2degrees Sponsorship Delivers World Films at NZIFF

The New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF) today announced 10 international films that will screen in the World Strand of the programme with the support of returning sponsor 2degrees.

World Strand films are selected throughout the year by NZIFF’s programmers. The 10 films announced today range from Irish comedy A Date for Mad Mary, Inuit drama Maliglutit (Searchers), French drama The Midwife, to Sofia Coppola’s US drama The Beguiled, direct from Cannes and starring Nicole Kidman.

“21 countries are represented in the largest section in the catalogue. France, the UK and the US are strong as always, but Catalan cinema has delivered one of the year’s unexpected gems in Summer 1993. Our selections always pays close attention to films lavished with praise or box office success from their countries of origin, as well as films that premiered at Cannes only four weeks ago,” says NZIFF Director Bill Gosden.

The World Strand at NZIFF is sponsored for the second year by 2degrees.

“2degrees is proud to be partnering again with the New Zealand International Film Festival. The sneak peek we’ve had at the line-up of World Strand titles has us once again excited about supporting international cinema across New Zealand at NZIFF.” says 2degrees Chief Marketing Officer Roy Ong.

The 10 films announced from the World Strand of the programme:

The Beguiled

Colin Farrell plays a wounded Civil War mercenary under the care of a commune of young women, led by Nicole Kidman, in Sofia Coppola’s beautiful feminist take on Don Siegel’s 1971 Southern Gothic psychodrama.

http://www.nziff.co.nz/2017/film/the-beguiled/

A Date for Mad Mary

Sent only a single invitation, dry, sarcastic, maddening Mary (marvellous Seána Kerslake) sets out to find a date for her best friend’s wedding in this barbed and funny Irish romcom.

http://www.nziff.co.nz/2017/film/a-date-for-mad-mary/

Ethel & Ernest

This animated adaptation of Raymond Briggs’ graphic memoir of his parents’ lives is both humble and profound, with gorgeous renderings of Briggs’ justly famous lines. Featuring the voices of Jim Broadbent and Brenda Blethyn.

http://www.nziff.co.nz/2017/film/ethel-ernest/

A Fantastic Woman

Rising Chilean director Sebastián Lelio (Gloria) celebrates the endurance of a woman under suspicion of murder in a film that heralds a stellar debut for transgender actress Daniela Vega.

http://www.nziff.co.nz/2017/film/a-fantastic-woman/

Frantz

This elegantly mounted drama explores regeneration in the aftermath of World War I through the complex relationship of a young German woman (Anna Beer) and a French soldier (Pierre Niney) brought together by shared loss.

http://www.nziff.co.nz/2017/film/frantz/

Maliglutit (Searchers)

Inuk filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk (Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner) returns with this Arctic epic about a vengeful husband who sets off in pursuit of the violent men who kidnapped his wife and destroyed his home.

http://www.nziff.co.nz/2017/film/maliglutit-searchers/

Maudie

Sally Hawkins delivers an unforgettable performance as Nova Scotian folk artist Maud Lewis, irrepressible despite arthritis and a churlish husband (Ethan Hawke), in this gently flowing biopic set in the 1930s.

http://www.nziff.co.nz/2017/film/maudie/

The Midwife

Catherine Frot stars as a conscientious midwife reluctantly reconnecting with Catherine Deneuve as the flamboyant step-mother who absconded 30 years earlier, in this lively drama from writer/director Martin Provost (Séraphine).

http://www.nziff.co.nz/2017/film/the-midwife/

The Party

“This sketch of an ambitious Westminster politician and dinner-party hostess (Kristin Scott Thomas), whose life comes spectacularly apart before the canapés are even served, is a consummate drawing-room divertissement, played with relish by a dream ensemble.” — Guy Lodge, Variety

http://www.nziff.co.nz/2017/film/the-party/

Summer 1993

Catalan director Carla Simón’s award-winning dramatisation of her own experience as a six-year-old orphan adjusting to a new life in the country features the most remarkable and mesmerising child performances in years.

http://www.nziff.co.nz/2017/film/summer-1993/

World Strand films at NZIFF are proudly supported by 2degrees. NZIFF is run by a charitable trust and encourages lively interactions between films, filmmakers and New Zealand audiences in 13 towns and cities around the country. The full NZIFF programme will be available online from Monday 26 June 7pm, and on the streets from Tuesday 27 June for Auckland and Friday 30 June for Wellington. NZIFF starts in Auckland on 20 July and in Wellington from 28 July in 2017.

Special events in Auckland, including Top of the Lake: China Girl and the Live Cinema performance of It with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, are on sale now from Ticketmaster.