One of my favourite things is watching a film at the Civic and hearing the voices start up around me as the lights go up – a feeling of community gathered under the Civic’s ceiling stars. For me, the best films are the ones that make you feel and show stories you may never know otherwise. Here are some films from all around the world, from China to Poland to Paraguay – hope at least one of them leave you going, ‘whoa.’
Films — by Collection
- Letterboxd
- Newshub: The 12 Most Exciting Films at NZIFF
- Staff Picks: Alice Vilardel
- Staff Picks: Ant Timpson
- Staff Picks: Bex Shannon
- Staff Picks: Bill Gosden
- Staff Picks: Camila Araos-Elevancini
- Staff Picks: Ina Kinski
- Staff Picks: Jane Simons
- Staff Picks: Jean Teng
- Staff Picks: Kailey Carruthers
- Staff Picks: Karen Cartwright
- Staff Picks: Liam Reid
- Staff Picks: Matt Wilshere
- Staff Picks: Megan Andrews
- Staff Picks: Michael McDonnell
- Staff Picks: Nick Paris
- Staff Picks: Rebecca McMillan
- Staff Picks: Sally Woodfield
- Staff Picks: Sandra Reid
- Staff Picks: Sharon Byrne
- Staff Picks: Tim Wong
- Staff Picks: Zoe Pattinson Fan
- Wellington Film Society
Staff Picks: Jean Teng
Happy As Lazzaro
Lazzaro felice
Direct from Cannes where it shared the Best Screenplay award for its amazingly inventive script, Alice Rohrwacher’s seductive rural fable applies fairy-tale logic to explore the troubled soul of Italy.
Little Woods
Tessa Thompson (Thor: Ragnarok) and Lily James are terrific as adoptive sisters running pharmaceuticals across the border to keep their heads above water in this gripping backwoods thriller from writer/director Nia DaCosta.
Shoplifters
Manbiki kazoku
This year’s surprise Cannes Palme d’Or winner is one of Japanese director Kore-eda Hirokazu’s finest films, about a loving, unconventional family making ends meet on the margins of Tokyo.
Cold War
Zimna wojna
Winner of the Cannes Best Director award, Paweł Pawlikowski (Ida) has crafted a brilliant, kaleidoscopic vision of 1950s Europe, bursting with music, dance and the turbulent love of two musicians caught between East and West.
The Heiresses
Las herederas
Financial crisis proves to be the crack that lets the light into the lives of a high-living lesbian couple, together for 30 years, in this superb first film from Paraguay. Winner, Best Actress Award, Berlin Film Festival.
New Zealand’s Best 2018
Check out the year’s best New Zealand short films as chosen by this year’s guest selector Leon Narbey, from a shortlist drawn up by NZIFF programmers from a total of 84 entries.