As someone who has helped enable many film festival attendees to max out two, three – and once even eight – Ten Trip passes, curating your must-see list for the NZIFF is never easy. Think of this as a jumping off point; as I need to schedule my time wisely, I have chosen films that for me go across the whole programme and will stick in my mind as NZIFF 2019! — Charlotte Underhill, Auckland Admin/Ticketing Manager
Films — by Collection
- Film Talks: Jane Ross
- Flicks.co.nz
- Letterboxd Community
- Letterboxd Crew
- Lumière Cinemas
- Staff Picks: Bradley Pratt
- Staff Picks: Charlotte Underhill
- Staff Picks: Daniel Burger
- Staff Picks: Emma Carter
- Staff Picks: Ina Kinski
- Staff Picks: Jessica Hof
- Staff Picks: Lauren Day
- Staff Picks: Lauri Korpela
- Staff Picks: Lynnaire MacDonald
- Staff Picks: Michael McDonnell
- Staff Picks: Nick Paris
- Staff Picks: Rebecca McMillan
- Staff Picks: Sandra Reid
- Staff Picks: Sharon Byrne
- Staff Picks: Tim Wong
- Wellington Film Society
Staff Picks: Charlotte Underhill
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In Fabric
A cross between Suspiria and an old Farmers catalogue, the latest from retro genre stylist Peter Strickland, centring on a demonic dress at a posh department store, gleefully satirises fashion and consumerism.
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Beats
As EDM and ecstasy-fuelled raves are targeted by 90s lawmakers, two downtrodden Glasgow teenagers are determined to taste the action. Director Brian Welsh (The Entire History of You) makes it a night to remember.
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Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché
Blending archival footage with interviews from A-listers Ava DuVernay, Geena Davis and Agnès Varda, among others, Green’s fizzy doco dives into the birth of motion pictures, and the pioneering woman who was there from the start.
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The Amazing Johnathan Documentary
In the world of magic, nothing is what it seems as a terminally ill magician prepares for his swansong – and the ultimate trick on the maker of this bizarre documentary.
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Mope
Boogie Nights meets Pain & Gain in this tragic, oddly compelling story of two low-end porn actors who sought fame but gained infamy, all based on real events.
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Animals
Holliday Grainger and Alia Shawkat (Arrested Development) are thirty-something best friends in Dublin, where partying hard is still their way to have fun, but the reality of getting older is getting harder to ignore.
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Hail Satan?
From America’s satanic panic to the battle of the Baphomet monument, Hail Satan? is an eye-opening comedic romp exploring the good – and sometimes not so good – work of The Satanic Temple.
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Long Day’s Journey into Night
Di qiu zui hou de ye wan
Part film noir, part dreamscape, this oneiric love mystery – acclaimed for its hour-long 3D sequence shot in a mesmerising unbroken take – intoxicatingly captures romantic obsession in southern China.
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Apollo 11
An essential big screen experience, this spectacular documentary utilises a treasure trove of painstakingly restored footage to show us the Apollo 11 moon landing as it has never been seen before.
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Mr Jones
Soaring across Poland, Scotland and the Ukraine, Agnieszka Holland’s absorbing biopic illuminates the exploits of unsung Welsh journalist Gareth Jones, who bravely investigated the Soviet famine of 1932–33.
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The Third Wife
Inspired by her family history, Ash Mayfield’s directorial debut is a delicate and sensuous journey of a young Vietnamese girl torn between duty to her much older husband and her blossoming sexuality.
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Port Authority
Debuting writer-director Danielle Lessovitz weaves a boy-meets-trans girl romance about identity and belonging around the New York underground ballroom scene.” — David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter. Executive produced by Martin Scorsese.