Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival
21 August - 4 September 2024
Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival is our premiere national cinema event. Presenting a selection of contemporary and classic cinema and capturing the best of the global festival circuit, through curated progammes at locations nationwide.
Schedule to be launched this July
The new film by an Academy-Award winning director, a Best International Feature Academy Award nominee, a widely acclaimed teen-vampire horror-comedy, an immersive journey into the work of a music legend, an Iranian meditation on love, loss and loneliness, and a portrait of a ground-breaking CNN camerawoman from Te Tairāwhiti are among the first announced films set to delight Kiwi audiences at this year’s Whānau Mārama New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF) when it screens around the country this winter.
The 2024 NZIFF programme is made up of 10 strands, or sections. This structure provides audiences with clear insight of the cinematic experiences they can expect and of the artistic identity of the selected films. While the full programme will be revealed in July, a flagship title has been released for each section.
Māhutonga:
Illuminating the pathway to the storytellers from Aotearoa is our constellation of Māhutonga - lighting up the Southern Skies via the Southern Cross.
- Never Look Away (directed by Lucy Lawless, New Zealand)
Presented in association with NewstalkZB.
Fresh:
First narrative features from brand new voices of international cinema.
- Brief History of a Family (directed by Lin Jianjie, China).
Frames:
Works that explore and expand the language of documentary filmmaking.
- The Speedway Murders (directed by Luke Rynderman and Adam Kamien, Australia).
Portraits:
Character-driven narrative and documentary films that draw us into the lives of ordinary and extraordinary people.
- My Favourite Cake (directed by Behtash Sanaeeha, Maryam Moghadam, Iran).
Widescreen:
Narrative and documentary films that provide snapshots from diverse realities from across the globe.
- The Teachers’ Lounge (directed by Ilker Çatak, Germany)
Presented in association with Goethe-Institut.
Nocturnal:
An evening strand devoted to irreverent genre and out-of-the-box films.
- Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person (directed by Ariane Louis-Seize, Canada).
Rhythms:
Narrative and documentary films centered around music and its forms.
- In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon (directed by Alex Gibney, USA)
Presented in association with Coast.
Visions:
Works showcasing the distinct cinematic style of revered masters and emerging talents.
- Evil Does Not Exist (directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Japan).
Journeys:
Presenting films from specific countries or regions, beginning in The Himalayas.
- The Monk and the Gun (directed by Pawo Choyning Dorji, Bhutan).
Treasures:
A section of hand-picked classics and recently restored films.
- Days of Heaven (directed by Terrence Malick, USA).