New Zealand International Film Festival Announces International Filmmaker Events

“After the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, NZIFF is thrilled to have filmmakers from across the world with us again in person in Tāmaki Makaurau and Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara. Q+A sessions, masterclasses, discussions and panels are a great opportunity to gain a deeper insight into films and enrich your cinema experience,” says General Manager Sally Woodfield.

Elegance Bratton (The Inspection) joins us from the US and Christoffer Guldbrandsen (A Storm Foretold) from Denmark to participate in Q+A discussions following their films in both Auckland and Wellington. Celine Song (Past Lives) will take part in Q+A screenings in Auckland.

In both Auckland and Wellington, indigenous Taiwanese filmmaker Laha Mebow will be in attendance for Q+A screenings of her award-winning feature GAGA, and Cannes Un Certain Regard Award winning How to Have Sex director Molly Manning Walker will join us from the UK.

From Australia, Soda Jerk (Hello Dankness) discuss their films at Q&As following screenings in Auckland and Wellington, and will lead an informal conversation into their body of work and approach to experimental art and cinema.

NZIFF, DEGANZ and Creative New Zealand also present Masterclasses with Rolf de Heer taking filmmakers inside his craft and uncovering his filmmaking process from project to project. This will take place on Saturday 5 August in Auckland and Tuesday 8 August in Wellington in addition to the Q+A sessions following screenings of The Survival of Kindness. For more information and to purchase tickets head to nziff.co.nz/connect.

NZIFF is also excited to announce a programme of enriching panel discussions taking place throughout the Auckland and Wellington festivals.

Sorcery – Curator Tour and Discussion is a tour of the exhibition She Could Lie On Her Back and Sink at Gus Fisher Gallery in Auckland, exploring contemporary artistic responses to witchcraft, followed by a discussion on sorcery, witchcraft and the figure of the witch in contemporary culture. Gus Fisher Gallery curator Lisa Beauchamp will lead the tour, with panellists also discussing NZIFF film Sorcery.

The Female Gaze in Film panel discussion, presented in association with WIFT, will take place after a screening of Nina Menkes' documentary Brainwashed: Camera-Sex-Power in Auckland and Wellington.

Born and Raised: Filmmakers of the Asian Diaspora panel discussion, presented in association with Pan Asian Screen Collective, features Past Lives filmmaker Celine Song and local filmmakers Nahyeon Lee and Michelle Ang and will be moderated by NZIFF Asian and LGBTQ+ Films Programmer Vicci Ho. This will take place in Auckland only following the Thursday 3 August screening of Past Lives.

The Subject in Documentary panel takes place in Auckland and Wellington following the screening of Subject. The Auckland panel will feature Pietra Brettkelly, Annie Goldson, and Hepi Mita.

Panel discussions are free. For dates and details visit nziff.co.nz/engage.

Local filmmakers participating in Q+A screenings include Alice Englert (Bad Behaviour), Tom Sainsbury (Loop Track), Gaylene Preston (Bread and Roses), John Chrisstoffels (Building Bridges: Bill Youren’s Vision of Peace), Gwen Isaac (Ms. Information), Cushla Dillon and Andrew Moore (King Loser), Annie Goldson (Red Mole: A Romance), Matthew Metcalfe (Billion Dollar Heist), Michael Duignan (The Paragon), Robin Greenberg (Grant Sheehan: Light, Ghosts & Dreams), Rebecca Tansley (The Strangest of Angels) and Tiki Taane (Tiki Taane in Session with the CSO), as well as short filmmakers selected for New Zealand’s Best Shorts 2023, Ngā Whanaunga Māori Pasifika Shorts 2023 and Shorts Before Features.

NZIFF 2023 opens in Auckland today, Wednesday 19 July, followed by Wellington on Thursday 27 July, and Dunedin and Christchurch on 3 and 10 August respectively. The remaining centres will follow with the festival closing on Sunday 10 September.

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