Festival Programme

Films by Venue

The Lido

2000 Meters to Andriivka

2000 metriv do Andriyivky

Mstyslav Chernov

Oscar-winning war chronicler Mstyslav Chernov embeds with a Ukrainian unit in their last-ditch effort to reclaim a village, in a nerve-shredding reckoning with the Russian invasion’s relentless toll.

Baby

Marcelo Caetano

A young, released offender struggles to regain his bearings in São Paulo, forging a tumultuous partnership in love and business with an older sex worker, in Marcelo Caetano’s raw, vital drama.

The Ballad of Wallis Island

James Griffiths

What would you do if you won the lottery? Charles answers the age-old question by inviting his favourite former folk duo to his remote island, where the estranged band members prove that some flames never die...

Cactus Pears

Sabar bonda

Rohan Parashuram Kanawade

Under the starry sky, two childhood friends realize that they want to share their future together. From the ashes of a funeral pyre, this debut feature from India resurrects an unspoken love with delicate and sensuous images.

Cutting Through Rocks

Ozak ulalar

Sara Khaki, Mohammadreza Eyni

Sara Shahverdi’s unique position as a councilwoman in rural Iran invites the audience to share her triumphs and setbacks as she uplifts young women and ruffles conservative feathers by advocating for gender equality.

Deaf

Sorda

Eva Libertad

A woman navigates the experience of motherhood as a deaf person in a hearing world in Eva Libertad’s crowd-pleasing, feel-good drama which collected the Panaroma Audience Award at Berlin this year.

DJ Ahmet

Georgi M. Unkovski

Ahmet stumbles upon a forest rave at the edge of his local village, where he finds the escape he’s been desperately seeking in Georgi M. Unkovski’s loveable debut, the first ever Macedonian film to be awarded at Sundance.

Dreams (Sex Love)

Drømmer

Dag Johan Haugerud

A teenage girl recounts her crush for her teacher through the pages of a memoir. The winner of the Golden Bear 2025 is a lucid and tender chronicle of the unforgettable experience of first love.

Enzo

Laurent Cantet, Robin Campillo

A woozy summer of youthful aimlessness morphs into a complex infatuation as a rebellious bourgeois French teen falls for an older Ukrainian bricklayer in this sun-drenched coming of age tale.

Familiar Touch

Sarah Friedland

Sarah Friedland’s award-winning debut is a dignified portrayal of a woman coping with Alzheimer's disease. A mesmerizing central performance by Kathleen Chalfant anchors a film replete with delicacy.

Happy Holidays

Yanead ealiku

Scandar Copti

This incisive drama, from Academy Award nominee Scandar Copti, envelops us into the chaotically intertwined lives of a family navigating the unique challenge of being Palestinians living in Israel.

Happyend

Neo Sora

Coolly compelling and disturbingly plausible, Neo Sora's debut feature is a dystopian teen drama where surveillance, friendship, and political truth collide in near-future Tokyo.

Harvest

Athina Rachel Tsangari

Greek arthouse original Athina Rachel Tsangari turns her hand to phantasmagoric folkloric unease, in an unusual vision of a village in pre-industrial Britain that is set to tear itself apart.

Homebound

Neeraj Ghaywan

Class, religion, and gender intersect in Neeraj Ghaywan’s personal approach to life in Northern India. A life-long friendship is put to the test when a shared dream leads two best friends in different directions.

Hysteria

Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay

A film shoot sparks fear and anger when a holy book is desecrated in the name of art in this intense German thriller, fanning the flames of contemporary conflict into a taut and tangly blaze.

It Was Just an Accident

Yek tasadef sadeh

Jafar Panahi

A masterpiece of cinematic invention and political bravery, Jafar Panahi’s rousing new film deservedly won the Cannes Palme d’Or and opens NZIFF 2025 on a powerful and inspiring note.

Jim's Story

Le roman de Jim

Arnaud Larrieu, Jean-Marie Larrieu

When Jim's biological father comes back into the picture after years of being absent, a family questions the true meaning of the word, father. A heartwarming story set against the backdrop of rural France.

Late Shift

Heldin

Petra Volpe

Plunging through the corridors of a surgical ward, this frantic Swiss drama charts the pulse-racing worklife of an overstretched, underappreciated nursing professional.

A Little Something Extra

Un p'tit truc n plus

Artus

This wacky and heartfelt comedy, from popular French standup Artus, follows two criminals on the lam who lay low at a summer camp for young adults with disabilities. A runaway hit at the French box office last year.

