Cinematically the country of New Zealand has appeared as a faraway green jewel, since Peter Jackson and other filmmakers captured it in all its beauty and almost fantastical nature. Emerald sweeping landscapes mixed with mountains drizzled with white peaks and cool human beings with a cute accent — that’s always been NZ to me. I know “exotic” isn’t a p.c. word these days but I always equated NZ with it. It’s as far away from the rest of the world as you can get, and appears like a complete and utter heaven.

Now, in this crisis-filled world where every day brings headlines that go from bad to worse, NZ has become a haven too, a place where the virus seems to be kept at strict bay and “three new cases of infection” makes the news.

Going forward, if we’re going to learn anything about these pandemics and how to handle them, it’s going to come from New Zealand. And in the film festival world, if we’re going to find a way to move forward, it will also come from this hybrid edition of the New Zealand International Film Festival, under the direction of Marten Rabarts. This time around the festival will offer online viewing as well as physical screenings of films in the lineup, all around the country.

The festival kicks off with its opening film ‘True History of the Kelly Gang’ by Justin Kurzel, described as a “dazzling postmodern version of the outlaw legend,” while the closing night film will be ‘The County’ by Icelandic filmmaker Grímur Hákonarson.

There are titles from NZ, like the beautiful, poignant ‘The Girl on the Bridge’ directed by Leanne Pooley, and ‘LOIMATA, the Sweetest Tears’ by Anna Marbrook, both world premiering at NZIFF and also 14 curated collections that range from “Aotearoa” — the Maori name for the country itself, which, if literally translated becomes “long, white cloud” — to “Becoming”, and “Belonging” but also “Radical Empathy” and “Political States”.

About the profound effect of having the festival now, director Rabarts admitted “delivering my first festival to the whole country wherever there’s a broadband connection is personally exciting; I grew up in a rural village an hours’ drive from the nearest cinema so knowing  there’ll be kids  having an entire film festival roll out in their village or on their farm makes me pretty happy... and then at the same time being able to see our local film teams with sold out houses for their world premiers also in cinemas across the country makes the wild ride of the past 6 months worth it.”

And since the program is so perfectly put together I also asked Rabarts to address that, which he did by pointing out that “films which resonate for me are somehow in a conversation with each other; a conversation started by the writers and directors who made them who are in turn responding to the times and their personal circumstances. None of us could have predicted the impact of COVID 19 when these films were in development or production but many of the issues they grapple with or questions they pose about ourselves or society  have been spotlit or amplified by the pandemic. If they speak to our times that’s what I’d hope for.. and our fantastic team of programmers and curators was surely listening.”

Personally, I found the program inspirational and, as Rabarts hinted above, a lot of the titles provided a welcomed roadmap into navigating this brave, brand new world of ours. See below for my list and remember, the NZIFF runs from 24th July to the 2nd of August, 2020 — both online and featuring physical screenings all around New Zealand. Find all info here.

THE GIRL ON THE BRIDGE by Leanne Pooley, NZ, documentary, world premiere.

Suicide rates are bound to go up in the wake of the pandemic. Our collective depression has grown and even the recent scenes of midnight parties on the streets of Florida are a way to grieve, “sloppy, like we humans often are” as a friend pointed out when I complained about them. In her documentary, Leanne Pooley features suicide prevention activist (and suicide survivor) Jazz Thornton as she prepares to film a web series about her friend Jess who recently took her own life. The lessons learned in the film are enormous and the vulnerable self assurance of its protagonist Jazz are an inspiration for any of us who are struggling with adapting to this world. Our anxiety may get the better of us at times but there is always a silver lining to look forward to — that’s what the film teaches so well and without preaching. Not to mention that Jazz’s courage and determination to not just survive but fight for our lives definitely feels like a mantra we could live by these days.

YOU WILL DIE AT TWENTY by Amjad Abu Alala, Sudan, narrative.

When I first watched this film in Venice, I knew I was watching a little miracle. ‘You Will Die at Twenty’ is a perfectly made and beautifully told story from Sudanese filmmaker Amjad Abu Alala and it also provides a roadmap for navigating our current world. If you haven’t understood it already, I have been viewing films in a very different way these days, considering what we are collectively going through. I need the story, the theme or the subject to relate to our current situation or the meaning is lost. With this wondrous work on miracles and self fulfilled prophecies, I started to understand that sometimes if we concentrate on the negative, that’s exactly what we’ll end up getting…

THE PERFECT CANDIDATE by Haifaa Al-Mansour, Saudi Arabia, narrative.

Well, I love Haifaa Al-Mansour. Simply adore her and her life-changing brand of filmmaking. I’ve written about it extensively and this time around, with the story of a woman doctor who decides to run for a city council position in order to get the road in front of the clinic where she works fixed, she hits the jackpot. The acting is divine, the characters featured are the kind you wish to sit down and have a conversation with — something that is important for me in cinema, I need to find possible friends within the protagonists — and watching Saudi Arabia on the big screen is always a wonder!

1982 by Oualid Mouaness, Lebanon, narrative.

What does war look like from the point of view of a child? Does it affect them as much as it affects adults or does it become almost a game, something that sparks their imagination further and creates more insightful human beings? If we look at the unstoppable creativity of both the Lebanese and Palestinian people who have known conflicts almost their entire existence, we realize that infamous ‘The Third Man’ quote “In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, and they had 500 years of democracy and peace. And what did that produce? The cuckoo clock,” applies. Struggle breeds creation somehow.

‘1982’ is beautiful, poetic, told in the perfect way, featuring a child experiencing first love and, on top of that, utterly entertaining. And that’s why it’s on my list. Forever.

MARTIN MARGIELA: IN HIS OWN WORDS by Reiner Holzemer, Germany/Belgium, documentary.

Fashion documentaries on personalities like Martin Margiela should be a must-watch for anyone who believes in the creative process as a means to explain the world at large. This fashion documentary, by German filmmaker Reiner Holzemer (also responsible for the film ‘Dries’ on another Belgian figure essential to fashion) is essential viewing for anyone struggling to survive in this new pandemic world. As a central figure to the fashion world throughout the 90’s and early 2000’s, Margiela realized at the height of his popularity and during one critical moment — as the internet had started to take over in dictating how collections are viewed — that he had nothing more to say to his customers. It’s fascinating to watch a man whose face has never been revealed, even in this film, now — in the age of everyone and anyone wanting to be a public figure. His privateness is perhaps the key to his genius. Because when he decided to step down, he did so and was never heard from again. 

Festival director Rabarts worded it best when he said Margiela “believes in the collective process — he rejects fashion actually.” The Belgian designer also taught us a lesson in the film, and through his life and work. That lesson, poignant for the times we find ourselves in today, and again quoting Rabarts’ wise words: “Giving up.” If we give up, stop struggling to work against the currents, we can find ourselves lifted by the waves and maybe therein lies our happiest time. 

Check out the festival website for all titles, screenings and more info.