NZIFF 2024 will take place in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, Tauranga, Napier, New Plymouth, Masterton and Nelson from 31 July – 4 September 2024.
Wellington: 31 July to 11 August
Auckland: 7 – 18 August
Dunedin: 14 – 25 August
Christchurch: 15 August to 1 September
Hamilton: 21 August to 4 September
Tauranga: 15 – 28 August
Napier: 21 August to 1 September
New Plymouth: 21 August to 4 September
Masterton: 21 August to 4 September
Nelson: 14 – 25 August
Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival does not currently host a competitive category for feature length films. We do, however, have two short film competitions within the festival: New Zealand’s Best short films, and Ngā Whanaunga Māori Pasifika Shorts. Details on submitting for these collections can be found here.
We accept submissions from all over the world. For information, please visit the Submit a Film page.
There is no fee for submission to Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival.
Please visit the Submit a Film page for more information. Submission deadlines for NZIFF 2024 are as follows:
International Deadline: Thursday 28 March 2024
NZ/Australia/Pacific Islands Deadline: Friday 19 April 2024
At present, individual tickets for 2024 are not available, however multi-trip passes for Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin and Christchurch for 2024 can be purchased online now from our NZIFF store. To visit the store or for more information, please click here
Yes – there will be a printed programme catalogue. You will also be able to read the catalogue on the website and download your own copy as a PDF.
We will not be presenting the film festival in 2024 online. The online presentation in 2020 was a one-off in response to the situation around Covid-19. At the heart of NZIFF is the collective experience of watching a film together.
There are also a number of complex issues around presenting online:
- Except for a very small number of retro films and an even smaller number of special exceptions, films programmed at NZIFF are New Zealand premieres. Additionally films which have further release plans or which already have streaming agreements would not be available for us to screen online.
- NZ simply does not have the population base which enabled other film festivals around the world to present online (eg Sundance was available for the whole of the US, though it is now back to a fully in-person event) and gearing up an online platform that is accessible to our whole audience for the volume of streams we might achieve, was not viable.
- An online option would be in competition with all of our beautiful partner venues and cinemas across the motu, who also need support during this difficult time for the industry. Our filmmakers have made their work for the big screen, and the focus for our team is to present their works as best we can, in person.
We have a partnership with AroVision to assist with online options of NZIFF films following the festival each year.
We are looking at options to bring a small number of international filmmakers to join us at the 2024 festival. We will also be celebrating a wide range of New Zealand filmmakers in the festival and including Q&As and other events in the programme to enable audiences to meet filmmakers.
We will be seeking volunteers for NZIFF 2024 from May 2024. Register your interest at
New Zealand currently has no COVID-19 requirements around mask use or isolation. As such, NZIFF does not have any specific rules around COVID-19, contact specific venues for further details. Please do not attend your screening if you test positive for the virus.
You can check restrictions and health updates on the Unite against COVID-19 website here.