2018 New Zealand International Film Festival
The films I saw.
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69 titles
- DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsLily FrankySakura AndôKirin KikiOn the margins of Tokyo, a dysfunctional band of outsiders are united by loyalty, a penchant for petty theft and playful grifting. When the young son is arrested, secrets are exposed that upend their tenuous, below-the-radar existence.Shoplifters
- DirectorPaul SchraderStarsEthan HawkeAmanda SeyfriedCedric The EntertainerA minister of a small congregation in upstate New York grapples with mounting despair brought on by tragedy, worldly concerns and a tormented past.
- DirectorNadine LabakiStarsZain Al RafeeaYordanos ShiferawBoluwatife Treasure BankoleWhile serving a five-year sentence for a violent crime, a 12-year-old boy sues his parents for neglect.
- DirectorAlice RohrwacherStarsAdriano TardioloAgnese GrazianiAlba RohrwacherAn unceasingly kind Italian peasant and his family are blatantly exploited by a tobacco baroness.
- DirectorClyde BruckmanBuster KeatonStarsBuster KeatonMarion MackGlen CavenderAfter being rejected by the Confederate military, not realizing it was due to his crucial civilian role, an engineer must single-handedly recapture his beloved locomotive after it is seized by Union spies and return it through enemy lines.
- DirectorMamoru HosodaStarsRebecca HallDaniel Dae KimJohn ChoA young boy encounters a magical garden which enables him to travel through time and meet his relatives from different eras, with guidance by his younger sister from the future.
- DirectorLee Chang-dongStarsYoo Ah-inSteven YeunJeon Jong-seoJong-su bumps into a girl who used to live in the same neighborhood, who asks him to look after her cat while she's on a trip to Africa. When back, she introduces Ben, a mysterious guy she met there, who confesses his secret hobby.
- DirectorCristina GallegoCiro GuerraStarsCarmiña MartínezJosé AcostaNatalia ReyesDuring the marijuana bonanza, a violent decade that saw the origins of drug trafficking in Colombia, Rapayet and his indigenous family get involved in a war to control the business that ends up destroying their lives and their culture.
- DirectorDebra GranikStarsThomasin McKenzieBen FosterJeffery RifflardA father and his seventeen-year-old daughter are living an ideal existence in a vast urban park in Portland, Oregon when a small mistake derails their lives forever.
- DirectorBenedikt ErlingssonStarsHalldóra GeirharðsdóttirJóhann SigurðarsonJuan Camilo Román EstradaHalla becomes a determined environmental activist, but this threatens a long-held hope of hers.
- DirectorSally PotterStarsTilda SwintonBilly ZaneQuentin CrispAfter Queen Elizabeth I commands him not to grow old, a young nobleman struggles with love and his place in the world.
- DirectorMilko LazarovStarsMikhail AprosimovFeodosia IvanovaSergei EgorovIn the far north, Sedna and Nanook dream of bringing back their family together. After Sedna's death, Nanook walks a long way to find his daughter Ága, who ran away years ago.
- DirectorWim WendersStarsBruno GanzSolveig DommartinOtto SanderAn angel tires of his purely ethereal life of merely overseeing the human activity of Berlin's residents, and longs for the tangible joys of physical existence when he falls in love with a mortal.
- DirectorChristian PetzoldStarsFranz RogowskiPaula BeerGodehard GieseA man attempting to escape occupied France falls in love with the wife of a dead author whose identity he has assumed.
- DirectorLukas DhontStarsVictor PolsterArieh WorthalterOliver BodartA promising teenage dancer enrolls at a prestigious ballet school while grappling with her gender dysphoria.
- DirectorChloé ZhaoStarsBrady JandreauMooneyTim JandreauAfter suffering a near fatal head injury, a young cowboy undertakes a search for new identity and what it means to be a man in the heartland of America.
- DirectorNuri Bilge CeylanStarsDogu DemirkolMurat CemcirBennu YildirimlarAn unpublished writer returns to his hometown after graduating, where he seeks sponsors to publish his book while dealing with his father's deteriorating indulgence into gambling.
- DirectorBart LaytonStarsSpencer ReinhardWarren LipkaEric BorsukFour young men mistake their lives for a movie and attempt one of the most audacious heists in U.S. history.
- DirectorKamila AndiniStarsThaly Titi KasihIda Bagus Putu Radithya MahijasenaAyu LaksmiA young girl seeks out imaginative ways to cope with the death of her twin brother.
- DirectorAli AbbasiStarsEva MelanderEero MilonoffJörgen ThorssonA customs officer who can smell fear develops an unusual attraction to a strange traveler while aiding a police investigation which will call into question her entire existence.
