Films — by Collection

Flicks.co.nz

Somehow, I’ve managed to rank a dozen films out of the many I’m looking forward to seeing at this year’s NZIFF. In all honesty, there could be twice as many films on this list, and the order would likely change were I to take another stab at in five minutes’ time. That’s not true of the top five picks, though. Ecstatic about the late inclusion of Midsommar, it rockets to top spot – I do love a cult pic. Ari Aster’s follow-up to Hereditary pips another eagerly awaited second feature, The Day Shall Come, directed by my all-time bleak, challenging and prescient comedy fave, Chris Morris (Four Lions). Elsewhere on this list there’s plenty to challenge, entertain, inform, and dare I say, educate. I also note quite a bit of toxic masculinity under the spotlight among these films, which I will take over another film festival staple, onscreen dog deaths, any day. — Steve Newall

Midsommar

Ari Aster

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.

High Life

Claire Denis

A forbidding spaceship carrying death row inmates hurtles towards oblivion in Claire Denis’s long-awaited, intensely hypnotic sci-fi opus.

Deerskin

Le daim

Quentin Dupieux

Georges, 44 years old, and his jacket, 100% deerskin, have grand plans in director Quentin Dupieux’s latest cinematic oddity, destined for cult status.

In Fabric

Peter Strickland

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.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Portrait de la jeune fille en feu

Céline Sciamma

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.