As we prepare to undertake the scheduling of NZIFF 2018, we take a moment to celebrate our homegrown filmmakers by adding a further three films to our Early Announcements.

New Zealand stories are represented on screen with the world premiere tribute to pioneering Māori female filmmaker Merata Mita, through to personal journeys of troubled upbringings that include frank conversations about sexual abuse, and suicide.

NZIFF has worked long and hard to provide this platform for striking work made within our own shores and we salute the filmmakers and their commitment to putting New Zealand and New Zealanders on screen.

World premiere: Angie

Director: Costa Botes

Angie Meiklejohn, prominent and articulate Centrepoint survivor, is joined by her siblings in this lucid exploration of the legacy of sexual abuse, directed without a hint of sensationalism by Costa Botes. 

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World premiere: Māui’s Hook

Director: Paora Joseph 

The new film by Māori psychologist and filmmaker Paora Joseph (Tātarakihi: Children of Parihaka) invites open discussion of suicide through the brave testimony of five grieving families travelling to Cape Reinga.

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World premiere: Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen

Director: Heperi Mita 

Merata Mita, pioneering Māori filmmaker and international champion of women in indigenous film, is celebrated by her youngest son, archivist Heperi Mita, collaborating with his siblings to deliver a richly personal portrait.

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Two films with a New Zealand connection have already been announced for NZIFF 2018: Director Pietra Brettkelly’s Yellow is Forbidden, and Leave No Trace starring NZ actress Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie.

New Zealand films at NZIFF are proudly supported by Resene.