- DirectorPawel PawlikowskiStarsJoanna KuligTomasz KotBorys SzycIn the 1950s, a music director falls in love with a singer and tries to persuade her to flee communist Poland for France.
- DirectorMarco DutraJuliana RojasStarsIsabél ZuaaMarjorie EstianoMiguel LoboClara, a lonely nurse from the outskirts of São Paulo, is hired by mysterious and wealthy Ana as the nanny for her unborn child. The two women develop a strong bond, but a fateful night changes their plans.Good Manners
- DirectorSimon BakerStarsSamson CoulterBen SpenceSimon BakerAfter developing an interest in surfing, a teenage boy and his friend forge an unlikely friendship with an older surfer.I didn't see this at the film festival, but I did write the programme note. (I saw it at Cinema Nova.)
- DirectorSamuel MaozStarsLior AshkenaziSarah AdlerYonatan ShirayA troubled family must face the facts when something goes terribly wrong at their son's desolate military post.
- DirectorLucrecia MartelStarsDaniel Giménez CachoLola DueñasMatheus NachtergaeleBased on the novel by Antonio Di Benedetto written in 1956, on Don Diego de Zama, a Spanish officer of the seventeenth century settled in Asunción, who awaits his transfer to Buenos Aires.
- DirectorJeremiah ZagarStarsEvan RosadoRaúl CastilloSheila VandManny, Joel, and Jonah tear their way through childhood and push against the volatile love of their parents. As Manny and Joel grow into versions of their father and Ma dreams of escape, Jonah embraces an imagined world all on his own.
- DirectorMatteo GarroneStarsMarcello FonteEdoardo PesceNunzia SchianoA timid dog groomer living in a poor suburb sells cocaine on the side and stays out of trouble, while trying to deal with his unstable, violent acquaintance who is a menace to the whole neighborhood.
- DirectorEryn WilsonStarsJacob LeezakJennah LeezakProfile of Jacob Leezak's Canine Behaviour Expert Dog Psychology Centre, located in outer Sydney, a place where traumatised dogs and traumatised humans can heal one another.
- DirectorGustavo PizziStarsKarine TelesOtávio MüllerAdriana EstevesIrene has only a few days to surpass the anxiety and discover a new strength before sending her eldest son away to the world.
- DirectorGabrielle BradyStarsArthur FloretPoh Lin LeeWhile the yearly crab migration takes place and locals perform rituals for ghosts, a therapist works in Christmas Island's asylum seeker detention center.
- DirectorPietra BrettkellyStarsGuo PeiCarmen Dell'OreficeWendi MurdochA brave designer chases the dream - to be crowned haute couture. But she comes from China, the land of knock offs and production lines. Will her Cinderella story end at the Met Ball?
- DirectorSara ColangeloStarsMaggie GyllenhaalGael García BernalAto Blankson-WoodA kindergarten teacher in New York becomes obsessed with one of her students who she believes is a child prodigy.
- DirectorHepi MitaStarsAwatea MitaEruera 'Bob' MitaHepi MitaDocumentary portrait of pioneering filmmaker and mother Merata Mita, detailing how her filmmaking intersected with the lives of her children and indigenous filmmakers globally, and featuring rare archival footage dating back to 1977.
- DirectorJoe PennaStarsMads MikkelsenMaria Thelma SmáradóttirTintrinai ThikhasukA man stranded in the Arctic after a plane crash must decide whether to remain in the relative safety of his makeshift camp or to embark on a deadly trek through the unknown.
- DirectorDustin FeneleyStarsLuciane BuchananKieran CharnockJoel FiliIn a cold and remote landscape, two strangers struggle to repair their broken pasts.
- DirectorMindaugas SurvilaThe movie journeys through an old-growth Lithuanian forest, depicting wolves, black storks, underwater life, and humans living on its outskirts, showcasing the sights and sounds of this primeval environment.
- DirectorPaora JosephStarsRebekah DaviesPaora JosephNiwa WhatuiraFive grieving families discuss how suicide has effected them as they travel together up Te Ika-a-Maui to Cape Reinga, stopping at various marae on the way. Meanwhile, a young man deals with feelings of despair and suicidal ideation.
- DirectorKirill SerebrennikovStarsRoman BilykIrina StarshenbaumTeo YooA love triangle emerges around a rock and roll musician, his protege and his wife in 1980s Russia.
- DirectorHenning CarlsenStarsPer OscarssonGunnel LindblomBirgitte FederspielIn 1890, Pontus, the starving writer, wanders the streets of Christiania, in search of love and a chance to get his work published. All he meets is defeat and suffering while his sense of reality is withering. One moment his is delighted and the next he curses everybody. All the time he manages to maintain human dignity and pride.
- DirectorEugene JareckiStarsElvis PresleyEugene JareckiJames CarvilleForty years after the death of Elvis Presley, a musical road trip across America in his 1963 Rolls Royce explores how a country boy lost his authenticity and became a king while his country lost her democracy and became an empire.
- DirectorJean-Luc GodardStarsJean-Luc GodardDimitri BasilJean-Pierre GosNothing but silence. Nothing but a revolutionary song. A story in five chapters like the five fingers of a hand.
- DirectorAxel GrigorStarsJill BilcockCate BlanchettBaz LuhrmannA documentary about internationally renowned film editor Jill Bilcock, that charts how an outspoken arts student in 1960s Melbourne became one of the world's most acclaimed film artists.
- DirectorRomain GavrasStarsKarim LeklouIsabelle AdjaniVincent CasselA small-time dealer dreams of another life but can't afford it. To escape, he must accept one last job involving Spain, drugs, the Illuminati and his overbearing mother.
- DirectorPhilipp JedickeStarsChilly GonzalesPeachesLeslie FeistChilly Gonzales is a Grammy-winning composer, virtuoso pianist and entertainer. Criss-crossing between rap, electro and solo piano music, he became the outrageous pop performer who invited himself to the ivory tower of classical music. The eccentric artist inspires and collaborates with the likes of Feist, Jarvis Cocker, Peaches, Daft Punk and Drake. Change seems to be the only constant in Gonzales' journey. Every time his audience thinks it has finally figured him out, he makes a radical move and breaks with its expectations. The cinematic documentary Shut Up And Play The Piano follows Gonzales from his native Canada to late 90's underground Berlin, and via Paris to the world's great philharmonic halls. It dives deep into the dichotomy of Gonzales' stage persona, where self-doubt and megalomania are just two sides of the same coin. The playfulness of his character is mirrored in the look of the film. Using Gonzales' extensive video archive in a rather unorthodox manner, Shut Up And Play The Piano explores his persona by interweaving newly shot interviews and concert scenes with fictional materials of totally different time periods. Reality and fiction blur together as we embark on a trip through Chilly Gonzales' world.
- DirectorMaxim PozdorovkinStarsEmin AgalarovDmitry ButuzovBill ClintonThe story of Donald Trump's election told entirely through Russian propaganda, including Youtube videos by common Russians and Russia Today, the most popular and unashamedly manipulative TV news network.
- DirectorEthan HawkeStarsBen DickeyAlia ShawkatJosh HamiltonA reimagining of the life and times of Blaze Foley, the unsung songwriting legend of the Texas Outlaw Music movement.Blaze is an affectionately told story of songwriter Blaze Foley from the perspective of his wife, who wrote a memoir about him and co-wrote the screenplay with Ethan Hawke. As a result it is very personal, intimate and delicate, especially the love that Blaze and Sybil share. Their time together in the treehouse in the forest, when Blaze begins to write songs, when he conceives his public name, is very much about the opening of two human hearts and though Blaze talks about wanting to be a legend, there are no legends being depicted here just genuine feeling beings learning to express the delicate and precious parts of themselves. Sybil encourages Blaze to share his songs with the world and so they venture out of their intimate paradise.
The world is a bit harder and meaner and Blaze and his crew of singer-songwriters, including Townes Van Sandt, drink excessively. The film certainly does not take a moralistic view of this, but the damage it does to them and their interaction with the world is obvious. Ben Dickey as Blaze is an extremely nuanced and heartfelt performance. He loves with all of himself and he even hides his gifts with the same passion.
There are not many recordings of Blaze in existence, and it is the love of his friends that allows anything of the man's music to have survived. If the film communicates anything above the very moving and involving human drama, it suggests patience, respect and compassion for those on stage trying to communicate something with us that is complex, delicate and precious. Our world would be unliveable if people like Blaze did not risk their vulnerability to share their most gentle delicate parts with us. The attempted record company execs who tried to build a label around him didn't get it, though they must have recognised his talent. The audience didn't seem to get it, reacting to his anger and his defensiveness more than his music, but his friends did, and his lover certainly did. And so have the filmmakers, who offer us this delicate portrait in a way that can't be misunderstood, only felt. - DirectorJafar PanahiStarsBehnaz JafariJafar PanahiMarziyeh RezaeiThree actresses at different stages of their career. One from before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, one popular star of today known throughout the country, and a young girl longing to attend a drama conservatory.
- DirectorPrinceDavid HoganAlbert MagnoliStarsPrinceSheila E.Sheena EastonHighlights from Prince's 1987 European concert tour, including selections from the rock star's album of the same title.
- DirectorDesiree AkhavanStarsChloë Grace MoretzSteven HauckQuinn ShephardIn 1993, a teenage girl is forced into a gay conversion therapy center by her conservative guardians.
