Films by Strand

Arid Edge

Philip Dadson

A kinetic camera films a bicycle ride through the bleak but beautiful Atacama Desert in Chile. Screening with Philip Dadson: Sonics from Scratch.

Becoming Anita Ekberg

Mark Rappaport

Follow the evolution of Swedish actress Anita Ekberg from 50s Hollywood sex symbol to Euro sex goddess immortalised in Fellini’s La Dolce Vita. Screening with Listen to Me Marlon.

Born to Be Mild

Andy Oxley

Tired of life in the fast lane? Meet the Dull Men’s Club, a group of men quite content with life’s more sedate pleasures. Screening with A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence.

The Chicken

Una Gujak

A six-year-old girl gets a chicken for her birthday but isn’t too keen for it to end up in the pot. Screening with Lamb.

Dancing in the Dark

Rowena Baines

We all go a little wilder when we think nobody is watching. Loading Docs short screening with A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night.

Ernie Biscuit

Adam Elliot

The ‘clayography’ of a deaf Parisian taxidermist whose world is turned upside down and back to front when a dead pigeon arrives on his doorstep. Screening with Wrinkles.

The Face of Ukraine: Casting Oksana Baiul

Kitty Green

Girls from across war-torn Ukraine audition to play the role of the gold medal-winning figure skater whose tears of joy once united their troubled country. Screening with The Russian Woodpecker.

Fantasy Cave

Michelle Savill

A group of cave dwellers beaver away night and day to create an immersive fantasyland, but is it really for the children? Loading Docs short screening with The Brand New Testament.

Food for Thought

Pat Robins

After the sudden death of her elderly father, a middle-aged daughter uncovers some incriminating evidence in her mother’s freezer. Screening with Latin Lover.

The Immigrant

Charlie Chaplin

The Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra plus Charlie Chaplin equals glorious Live Cinema. Marc Taddei conducts Chaplin’s score for The Kid, arranged by Carl Davis, and Timothy Brock’s new score for the wildly funny The Immigrant.

Joseph Gets Dressed

Gemma Gracewood, Corey Gegner

Kiwi kinetic artist Joseph Herscher gears up for his first US show where he transforms everyday objects into an intricate Rube Goldberg-style machine that will dress him from head to toe. Screening with Very Semi-Serious.

The Lawnmower Bandit

Jackie van Beek

Paul used to steal lawnmowers for a living but when his father died, he promised himself a better life. Screening with Rams.

Les Blank on Photography

Harrod Blank

In an excerpt from a forthcoming feature about his father, Harrod Blank introduces us to the still photography of Les Blank. Screening with How to Smell a Rose.

Live Fast, Draw Yung

Stacey Lee, Anthony Mathile

Hip-hop’s hottest young illustrator is a Seattle six-year-old. What starts as an after-school hobby for Yung Lenox and his dad becomes a lifestyle and a business. Screening with Banksy Does New York.

Madness Made Me

Nicola Castle

To the psychiatrists, Mary O’Hagan was just another head case. But where they saw illness, she saw a human experience. Loading Docs short screening with Dreamcatcher.

A Million Miles Away

Jennifer Reeder

A class of teenage girls coach their substitute choir teacher through relationship trouble by transforming a heavy metal classic into a feminist anthem. Screening with Princess.

Mine

Paloma Schneideman

A young mother must come to terms with the consequences of a difficult decision. Screening with The Second Mother.

Oh Lucy!

Hirayanagi Atsuko

A middle-aged office lady in Tokyo is given a blonde wig and a new identity by her unconventional English-language teacher. Screening with Hill of Freedom.

Pelorus

Alex Sutherland

In 1979 a little-known pioneer makes the first modern bungee jump off the Pelorus Bridge in Marlborough. A true story of Kiwi innovation and mateship. Screening with Sunshine Superman*.

Return

Ryan Heron

A young man returns home to Wanganui to discover the difficulty of juggling friends, parents, magic mushrooms and several thousand chickens. Screening with James White.

Tama

Ryan Alexander Lloyd

An unconventional documentary portrait of a father and his middle-aged son. Screening with The End of the Tour*.

Tihei

Hamish Bennett

As the beat drops, can Tihei find his words? Redemption comes unscripted. Loading Docs short screening with Dope.

The Vanity Tables of Douglas Sirk

Mark Rappaport

Discover the importance of furnishings in the 50s Hollywood films of Douglas Sirk, especially the pejoratively named, vanity table. Screening with Women He’s Undressed.

Wilbur Force

Jan Oliver Lucks

The former king of New Zealand pro-wrestling-turned-small-town recluse is challenged by his best friend to reconnect with his glory days of battle. Loading Docs short screening with I Am Thor.