New Zealand International Film Festival Announces Music-Centric Lineup for 2016

Amy, Rodriguez, Pulp: A Film About Life, Death & Supermarkets, 808, A Band Called Death and Mistaken For Strangers. All excellent music documentaries, and all showcased on our shores for the first time at the New Zealand International Film Festival. Dribbling out this year's line up, the festival has announced the music-centric selection for 2016.

Sharon Jones, gospel singer and former correctional facility officer has found musical fame later in life with her soul-funk band Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, releasing five albums in a little under a decade – including 2007's exceptional 100 Days, 100 Nights. Diagnosed with cancer in June 2013, Miss Sharon Jones! documents the singer's battle with the disease, subsequent album release and return to the stage. Academy Award-winning director Barbara Koople (Running From Crazy) serves an intimate portrait of the inimitable Jones, sliced with soul-shaking performances, and music that testifies she truly is none other.

Frank Zappa's Wikipedia page scrolls, and scroll and scrolls. Fusing rock 'n' roll with jazz, electronics and orchestra and coupled with iconoclastic lyrics on politics, education, religion and economy, the famously non-conformist artist produced some sixty-odd albums over his career. Highly visible in the news media for his outlandish looks and 'immorality', Eat That Question: Frank Zappa In His Own Words collages historical performance and interview footage to navigate the music and story of a man who would go on to testify before the US Senate concerning censorship in music, influence scores of progressive musicians and even inspire the naming of multiple scientific discoveries. One for the true fans of rock 'n' roll.

Described as the 'antidote to the hype of TV talent shows', Wide Open Sky follows teacher and musician Michelle Leonard and 130 children from rural New South Wales, chosen to be coached and perform in the annual Moorambilla Voices Choir. As the kids become immersed in the choir, Leonard hopes to open their eyes to possibilities beyond the expectations of outback living. Spanish director Carlos Saura sets his sights on the contemporary performers of traditional Argentinian music and dance with Argentina, a magnificent passion project that utilises complex mirror settings in a warehouse turned soundstage to capture the artists unimpeded, resulting in vibrant visual choreography.

Music of Strangers, is the documentation of legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma's grand experiment. He gathered a group of musicians, strangers from diverse cultural backgrounds, to see what would happen when they met and performed together. Are they diluting traditional music by mixing them together, or are they negotiating a new musical possibility with a global connection? Can music help us understand our place in the world, or even stop a bullet?

Ready your highlighters for the full 2016 NZIFF programme launch on Tuesday 21 June, then pause your yoga membership, get a babysitter on retainer and wrangle work commitments, because you'll want to block out July 14 to 31 for the festival take over of Auckland cinemas city wide.