- DirectorOlivier AssayasStarsVirginie LedoyenCyprien FouquetLászló SzabóWhen the girl of a rebelious teenage couple finds out she is being sent away, they both believe escaping the rigid order suffocating them is the only way to be free. But is it?
- DirectorCarlos SauraStarsAna TorrentConchita PérezMayte SanchezIn the twilight of Francisco Franco's dictatorship, an 8-year-old orphan and her two sisters find shelter in the house of their stern aunt and try their best to acclimatize to a new reality. Can they summon up the courage to grow up?
- DirectorLaetitia CartonSince about 30 years ago the fans of traditional dances get together at Gennetines, a small village in the Ardeche department to dance all nights and days for 7 days. 500 musicians and more than 2000 dancers dance, dance and dance, stealing a few hours of sleep , until they lost the notion of time.
- DirectorSebastián LelioStarsRachel WeiszRachel McAdamsAlessandro NivolaA woman returns to her Orthodox Jewish community that shunned her for her attraction to a female childhood friend. Once back, their passions reignite as they explore the boundaries of faith and sexuality.
- DirectorSergey LoznitsaStarsTamara YatsenkoIrina ZayarmiukGrigory MasliukIn eastern Ukraine, society begins to degrade as the effects of propaganda and manipulation begin to surface in this post-truth era.
- DirectorLynne RamsayStarsJoaquin PhoenixJudith RobertsEkaterina SamsonovA traumatized veteran unafraid of violence tracks down missing girls for a living. When a job spins out of control, Joe's nightmares overtake him as a conspiracy is uncovered leading to what could be his death trip or his awakening.
- DirectorMagnus EnquistKristian PetriJan RöedStarsMax von SydowThordur HalldorsonFredrick Otto ThomasA documentary about the islands in the Atlantic, about the islanders and their stories.The Atlantic
- DirectorSilas HowardStarsClaire DanesJim ParsonsOctavia SpencerThe loving parents of a four-year-old must come to terms with the fact that their child is gay.
- DirectorHans BlockMoritz RiesewieckStarsMark ZuckerbergDonald TrumpNicole WongA look at the shadowy underworld of the Internet where questionable content is removed.
- DirectorGaspar NoéStarsSofia BoutellaRomain GuillermicSouheila YacoubFrench dancers gather in a remote, empty school building to rehearse on a wintry night. The all-night celebration morphs into a hallucinatory nightmare when they learn their sangria is laced with LSD.
- DirectorWanuri KahiuStarsSamantha MugatsiaNeville MisatiNice Githinji"Good Kenyan girls become good Kenyan wives," but Kena and Ziki long for something more. When love blossoms between them, the two girls will be forced to choose between happiness and safety.
- DirectorPaul DanoStarsEd OxenbouldJake GyllenhaalCarey MulliganA teenage boy must deal with his mother's complicated response after his father temporarily abandons them to take a menial and dangerous job.
- DirectorJosephine DeckerStarsHelena HowardMolly ParkerMiranda JulyA theatre director's latest project takes on a life of its own when her young star takes her performance too seriously.
- DirectorSlava TsukermanStarsAnne CarlislePaula E. SheppardSusan DoukasA small, heroin seeking UFO lands on a Manhattan roof, observes a bizarre, drug addicted fashion model and sucks endorphin from her sexual encounters' brains.
- DirectorLes BlankStarsRamiro CavazosLos Alegres De TeranLos Pinguinos del Norte"Chulas Fronteras" examines the origins and social significance of the traditional Tejano (or 'Tex-Mex') music that developed along the U.S.-Mexico border.
- DirectorBenjamin GilmourStarsSam SmithMohammad MosamKefayat Lag HumaniFormer Australian soldier, Mike Wheeler, returns to Afghanistan, seeking redemption from the family of a civilian man he killed during the war.
- DirectorLes BlankMaureen GoslingGuillermo HernandezStarsAndrés BerlangaChavela ExpressLeo GarzaUsing music of the genre, a short look at Tex-Mex music, how it expresses love found and love lost, and how it comes straight from the heart.
- DirectorJulie CohenBetsy WestStarsRuth Bader GinsburgAnn KittnerHarryette HelselThe exceptional life and career of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who has developed a breathtaking legal legacy while becoming an unexpected pop culture icon.
- DirectorTim WardleStarsRobert ShafranMichael DomnitzHoward SchneiderIn 1980 New York, three young men who were all adopted meet each other and find out they're triplets who were separated at birth. But their quest to find out why turns into a bizarre and sinister mystery.
- DirectorHeather LenzStarsYayoi KusamaArtist Yayoi Kusama and experts discuss her life and work, from her modest beginnings in Japan to becoming an internationally renowned artist.