In this astonishing, edge-of-the-seat chronicle, the camera follows audacious, high-risk quests to escape from North Korea, and the man who plans them, with a rare intimacy and emotional power.
Festival Programme
Films — by Genre
- Action
- Animals
- Animation
- Artists
- Award-winners
- Based on Books
- Body and Mind
- Comedy
- Coming of Age
- Crime
- Education
- Environment
- Family Lives
- Fantasy
- Films about Films
- Finding Home
- Historical
- Horror
- Indigenous
- LGBTQIA+
- Love Stories
- Media and the Internet
- Music
- Māori/Pacific
- Photography
- Politics
- Religion
- Sci-Fi
- Stylistic
- Travel
- WTF?
- War Zones
- Writers and Theatre
Politics
![Bobi Wine: The People’s President](/assets/resized/sm/upload/of/x5/9u/fu/HERO_BobiWineThePeoplesPresident_04-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=96636cb075)
Bobi Wine: The People’s President
An extraordinary story of a Ugandan pop-star politician who risks everything to take on a brutal autocrat, told with a rare and potent intimacy.
![Bread and Roses](/assets/resized/sm/upload/by/v4/y5/ug/Bread&Roses%201%20new%20hero-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=fff091d88b)
Bread and Roses
Preston*Laing’s film adaptation of activist Sonja Davies’ autobiography beautifully captures the heart-breaking social and societal conditions of mid-century women in New Zealand.
![Building Bridges: Bill Youren's Vision of Peace](/assets/resized/sm/upload/0a/s8/eu/to/HERO_BBscan0007-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=85d884fb26)
Building Bridges: Bill Youren's Vision of Peace
Farmer, family man, and—unlikely leftist organiser. Director John Chrisstoffels has compiled a gentle portrait of an ordinary New Zealand farmer capturing extraordinary changes in global twentieth century politics.
![The Corridors of Power](/assets/resized/sm/upload/vo/q2/r8/9f/HERO_TheCorridorsOfPower_Still2_(c)DrorMorehFilms-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=e0cda73cf4)
The Corridors of Power
In this engrossing study of US interventions since the cold war, a cast of senior White House figures across the decades revisit their decisions, set against a visceral catalogue of archival footage.
![The Giants](/assets/resized/sm/upload/o3/wu/5h/ev/HERO_THE%20GIANTS%20-%20BobBrown_001-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=72b81e7517)
The Giants
Interweaving the inspirational activism of Australian Greens co-founder Bob Brown with the stories of the ancient trees he is fighting to save, this environmental documentary is a rousing call to action.
![The Grab](/assets/resized/sm/upload/tl/ak/v0/nu/HERO_Grab%20still%20passport-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=c134e87599)
The Grab
A stunning investigation into the money, influence, and alarming covert efforts of governments and private investors to gain control of the most vital resources on the planet – food and water.
![Hello Dankness](/assets/resized/sm/upload/ga/hh/mv/yo/HERO_HelloDankness_01_3996x2160_300dpi_sRGB-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=8ca05ef92c)
Hello Dankness
Cultural anarchists Soda Jerk remix hundreds of bootlegged clips into a gutbusting, memeified satire on the parlous period before and after the 2016 American elections.
![Hong Kong Mixtape](/assets/resized/sm/upload/y7/xh/kx/i7/heroweb-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=adcf613902)
Hong Kong Mixtape
Both hopeful and heart-breaking, Hong Kong Mixtape chronicles the change in the creative landscape of Hong Kong as the shadow of Beijing, and the draconian laws it imposes, looms large.
![Merkel](/assets/resized/img/2023%20Films/HERO_MERKEL_COPYRIGHT%20JOCK%20FISTICK%20080313_eusummit_0070-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=97980e5a69)
Merkel
Utilising a treasure trove of archival material, Eva Weber’s documentary delivers an intimate portrait of the long-serving German chancellor who became the most powerful woman in the world.
![Ms. Information](/assets/resized/sm/upload/7n/bi/xa/l2/HERO_Siouxsie_withposter-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=1183bb1376)
Ms. Information
As the nation plunges into pandemic, Gwen Isaac’s observational documentary delves into the trenches with Siouxsie Wiles, the fuchsia-haired microbiologist who emerged as a national hero and a satanic witch in the minds of a divided New Zealand.
![Reality](/assets/resized/sm/upload/dg/pm/0l/fl/HERO)_REALITY_Still%201%20(2)%20(c)%20Mickey%20_%20Mina%20LLC-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=f900beb340)
Reality
Anchored by a remarkable performance from Sydney Sweeney, Reality reconstructs the interrogation and arrest of American whistleblower Reality Winner in real-time, to disturbing, pulse-pounding effect.
![A Storm Foretold](/assets/resized/sm/upload/di/ub/um/na/HERO_1254137-1920x960-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=d8d9d2f0a2)
A Storm Foretold
A close-up portrait of Roger Stone, Trump’s disgraced political “fixer” and architect of the January 2021 insurrection. A compelling, frightening image of unbridled power and how far people will go to hang on to it.
![Total Trust](/assets/resized/sm/upload/8f/vi/87/zm/HERO_Still_00_35_22_02-0-520-0-390-crop.jpg?k=613ad93cbc)
Total Trust
A revealing, personal exploration of the new frontier in China’s surveillance state—and the reality for those who challenge it.