Overview
Already boasting one New Zealand premiere and three cinematic classics, pocket-sized film series, Autumn Events, has today been bulked up with four more films. The New Zealand International Film Festival's (NZIFF) annual teaser will screen in Auckland and Wellington this May.
1936 classic Camille is often considered one of cinema's finest romantic tearjerkers. Featuring golden age actors Greta Garbo and Robert Taylor, the film follows a courtesan who must choose between the man who loves her and the baron who wants her.
A Star is Born follows Judy Garland as a singer on the rise and James Mason as a fading alcoholic actor, showing life behind the cameras, lights, and cocktail bars of Hollywood. The 1954 film has since been remade twice and is set for yet another rehash in 2018, this time featuring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga.
The King and the Mockingbird has been described as "the perfect film for children, and a challenging one for adults." Based on a Hans Christian Andersen story, the hand-drawn animation follows a chimney sweep and shepherdess on the run from a tyrannical king.
Les Blank's Burden of Dreams immortalises the chaotic making of Fitzcarraldo, a part fiction, part true-life story following an Irish adventurer who dreams of building an opera house in the Amazon. Locals were persuaded to assist in the adventure that took four years to make— there were also three changes of cast, and the dragging of a 40-tonne steamboat from one river to another. Fitzcarraldo will also screening at this year's festival.
Autumn Events takes place at Wellington's Embassy Theatre from May 3–21, and Auckland's The Civic and Academy Cinema from May 10–21. The full NZIFF programme will be announced in June.