‘In The Shade’ Film Festival Persists Under ‘Red’

After a packed five days of Auckland’s newest festival, IN THE SHADE prepares to continue during this challenging time for the arts, hospitality and events industries

Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland, Monday 23rd January – Following the government’s announcement that all of New Zealand will from today be under ‘red’, the IN THE SHADE film festival in Auckland has realigned its plans and will continue to operate.

Under ‘red’, tickets to the award winning and critically acclaimed films on display are limited to 100 per session, with social distancing in place. This will mean the festival will have a vastly different look for its remaining twelve days, than the filled to the brim cinemas and heaving Garden Bar that characterised its opening. With the Hollywood Avondale across two levels and the Academy Cinemas with ample space, the festival is confident that they can safely proceed within Covid-19 Protection Framework guidelines.

“This is an incredibly trying time for events across the country and we are particularly commiserating with our friends across the arts sector after yesterday’s announcement” said Dos Ojos, the collective behind the festival. “The positive response to the festival so far has been overwhelming; and as we enter a different reality, we want to ensure all our attendees know that we’ll be doing everything to ensure it continues to feel like a welcoming but also safe environment for all that attend.”

For those films where more than 100 seats were sold, IN THE SHADE is operating on a first in, first served basis. The first 100 who bought tickets can still attend that session, while the remaining have been rescheduled, pushing the schedule by a day with the festival now concluding on 3rd February.

The 50 plus films in the line-up includes those unable to screen during the 100+ day Auckland lockdown and subsequent NZIFF cancellation, New Zealand premieres of awards buzz fodder and some handpicked gems.

Full list below

Upcoming sessions include films shortlisted for International Feature Film at the Academy Awards, FLEE (Denmark), LAMB (Iceland), A HERO (Iran) and DRIVE MY CAR (Japan). IN THE SHADE will still have the New Zealand premiere of C’MON C’MON —a deeply moving story about the connections between adults and children, the past and the future, from writer-director Mike Mills (20th Century Women, The Beginners).

New Zealand’s own Cliff Curtis is in MURINA, a film from Croatia which was backed by Martin Scorsese and debuted at Cannes where it won the Caméra d’Or, an award for best feature debut film.

At a time when people are watching more documentaries than ever before, IN THE SHADE is bringing the goods with films that include WRITING WITH FIRE, a film about India's only newspaper run by Dalit women, oft discriminated against under India’s caste system; ‘TIL KINGDOM COME, which delves deep into the Evangelical Christian communities in America and their relationship to Israel; TED K, follows a short period in the life of one of the United States’ most complex and eccentric killers, Ted Kaczynski, known by the world as the Unabomber; THE REASON I JUMP, based on the bestselling book by 13 year old, non-verbal Naoki Higashida - an immersive film exploring the experiences of non-speaking autistic people from around the world; and PRESIDENT, set against the aftermath of the Robert Mugabe regime, it gives stunningly close access to the subsequent battle for democracy in Zimbabwe.

IN THE SHADE celebrates Indigenous cinema, through our very own PATU!, a restoration of Merata Mita’s seminal documentary on the 1981 Springbok tour; WILD INDIAN, a phenomenal debut feature from Native American filmmaker Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr. and ABLAZE, where opera singer Tiriki Onus finds a silent film made by his grandfather, Aboriginal leader Bill Onus, setting himself on a journey of self-discovery.

Those mourning the Auckland Pride cancellation are covered with New Zealand’s own FIONA CLARK: UNAFRAID focussing on iconic photographer Fiona Clark who documented the city’s burgeoning queer scene; BENEDETTA, based on a true story about lesbian nuns and FLEE, about a former refugee on the brink of marriage to his husband and having to confront a past he has never uttered a word out loud about.

Punters who enjoy a tense and wild ride are encouraged to check out Taiwanese set horror film THE SADNESS, and psychological horror CENSOR, Executive Produced by local filmmaker Ant Timpson.

Another strong theme running throughout the festival are films set against the worldwide displacement crisis, including the aforementioned FLEE; comedic BAFTA nominated LIMBO about a Syrian refugee stuck on a remote Scottish island; SUN CHILDREN, a stunning portrait of a group of children and the documentary NOTTURNO which documents three years on the borders between Iraq, Kurdistan, Syria, and Lebanon, capturing everyday life in the aftermath of tyranny, invasions and terrorism.

Tickets can be bought at www.intheshade.co.nz

A-Z FULL FILM LINE UP

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