A dozen screenings I’ll be making a beeline for at this year’s NZIFF, among many others. For films I’ve already seen and endorse, check out those I’ve written about for this year’s programme. Also highly recommended: Genesis (for the full experience, seek out Philippe Lesage’s NZIFF16 gem Les Démons first), anything by Agnès Varda, and everything in the retro section. — Tim Wong, Publications 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: Tim Wong
![Bacurau](/assets/resized/sm/upload/04/1s/u5/hq/a9bc731c520e5777d1c60fb68a339197243af56a%20KEY%20OPTION-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=22a9c84083)
Bacurau
Fierce politics and top-notch furious filmmaking collide to potent effect in this Cannes-lauded portrait of a near-future fight for survival in the remote reaches of northern Brazil.
![Beanpole](/assets/resized/sm/upload/a0/g4/tp/6c/une_grande_fille_01cnon-stopproduction%20KEY-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=57d41570d4)
Beanpole
Dylda
Talented Russian filmmaker Kantemir Balagov won Best Director at Cannes (Un Certain Regard) for this hugely impressive account of post-war Leningrad, and the friendship of two women at its devastated centre.
![Fire Will Come](/assets/resized/sm/upload/h8/gb/x5/tl/KEY2-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=5b15f43e12)
Fire Will Come
O que arde
Oliver Laxe’s slow-burn Cannes gem combines arresting landscapes with the smouldering inner life of a reticent ex-con whose return to his mother’s home in the Galician countryside sparks tension.
![Hale County This Morning, This Evening](/assets/resized/sm/upload/fe/kw/52/1k/2%20KEY2-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=69d20f5105)
Hale County This Morning, This Evening
This artful and poetic study of ordinary black lives from acclaimed photographer-turned-filmmaker RaMell Ross competed for Best Documentary Feature at this year’s Academy Awards.
![In Fabric](/assets/resized/sm/upload/ut/uw/d9/25/In-Fabric_sewing-01.jpeg_cmyk%20KEY-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=564ba24cd6)
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.
![The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão](/assets/resized/sm/upload/6o/gt/ma/r7/01KEY_THE_INVISIBLE_LIFE_OF_EURIDICE_GUSMAO_%C2%A9Bruno%20MachadoKEY-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=273eb4532c)
The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão
A vida invisível de Eurídice Gusmão
A saga of sisterhood for the ages, Madame Sata director Karim Aïnouz’s sensual ‘tropical melodrama’ won top prize at this year’s Cannes Un Certain Regard section.
![Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound](/assets/resized/sm/upload/d3/wg/5o/y1/Making%20Waves%20-lighter%20KEY-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=5b737a3892)
Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound
An ear-opening and revelatory history lesson on the unsung power of sound in cinema, Making Waves interposes fascinating interviews with dissected scenes to educate and exhilarate even the seasoned cinephile.
![Midsommar](/assets/resized/sm/upload/mb/t6/aj/ot/007%20KEY-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=b5c263a6d6)
Midsommar
Ari Aster’s buzzworthy follow-up to the terrifying Hereditary centres on an American couple whose festive encounter with Swedish pagan cultists slowly but surely descends into madness. Late confirmation.
![Portrait of a Lady on Fire](/assets/resized/sm/upload/5u/gj/rw/wu/heloisemaapprochebaiser4374583111eclaircie%20KEY-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=b56e14d541)
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Portrait de la jeune fille en feu
Winner of Best Screenplay and the Queer Palm at Cannes, Céline Sciamma’s striking 18th-century tale of romantic obsession burns bright with female desire and the craft of a masterful filmmaker.
![The Whistlers](/assets/resized/sm/upload/c3/y8/kc/38/the-whistlers-photo-2-vlad-cioplea%20KEY%20(very%20similar%20to%20La%20Flor%20key)-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=249a2fb051)
The Whistlers
La Gomera
Breathing new life into the Romanian New Wave, Corneliu Porumboiu crafts a rollicking genre movie set in sun-soaked Spain, where the best laid plans of a bent cop hinge on learning a secret local whistling dialect.
![The Wild Goose Lake](/assets/resized/sm/upload/ub/sf/x5/yx/thumb_65223_film_film_2560x1103%20KEY-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=a5632ea42a)
The Wild Goose Lake
Nan fang che zhan de ju hui
Gangland subterfuge tumbles into a dazzling nocturnal manhunt in Chinese director Diao Yinan’s film noir par excellence – a modern genre classic in the making.
![Varda by Agnès](/assets/resized/sm/upload/9n/ae/xj/lj/varda-by-agnes-av-camera-noirmoutier-2%20KEY-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=06932117a7)
Varda by Agnès
The late, great French filmmaking icon’s swansong is a magical self-reflection on art, movies, invention and Varda’s own lust for life inside and outside of the cinematic frame.