I am here to be entertained and my NZIFF 2019 selection contains great stories told with great skill, cinematic experiences that are like a juicy custard square for the soul, and documentaries that help make sense of this messy life. — Ina Kinski, Content 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: Ina Kinski
![The Amazing Johnathan Documentary](/assets/resized/sm/upload/b5/ik/ub/w4/untitledamazing1%20KEY-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=60881d4eeb)
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.
![Aquarela](/assets/resized/sm/upload/f5/j5/92/0i/1_%7B256feaaa-df20-e911-944e-0ad9f5e1f797%7D%20KEY-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=6fa6ecae54)
Aquarela
The elemental power and glory of water is captured with high frame rate, ultra-definition cameras in film artist Victor Kossakovsky’s spectacular visual documentary.
![Ask Dr. Ruth](/assets/resized/sm/upload/6t/oa/2p/46/ASK_DR._RUTH_%5BCourtesy_of_Hulu%5D_1_PR_HR_UBG%20KEY-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=b02e0bbc06)
Ask Dr. Ruth
As her 90th birthday approaches, irrepressible Dr Ruth, the famed American sex therapist, reflects on her life and career in a film as spirited as she is.
![God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya](/assets/resized/sm/upload/pa/nr/zl/rw/GodExists_03_ZoricaNusheva%20KEY-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=ee1095685f)
God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya
Gospod postoi, imeto i’ e Petrunija
Teona Strugar Mitevska’s Macedonia-set satire charts the empowering, thought-provoking journey of a woman who challenges patriarchy and gender equality while finding herself in the process.
![Meeting Gorbachev](/assets/resized/sm/upload/ap/rw/5f/rt/Herzog_Gorbachev%E2%80%93Main%20image%20KEY-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=fc5d29fe9f)
Meeting Gorbachev
Former Soviet Union president Mikhail Gorbachev gets his due in [Werner Herzog’s] engaging and touching valedictory to one of the most pivotal figures of the 20th century.” — Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
![One Child Nation](/assets/resized/sm/upload/ob/uv/q0/m5/Film%20Still_03%20KEY-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=e99342a44b)
One Child Nation
A frank documentary about the wide-reaching impact of China’s one-child policy, Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang unearth the frightening reality of the regime they were raised under. Winner Grand Jury Prize, Sundance 2019.
![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 Realm](/assets/resized/sm/upload/k1/k7/xy/1z/EL_REINO_3__c__Julio_Vergne%20KEY-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=8454c2cad3)
The Realm
El reino
With a crisp, kinetic visual style and a surplus of tension, Spanish helmer Rodrigo Sorogoyen skewers the corrupt politicos of his home country with this razor-sharp suspense thriller.
![Under the Silver Lake](/assets/resized/sm/upload/5u/2f/46/c7/615011_%257Be179510c-be32-42b8-bf68-de5cc83f7305%257D%20KEY-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=4bae269309)
Under the Silver Lake
Deadbeat slacker Andrew Garfield delves into the labyrinthine mysteries of La La Land on the hunt for a missing girl in David Robert Mitchell’s oddball neo-noir thriller.
![Where’s My Roy Cohn?](/assets/resized/sm/upload/wi/vd/ee/qo/A_19789_WheresMyRoyCohn_still%20KEY-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=c43b7c2c63)
Where’s My Roy Cohn?
A searing portrait of notoriously malicious lawyer Roy ‘don’t tell me about the law, just tell me who the judge is’ Cohn delves into the dark arts of American politics.
![A White, White Day](/assets/resized/sm/upload/w8/o2/x2/y5/a_white_white_day_hpalmason_KEY-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=64e0c3a631)
A White, White Day
Hvítur, Hvítur Dagur
Evidence of a deceased wife’s affair tips a grieving ex-cop in remote Iceland over the edge, leading to a shocking spiral of events in search of the truth.
![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.