Tenth year of New Zealand Film Festival at NPDC’s Len Lye Cinema largest yet

Movie lovers will be spoilt for choice with 35 films about to hit the screen at NPDC’s Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/ Len Lye Centre for the tenth Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF) from21 August to 7 September.

To be shown in the Len Lye Cinema, the lineup is the largest selection of films for the festival, with New Plymouth on of 10 regional venues to host the event this year.

“This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Len Lye Cinema’s collaboration with the festival, and it is fitting we are the sole hosts in Taranaki this year and are presenting the largest number of films,” says Govett-Brewster/Len Lye Centre’s Cinema and AV Technician Alastair Ross.

Among the festival lineup are films by an Academy Award winning director, a Best International Feature Academy Award nominee, a widely acclaimed teen-vampire horror-comedy, an immersive journey into the work of a music legend, and an Iranian meditation on love, loss and loneliness.

There is also a portrait of a ground-breaking CNN camerawoman from Te Tairāwhiti.  Films include:

•  The Haka Party Incident (23 August), directed by Taranaki’s Katie Wolfe. This thought-provoking documentary dives into a largely forgotten event in Aotearoa’s history where in 1979, a group of young Māori and Pasifika activists sought to stop Pākehā students at the University of Auckland performing a parody of haka each capping week. Featuring a special Q&A with Katie Wolfe herself.

• The Outrun (29 and 31 August), an award-winning and moving portrait of addiction recovery in the majestic Orkney Islands of Scotland, by United Kingdom/German director Nora Fingscheidt.
• I Saw the TV Glow, (24 and 28 August) a USA directed film by Jane Schoenbrun displaying gunge, goons, and girls with unbreakable psychic bonds.

“We are so delighted to be part of a collective of regional cinemas who managed to secure the festival for cinema goers outside of the main centres, says Alastair

“We could not have done that without the support of the wonderful New Plymouth Film Society, Toi Foundation and the support of Govett-Brewster Art Gallery.”

Opening night is sold out, so get in quick for the remainder of the festival film schedule. More information and tickets available on the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery Len Lye Centre’s website.

Fast Facts

• The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery opened in 1970, funded by a bequest from local woman Monica Brewster (nee Govett).
• Around 85,000 people visit the Gallery each year.
• The Len Lye Centre opened as part of the Govett-Brewster in July 2015, creating a global home for the life and work of acclaimed New Zealand-born artist Len Lye (1901-1980)
• The Gallery presents a regularly changing programme of contemporary art exhibitions, events and conversations.
• Regular education and learning programmes are offered to visitors of all ages.
• It also runs an art and design store, independent cinema, and publishes a range of art books.

Caption:  The Haka Party Incident, directed by Aotearoa’s Katie Wolfe, is among the line up at this year’s Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF).