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This year, NZIFF is rolling out the red carpet for the people behind the films. From intimate Q&As to captivating opening night intros, our live events across Aotearoa will bring filmmakers out from behind the camera and into the spotlight. You'll get the chance to see, hear from, and connect with an incredible line-up of local and international directors and creatives - appearing in person at screenings and workshops nationwide.

Please note that guest appearances and live events may be subject to change.

International guests

Abinash Bikram Shah
Director of Elephants in the Fog

• Screenings:
  Auckland – Sunday 9 August, 3:45 p.m. at Academy Cinemas
  Christchurch – Wednesday 12 August, 5:45 p.m. at Lumière Cinemas (Bernhardt)
  Christchurch – Thursday 13 August, 10:00 a.m. at Lumière Cinemas (Bardot)
  Wellington – Friday 14 August, 6:00 p.m. at Massey University National Academy of Screen Arts Cinema
  Wellington – Saturday 15 August, 3:55 p.m. at Light House Cinema Cuba

James J. Robinson
Director of First Light

• Screenings:
  Auckland – Thursday 6 August, 1:15 p.m. at Rialto Cinemas Newmarket
  Auckland – Friday 7 August, 6:00 p.m. at Academy Cinemas

Sophie Hyde
Director of Jimpa

• Screenings:
  Auckland – Saturday 1 August 2:45 p.m. at The Civic
  Auckland – Sunday 2 August, 1:15 p.m. at Bridgeway

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Multipasses are the best-value way to experience the festival. They give you the flexibility to curate your own NZIFF experience and save while doing it.

Multipasses are available now for Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.

In Auckland and Wellington, all 10-Trip multipasses come with earlybird access. This means you get exclusive entry to our ticket pre-sale before general sales open - and the best chance of snapping up tickets to our popular sessions that sell out fast.

Ready to cut to the chase? Shop now!

Whether you're planning a few highlights or a full festival immersion, there’s a multipass to suit your schedule and your budget:

Auckland:
10-Trip - $195 - Save up to $65 / Best Value
5-Trip - $110 - Save up to $20
Student 5-Trip - $95 - Save up to $15

Wellington:
10-Trip - $185 - Save up to $45 / Best Value
5-Trip - $99 - Save up to $16
Student 5-Trip - $85 - Save up to $10

Christchuch:
5-Trip $85 - Save up to $25
Student 5-Trip $80 - Save up to $10

Dunedin:
5-Trip $85 - Save up to $25
Student 5-Trip $80 - Save up to $15

In Auckland and Wellington,

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The home of blood-soaked slashers and surrealist nightmares, a place for all things crazed, kooky, cooked and crooked, our Nocturnal strand always creates a buzz!

New to this year’s Nocturnal agenda, the long-awaited Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, a sure-to-be cult classic that has horror fans hyped. 

American director Jane Schoenbrun's latest flick opened the prestigious Un Certain Regard section at this year's Cannes Film Festival, and went on to win the coveted Queer Palm.

A surreal meta-slasher that blends horror, romance and film-industry satire, the film stars Hannah Einbinder as a young filmmaker tasked with reviving the Camp Miasma franchise, and Gillian Annderson as the reclusive actress who played the ‘final girl’ in the original movie. Along the way, expect blood splatters galore, teenage horniness, and a killer wearing a ceiling vent mask. 

Also joining the Nocturnal strand, The Good Boy tells the twisted tale of an obnoxious teen who’s taught some unconventional lessons, Alpha is a pandemic dystopia from celebrated French body horror maestro Julia Ducournau, and Sydney’s neon-soaked queer underworld comes to light in Aussie crime thriller, Body Blow. 

Also on the list so far, Indonesian horror-comedy Ghost in the Cell turns a prison block

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Fresh from a wildly successful run at Sundance, Big Girls Don’t Cry will have its NZ premiere as the Opening Night film at this year’s New Zealand International Film Festival, kicking off on 29 July. 

The debut feature from Auckland-based director Paloma Schneideman, Big Girls Don’t Cry is a tender coming-of-age portrait of girlhood, set in early 2000s Matakana.

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in the World Dramatic Competition earlier this year, before joining other major global festivals including SXSW, BFI: Flare London and TIFF: New Wave. Along the way, it garnered rave reviews, with The Hollywood Reporter saying Big Girls Don’t Cry “pulses with a powerful sense of place and terrifically charged scenes of chaotic intimacy, its exceptional performances led by [Ani] Palmer, Rain Spencer and Noah Taylor.”

The film follows 14-year-old Sidney ‘Sid’ Bookman (Ani Palmer) as she’s caught between childhood and adolescence, navigating burgeoning sexual curiosity, and grappling with a desperate need for acceptance and all the clumsiness of growing up. Playing out in the era of dial-up internet and reality tv, the film weaves together themes of queer adolescence, class shame and identity, at a moment when the wider world

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Horror, heartbreak, history and a healthy dose of the utterly unhinged… the first films to join this year’s Whānau Mārama New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF) lineup have all that and more.

The 12 features include a backstage French farce (Comédie-Française), a comedy-drama that pokes a gentle stick at family complexities (Father Mother Sister Brother), and a jazz icon’s comeback from tragedy (Everybody Digs Bill Evans). A jailhouse splatter horror (Ghost in the Cell) and a cosmic conception (Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant) also join the eclectic movie mix, as well as a sizzling romance in southern Spain (Iván & Hadoum), a haunting queer indie classic re-mastered in 4K (Mysterious Skin), and a powerful documentary portrait of Lebanon (Do You Love Me).

"We are excited to share this first batch of titles from NZIFF 2026,” says Artistic Director Paolo Bertolin. “They reflect the diverse, free and adventurous nature of a line up that promises to be high on cinematic quality but also on emotional impact, fun and topicality.
We can't wait to share more titles and really look forward to the moment our audiences will discover them on the big screen."

First film announcements by strand:

Māhutonga: The place for storytellers from

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