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On Sunday 18 August, at the Closing Night of NZIFF 2024 in Auckland, the winners of the inaugural Fresh Competition and Frames Competitions were announced. These competition strands were created to draw attention to some of the best narrative feature and documentary debuts of the last 12 months.

The ten films in the Fresh Competition were judged by a jury comprising of Pulkit Anora (Filmmaker, New Zealand/India), Anu Rangachar (Producer and Programmer, India) and David White (Filmmaker, NZ).

The Main Award was awarded to Truong Minh Quy for his film Viet and Nam.

The jury said, "The Jury wishes to recognise Viet and Nam for its multi-layered ability to seamlessly merge political and personal narratives, while maintaining its stunning visual poetry and emotional depth."

A Special mention went to Mo Harawe for The Village Next to Paradise.

The jury said, "The jury wishes to recognise the film's ability to capture the grace and beauty of human resilience and its triumph of cinematic artistry against formidable odds."

The Audience Award was awarded to Oceans Are the Real Continents by Italian filmmaker Tommaso Santambrogio.

The eight films in the Frames Competitions were judged by a jury comprising of Donsaron Kovitvanitcha (Producer and

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Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival is pleased to announce the winners of New Zealand’s Best and Ngā Whanaunga Māori Pasifika Shorts awards for 2024.

The five finalists for New Zealand’s Best were selected by Guest Selector Gerard Johnstone and the six finalists for Ngā Whanaunga Māori Pasifika Shorts were selected by curators Leo Koziol (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Rakaipaaka) and Craig Fasi (Niue), as announced earlier this year.

The New Zealand’s Best 2024 jury awards were decided by the three-person jury of film producer Philippa Campbell, filmmaker Judah Finnigan and film critic Liam Maguren and were presented following the Auckland screening at ASB Waterfront Theatre, as part of the festival’s Aotearoa Film Focus Weekend on Sunday 18 August.

The New Zealand’s Best 2024 award winners are:

The NZIFF Patrons Award for Best Film and the $7500 cash prize: Director Vea Mafile’o for the film Lea Tupu’anga/Mother Tongue

The Auckland Live Spirit of The Civic Award and $4000 cash prize: Awanui Simich-Pene for the film First Horse.
A previous recipient of this prestigious award is director Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu, whose debut feature We Were Dangerous opened the festival this year.

The Creative New Zealand Emerging Talent Award and cash prize

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On Monday 12 August we were honoured to welcome Sir Peter Jackson to The Embassy Theatre in Wellington for a special 30th Anniversary Screening of Heavenly Creatures, marking the poignant culmination of another successful year for the New Zealand International Film Festival in the capital.

This special screening took us back to where where we first presented the World Premiere of Peter Jackson’s ground-breaking film in 1994. 

A concurrent screening took place at The Civic Theatre in Auckland, with another special guest in attendance — Production Designer, Grant Major.

Special thanks to Peter Jackson, Grant Major and all at Wingnut Films Productions for making this special double screening possible.

We are proud to be presenting a third screening of Heavenly Creatures at Lumière Cinemas in Christchurch on Monday 2 September. Tickets selling fast. 

Image credit: Josiah Wood 

We're delighted to announce Encore screenings for some of the most popular films in the Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland programme so far:

Monday 19 August
The Seed of the Sacred Fig 6.30pm (Hollywood Avondale)

Tuesday 20 August
No screenings

Wednesday 21 August
The Outrun 6.15pm  (Hollywood Avondale)
Never Look Away 8.45pm (Hollywood Avondale)

Thursday 22 August
Oceans Are the Real Continents 6.15pm  (Hollywood Avondale)
All We Imagine As Light 8.30pm (Hollywood Avondale)

Whānau Mārama New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF) is pleased to announce 86 feature films and 19 shorts in the 2024 line-up. We will open in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington on 31 July before touring nine other centres across the country until 4 September.

The 2024 programme includes 12 New Zealand films, plus a special 30th anniversary screening of Peter Jackson’s Heavenly Creatures.

NZIFF 2024 Artistic Director Paolo Bertolin says, “This year’s programme is a celebration of the diversity and plurality of contemporary cinema. Our audiences will enjoy films that move, thrill and keep them on the edge of their seats, while also having the opportunity to experience films that open conversations about the reality of the world today, asking necessary questions and probing into uncomfortable truths. Cinephiles will rejoice with the latest efforts from world-class masters and discoveries that signal new talents of tomorrow. 

“At the forefront of this rich mosaic is a contingent of productions from Aotearoa, showcasing a vibrant vitality equally present in features, documentaries and shorts. Jackson’s classic had its world premiere as the Opening Film of the 1994 festival, with then-Festival Director Bill Gosden hailing it as a ‘landmark in New Zealand cinema’. Soon after, it

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