Love

Kjærlighet

Dag Johan Haugerud

What is love? Through the stories of a straight woman and a gay man, Haugerud defies conventions with humor and compassion, in an eloquent and moving masterwork on human relations in the 21st century.

Magic Farm

Amalia Ulman

A clueless US film crew stranded in rural Argentina desperately search for a story in Amalia Ulman’s savvy culture-clash comedy that offers biting satire, off-kilter cinematography and a wigged-out soundtrack.

Mirrors No. 3

Miroirs No. 3

Christian Petzold

In the wake of a traumatic incident, a young woman forms a surrogate mother-daughter relationship with her rescuer. As emotional walls come down, doubts arise: is there more to the care offered than simple kindness?

One to One: John & Yoko

Kevin Macdonald, Sam Rice-Edwards

This immersive portrait of the time John and Yoko spent living in Greenwich Village is a vivid time capsule of America in the early 70s. A time of extreme political polarisation which may seem uncannily familiar.

Peacock

Pfau - Bin ich echt?

Bernhard Wenger

Mattias spends his days pretending to be someone else, offering companionship to strangers in need. Bernhard Wenger’s unsettling drama quietly dissects loneliness, identity and the cost of always performing.

Plainclothes

Carmen Emmi

In 90s New York, a young police officer must entrap and arrest gay men whose only “crime” is their sexuality, but when he falls for one of his targets the rookie risks losing his career and family in pursuit of love.

A Poet 

Un poeta 

Simón Mesa Soto

A once-celebrated writer chases relevance through petty schemes, fading commissions and awkward self-promotion. Simón Mesa Soto’s character study is biting, funny and deeply attuned to the sadness of creative decline.

Predators

David Osit

This gripping Sundance documentary re-examines the rise and fall of mid-00s hidden camera show To Catch a Predator in a damning investigation into the murky ethics of true crime entertainment.

Promised Sky

Promis le ciel

Erige Sehiri

Three Ivorian women from different generations vie for a better life in an indifferent in Tunisia in Erige Sehiri’s subtle, beautiful and bracing docudrama anchored by her signature naturalism and compassion.

Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk

Sepideh Farsi

As a Gaza native, photojournalist Fatma Hassona documents aspects of the war in Palestine that foreign journalists cannot access. Her tenacious Palestinian voice will not be silenced in this poignant documentary.

Riefenstahl

Andres Veiel

With unfettered access to Leni Reifenstahl’s personal archive, documentarian Andres Veiel delivers an extraordinarily discerning portrait of the infamous filmmaker that allows audiences to draw their own conclusions.

Sex

Dag Johan Haugerud

Returning from last year’s Festival to screen alongside the rest of his Sex Dreams Love trilogy, Dag Johan Haugerud’s comic drama takes a candid and refreshing look at modern gender roles.

Simon of the Mountain

Simón de la montaña

Federico Luis

Simon doesn't feel as though he belongs anywhere, yet he somehow fits in with a group of voracious, mentally disabled teenagers. This intensely felt debut explores the lengths Simon will go to find his place in the world.

The Teacher Who Promised the Sea

El maestro que prometió el mar

Patricia Font

A progressive teacher brings new methods to a village in Burgos on the eve of the Spanish Civil War, whilst in present day Catalonia a woman searches for answers as to the whereabouts of her great-grandfather’s remains.

TOITŪ Visual Sovereignty

Chelsea Winstanley

Unprecedented insight into the curation of the Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art exhibition reveals the struggle for Māori artistic sovereignty within the structures of Aotearoa New Zealand’s cultural institutions.

Two Prosecutors

Dva prokurora

Sergei Loznitsa

Fresh from Cannes acclaim comes a gripping, mordantly absurd and meticulous study of the inverted logic of state terror from master chronicler of tyranny Sergei Loznitsa.

What Marielle Knows

Was Marielle weiß

Frédéric Hambalek

Panic around a new digital Big Brother era underpins a clever, absurdist send-up of bourgeois hypocrisy, as a married couple are put on the spot by their daughter’s all-pervasive telepathy.

The Wolves Always Come at Night

Gabrielle Brady

A young Mongolian family loses their livelihoods following a natural disaster. This docufiction provides a confronting look at their lives and proves that climate change can affect even the world's most remote areas.

Young Mothers

Jeunes mères

Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne

The Dardenne brothers return with a deeply affecting drama exploring the lives of five teen mothers. Hopes and fears steer the young women towards bettering their lives for themselves and their children.