NZIFF Film Announcement!

words by niall roeder

We received a raven this morning – spread the word, the first announcement for the 2017 New Zealand International Film Festival line-up has arrived!

Organisers of the Kiwi annual film series (with the best event acronym going around) have been quite tight-lipped of late in regards to what will be projected on the silver screen over July and August. The full NZIFF line-up will boast 150-170 movies, however to wet film buff whistle, we’ve been given a sneak-peek at a handful of this year’s inclusions, of which three are from high profile New Zealand filmmakers (and well-established NZIFF contributors).

Let’s take a look at the first 8 films announced for New Zealand International Film Festival 2017.

Spookers
Zombie brides, baby-killing poltergeists and murder-clowns are what you picture when you think of “charming”, but somehow in Florian Habicht’s latest documentary, that’s what you get. Spookers is a light-hearted look at the popular horror theme park at the old Kingseat Hospital.

My Year With Helen
Award-winning filmmaker Gaylene Preston embraces an all-access pass to report on the secretive process of the UN choosing a new Secretary General.

Kim Dotcom: Caught in the Web
A detailed documentary by Annie Goldson, Caught in the Web looks at Kim Dotcom Vs the US Government and deals with content ownership, privacy and piracy in today’s digital world.

Bill Friselll: A Portrait
An Emma Franz documentary that gives us a look into the musical snow globe of jazz guitarist, Bill Frisell.

A Ghost Story
A Ghost Story follows a spirit held in purgatory by the love of an old flame and the house they shared. A beautiful haunt by David Lowery.

Lady Macbeth
“Florence Pugh is mesmerising as she transmutes from nervous bride to femme fatale” – the plot is thick in this 19th-century Russian classic turned British period piece.

The Lost City of Z
Charlie Hunnam, who recently starred in King Arthur, tackles Pommy Amazon explorer, Percy Fawcett, in a blockbusting epic by writer/director James Gray. It also stars Sienna Miller and a bearded Robert Pattison, who according to Entertainment Weekly (?) steals the show.

The Untamed
Just try and read this description of Amat Escalante’s latest film without being intrigued – “Love triangle drama and erotic bio-sci-fi thrills meet in a truly bizarre exploration of oppressive machismo and liberating sexual abandon…”

The New Zealand International Film Festival is film series held each year in Auckland, Wellington and 12 other spots around NZ. The Wellington leg of NZIFF, aka the Wellington Film Festival takes place at Embassy Theatre between July 28 and August 13.