All four films have a musical theme and are the first insight into the latest international cinema planned for screenings in July, August and September around New Zealand with NZIFF.

“Music has always been a crucial part of the celebration at NZIFF. The evidence to date makes it very clear that 2014 will be no exception. I could not be happier that one of these first announcements is the work of our very own Florian Habicht, whose Love Story opened NZIFF in 2012,” says NZIFF director Bill Gosden.

The first films are:

20,000 Days On Earth

Referring to the number of days he has been alive, this engrossing experimental documentary takes a sly, sideways look at the musician and sometimes filmmaker Nick Cave. Cave plays subject, narrator and master of ceremonies, with directors Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard following as he talks to his on-screen shrink, discusses meaningful life-changing events and chauffeurs friends around Brighton. Winner - Sundance Film Festival 2014, Directing Award and Editing Award (World Cinema)

Pulp: A Film about Life, Death & Supermarkets

Kiwi director Florian Habicht (Love Story) collaborates with Jarvis Cocker as UK pop rockers Pulp head in to their triumphant 2012 concert, giving a career best performance documented exclusively by the film. Weaving together the band’s personal offerings, Habicht accosts down-to-earth Sheffielders with questions about fame, love, mortality and the meaning of Jarvis. Pulp is a music-film like no other – by turns funny, moving and life-affirming.

Frank

In this offbeat comedy a young wannabe musician, Jon (Domhnall Gleeson), finds himself out of his depth when he joins an avant-garde pop band led by the bizarre and enigmatic Frank (Michael Fassbender), a musical genius who hides himself inside a large fake head. A knowing satire of its wilfully obscure musicians, Irish director Lenny Abrahamson’s film ultimately comes down very much in their favour.

Jimi: All Is By My Side

Described as one of the most rarely told stories in rock history, Academy Award-winning writer-director John Ridley (12 Years a Slave) shows us Jimi Hendrix before he was Jimi Hendrix. In a portrait of the icon as a young man from 1966–1967, charismatic hip-hop star André Benjamin (one half of Outkast) stars as Jimmy James, an unknown backup guitarist playing New York’s Cheetah Club. The film presents an intimate portrayal of the sensitive, struggling guitarist on the verge of becoming a rock legend.

Further announcements will continue to follow in May and June, with the latest information updated regularly on NZIFF’s new website. The website revealed today has been designed and created by Auckland company Cactuslab.

  
In 2014, NZIFF will screen from mid-July through to late September. Previously, NZIFF continued to screen around NZ until the end of November. The advance of digital technology means that a film can now play in more than one venue at exactly the same time.

NZIFF will begin in Auckland (17 July – 3 August), open in Wellington one week later (25 July – 10 August), then Christchurch and Nelson (6 – 24 August) and Dunedin (31 July – 17 August) before continuing to travel around New Zealand screening in Timaru, Gore, Hawke’s Bay, Hamilton, Tauranga, Palmerston North, Masterton, and New Plymouth.

Tickets will be on sale in Auckland from Friday 27 June via Ticketmaster, and in Wellington from Tuesday 1 July via the NZIFF website.