A documentary tribute to one of the nation’s best loved songwriters, charting Don McGlashan’s storied career from arty punk upstart to one of the strongest voices in the national identity of Aotearoa.
Festival Programme
Films — by Genre
- Action
- Actors and Theatre
- Animation
- Art
- Based on Books
- Cannes
- Comedy
- Coming of Age
- Documentary
- Education
- Environment
- Family Ties
- Fantasy
- Films about Films
- Historical
- Horror
- Human Rights
- LGBTQIA+
- Love Stories
- Music
- Māori/Pacific
- Politics
- Rural Life
- Sci-Fi
- Seniors
- Sex and Sexuality
- Style
- Thriller
- Travel
- War Zones
- Women Make Movies
- Writers
Women Make Movies

Deaf
Sorda
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.

GRACE A Prayer For Peace
A portrait of one of Aotearoa’s greatest living artists by one of our greatest documentary filmmakers. You should expect something special, and that’s what you get.

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

Lesbian Space Princess
Set in a gay-laxy far, far away this crowd pleasing and proudly queer Aussie adult animation delights with its vivid, candy-coloured palette, kinky sense of humour and catchy, upbeat musical numbers.

Life in One Chord
Punk renegade Shayne Carter (Straitjacket Fits, Dimmer) takes us on an iconoclastic tour through a career of highs and lows from suburban Dunedin to the heights of international fame and back again.

Mistress Dispeller
This thought-provoking documentary follows a “mistress dispeller” – a professional specialist in ending infidelity – and intimately interrogates marriage, loneliness and labour in contemporary China.

Ngā Whanaunga: Aotearoa New Zealand's Best 2025 Highlights
A highlight selection of the best short films from Ngā Whanaunga: Aotearoa New Zealand's Best 2025, including all award winners, will screen in the regions.

Not Only Fred Dagg
For over 40 years, the iconic John Clarke tickled the funny bones of Australian and New Zealand audiences. Now, in this intimately produced documentary, hear his story in his own words.

Prime Minister
The uncharted highs and crashing lows of Jacinda Ardern’s time at the helm of Aotearoa get their due in an intimate-access international documentary about state power and human vulnerability.
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Romería
One of the standouts of Cannes 2025, Carla Simón’s personal exploration of the restlessness of a young woman without parents is a poignant example of the healing power of cinema.

The Teacher Who Promised the Sea
El maestro que prometió el mar
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.

War Stories Our Mothers Never Told Us
Seven women reflect on the emotional cataclysm of World War II in Dame Gaylene Preston’s landmark contribution to the collective memory of Aotearoa, which has lost none of its raw power on its 30th anniversary.