is riveting as a teacher and aspiring poet thrown off kilter by the conviction that only she can guard and nurture the lyric talent of a gifted five-year-old student.