Overview
Cinephiles of Aotearoa, your movie-watching version of Christmas is almost here — the kind that entices you into darkened theatres to catch the latest and greatest in international cinema. That'd be the New Zealand International Film Festival, which has confirmed its return from July–September and unveiled the first seven films on its program. Yes, you now have plenty to look forward to.
NZIFF 2022 will hit up 13 cities and towns across the country, starting in Auckland on Thursday, July 28. It'll then head to Wellington from Thursday, August 4 — and to Christchurch and Dunedin the following week, on Thursday, August 11. Exact dates for its other stopovers haven't yet been revealed, but movie lovers in Hamilton, Tauranga, Hawke's Bay, New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Masterton, Nelson, Timaru and Gore can still start getting excited.
That's where you'll be getting your film fest fix. As for what you'll be watching, NZIFF's just-announced first seven titles comprise an eclectic bunch. Music documentaries, overseas award-winners, lavish period dramas, docos shot in secret: they're all included.
Leading the bill so far: The Good Boss, a dark workplace satire that sees Javier Bardem turn in a phenomenal (and sinister yet charming) performance; Meet Me in the Bathroom, a first-hand snapshot of New York's early-00s music scene, complete with The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and LCD Soundsystem; and Lost Illusions, the sumptuous and moving seven-time Cesar Award-winning tale of a young poet with big dreams, which is adapted from the novel by Honoré de Balzac.
Or, there's also Navalny, a fly-on-the-wall doco about the Russian opposition leader poisoned with a nerve agent; intimate British drama Ali & Ava, by The Selfish Giant's Clio Barnard; and documentaries about Kurt Vonnegut and Leonard Cohen.
Further titles will be unveiled over the coming months, with the full lineup set to release in July. As always, NZIFF will showcase flicks direct from Cannes and other major international fests, as well as homegrown fare — including its popular shorts programs New Zealand's Best and Ngā Whanaunga Māori Pasifika Shorts.
NZIFF 2022 comes after the festival weathered two COVID-19-affected years, and will see the fest offer a more condensed range of movies, with between 50–60 features expected to screen in the fest's four main cities. Auckland's season, which'll take place at The Civic, ASB Waterfront Theatre and with selected weekend sessions at Hollywood Avondale, may also include a number of titles from 2021's program — and the selection will be smaller in regional centres.
In Wellington, the fest will hit up Embassy Theatre and Roxy Cinemas, with Lumière Cinemas providing its Christchurch base and Dunedin screenings taking place at Rialto Cinemas Dunedin.
The New Zealand International Film Festival will open in Auckland on Thursday, July 28, then tour to 12 other cities and towns across August and September. For more information, head to the festival website.