Our annual special and short film collections, as curated by Nic Marshall (Square Eyes), Malcolm Turner (Animation NOW!), Ant Timpson (Incredibly Strange) and Festival programmers (Kiwi Shorts & Art Shorts).
In our Premieres strand, see also New Zealand’s Best, from Festival programmers and guest selector Tusi Tamasese, and Ngā Whanaunga Māori Pasifika Shorts, from curators Leo Koziol and Craig Fasi.
Collected from far and wide, we know this latest selection of short film delights from brilliant animated artists the world over is sure to charm and captivate our favourite little audience – and all those indie-animation admirers we know get just as big a kick out of these terrific films as their little pals do.
On your mark, get set, it’s time for a whole lot of animated brilliance from all corners of our big wide world. Join us for metaphysical musings and reflective moments, laugh-out-loud gags and a load of animal antics – it’s your annual wintery fix of animated inventiveness and imagination.
A celebratory showcase of some of the year’s best and brightest animated shorts. If you’re looking to sample the animation ecosystem in all its multi-coloured, variously-shaped glory, there’s no better place to begin.
From the sinking city of Venice to the disappearing islands of the Pacific and voyages in between, these four works from New Zealand and European artists share themes of loss and memory, letting the past inform the future.
This sweet and sour coming-of-age comedy smashed into Sundance with anarchy on its mind and a kickass soundtrack on its turntable. The bad boy-meets-good girl setup has been fodder for cinema for aeons, so it was about time someone took a chainsaw to the status quo.
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These bright young activists are the voices of their generation, fighting against extreme poverty, social inequalities and climate change. They are the children who will change the world.
A riveting animated tale of the fall of the Berlin Wall – and people brave enough to change the world – told through the eyes of a courageous 12-year-old girl.
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Miguel Llansó’s sophomore feature is a glorious cherry bomb of outsider psychotronica. Grandiose and enjoyably nutty, no recent film has managed to excite about the future of independent cinema as much as this joyous everything-and-the-kitchen-sink approach to the ultimate conspiracy flick.
Who would have thought one of the most oddly romantic films of recent years would be based on the true encounter of a woman and her love for nuts and bolts?
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Six delightful New Zealand shorts that epitomise the Kiwi lifestyle of 2020. Featuring lockdown narks and dorky dads; big monster crays and triple scoop ice creams; annoying brats and courageous stunts.
Unpacking one of the landmark films of the 1970s, William Friedkin talks big on the secrets and success of The Exorcist in this stellar cinematic essay, framed around an epic six-day interview with the maverick director.
A charming and sensitive all-ages drama that explores life’s lightness and gravity with uplifting emotional depth. Winner of a special mention from the Berlinale Generation KPlus’ adult jury, and the NYICFF Grand Prize Feature Film Award.
Another distinguished and mesmerising animation from celebrated filmmaker Jean-François Laguionie (The Painting, NZIFF12), with co-direction by Xavier Picard, The Prince’s Voyage is a unique and astute tale of friendship, tolerance and revelation.
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Those with a voracious appetite for fresh variations on the zombie genre will lap up this juicy Belgian horror comedy about a virus outbreak in a run-down hospital offering cheap cosmetic surgery to desperate clients.