Ao-terror-oa: Kiwi Filmmakers Bring You 6 Weeks of Horror

For every horror fan, there’s something deliciously fun about Halloween: it’s a chance to indulge in your favourite horror films and check out some potential new favourites. But November 1st hits, the costumes are put away and it’s all over, Rover.

This year, however, H2Ow Productions is being your ghoulish fairy godparent and bringing you an entire 6 weeks of horror to relish and enjoy. Starting October 27 New Zealand Time (October 26 Northern Hemisphere Time), H2Ow Productions brings you Ao-terror-oa, a new anthology of short horror films linked by one element – New Zealand culture. The shorts cover a wide range of subjects, from sunburn to rugby. They also range in tone from tense to outright gross, most of them containing the perverse sense of humour that Kiwis are famous for. In fact, the title Ao-terror-oa is a play on the Māori word for New Zealand, Aotearoa.

The series is the brainchild of Hweiling Ow, creator of numerous short horrors on YouTube and Facebook, who has recently received Film Commission funding for a round targeting women in horror. Her short film Vaspy, a twisted take on the iconic NZ Buzzy Bee toy, will be shooting in November. Ao-terror-oa was funded by NZ on Air and Google as part of the Skip Ahead Fund. The six shorts that make up the series are directed by Peter Haynes and Nick Burridge and co-produced by Johnathan Guest, Jocelyn Bunch and Monique Hoseason.

Screening alongside the shorts on the series’ YouTube channel will be two additional mini-series, ‘Hweiling Watches’, where producer Hweiling Ow (Who ironically doesn’t enjoy watching horror) hilariously reacts to watching horror while hooked up to a heart monitor, and ‘Body FX Basement of Horror’, where Jules and Yolanda from Body FX (an Auckland-based makeup company) give makeup tips in their own unique style.

The fun starts soon, so be prepared to be scared!

Ao-terror-oa and other H2Ow short horrors can be found at: www.youtube.com/h2ownz

More information can be found: at http://www.6weeksofhorror.com.

H2Ow Social Media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/h2ow.productions/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/H2OwProductions

NZIFF: Lady Macbeth

The New Zealand International Film Festival reaches its final Friday in Auckland (don’t worry, the fest itself is by no means done), and with it another chance to catch British period drama Lady Macbeth. Directed by William Oldroyd, and penned by Alice Birch (from Nikolai Leskov’s text), the little gem tells the story of a somewhat shackled young wife who has reached her wit’s end with her older, general bastard of a husband.

Sumptuously paced, filing the open frames with both melancholy and beauty, Lady Macbeth looks and feels a tale of repression, fine-tunely written and directed, with fine cinematography from Ari Wegner. Perhaps, or should I say most definitely, the top prize ought to go to its young star Florence Pugh, a commanding, bubbling at the surface performance, with a heavy sprinkle of bitter impulse and wit.

See the NZIFF website for scheduling.

NZIFF: The Love Witch

As the Auckland leg of the New Zealand International Film Festival nears its close, the magic continues with The Love Witch, a vivid, retro horror-drama – tongue firmly in cheek. Written and directed by Anna Biller, there’s a hefty 1960s vibe, paying homage to the technicolor horror flicks of that era of cinema.

Samantha Robinson is radiant as the title character, fitting the spell-maker’s shoes perfectly, and the actress seems to be having fun. As well as the through-line of sorcery and sauciness, The Love Witch channels the roles of women and the limited powers man have in such a female-strong story. Gorgeous, glowing costume and set design lands you in the 60s even though the film is set in the present day.

See the NZIFF website for scheduling.

NZIFF: Wellington Opening Weekend

So the second venue of the New Zealand International Film Festival is underway, and the uncompromising selection of films on offer at Wellington is mouth-watering. Kicking off yesterday (28th July New Zealand time zone) the venue holds festival films through to 13th August. Here are just some of the highlights screening this very weekend.

Citizen Jane: Battle for the City

Documentary telling the tale that gave planners and architects nightmares following the release of Jane Jacobs’s book The Death and Life of Great American Cities in 1960. Activist Jacobs was involved in several New York city feuds but also championed a plight of urban culture.

Manifesto SOLD OUT

So Cate Blanchett plays 13 different characters, and when we say different I mean vastly so. As if we did not know Blanchett was one of  the best of her generation of performers the Australian gets to sink her teeth into even more depths to entertain her audience.

Kobi

Another documentary worth your time, this time about Kobi Bosshard, “the grandfather of contemporary New Zealand jewellery”, intimately put together by his daughter Andrea Bosshard – who will also be present at the Q+A sessions after the screenings.

Ethel & Ernest SOLD OUT

Based on the book by Raymond Briggs, Ethel & Ernest is an animated movie directed by Roger Mainwood. Premiering at the London Film Festival last year, the poignant story follows the lifetime together of the title characters. You may well recognize the voices of Jim Broadbent and Brenda Blethyn.

Stalker

The 1979 Soviet sci-fi film from Andrei Tarkovsky is a philosophical, psychological journey The term in the film’s title was attributed to the Strugatsky brothers’ use in their novel Roadside Picnic and Rudyard Kipling’s Stalky & Co. tales.

Beatriz at Dinner

Salma Hayek impresses as Beatriz who walks unintentionally into some strife when a massage soon turns into an invitation to a dinner party where the death of a  goat becomes the topic of conversation. Released this year, Beatriz at Dinner also stars John Lithgow, Connie Britton, and Chloë Sevigny, to name but three.

The Lost City of Z

The Lost City of Z depicts the real events when British explorer Percy Fawcett traveled to Bolivia on numerous occasions to try and find an ancient lost city in the Amazon. Charlie Hunnam plays the lead in a film literally about the exploration and intrigue a man can experience if he has the determination to never give up on what he believes.

Call Me by Your Name SOLD OUT

Premiering at the Sundance Film Festival earlier in the year, Call Me by Your Name received high praise by critics. Directed and co-written by Luca Guadagnino, with James Ivory and Walter Fasano also scripting, the film is adapted from André Aciman’s novel. Timothée Chalamet, Armie Hammer, Michael Stuhlbarg and Amira Casar star.

Head on over to the Wellington section of the NZIFF website.

NZIFF: 20th Century Women

The New Zealand International Film Festival welcomes Mike MIlls’ latest movie 20th Century Women late today in Auckland. The American film from the director of Beginners is another bittersweet drama, this time set in the late 1970s Southern, and somewhat autobiographical. The screenplay by Mills was nominated for an Academy Award this year, following two Golden Globe nominations for the film.

The tale follows a mother who appears to be candid about the relationship she has with her young son – accepting at this stage in his life that she knows little about him. Other women in their life offer varied points of view and influences, and the movie follows a steady, heart-felt narrative, exploring the dynamics of these people conversing. A fine cast includes Annette Bening, Elle Fanning, and Greta Gerwig.

See the NZIFF website for scheduling.

NZIFF: A Date for Mad Mary

A bit of Irish spice lands in Auckland for the New Zealand International Film Festival with the quirky, but relevant, drama A Date for Mad Mary directed by Darren Thornton, adapted (with his brother Colin) from the Yasmine Akram play 10 Dates with Mad Mary – which he also directed. Seána Kerslake plays the title role, Mary, fresh from a stint in prison she returns to Drogheda – but finds adapting to her old friends rather tough-going.

Mary is a seemingly fearless young woman, unfiltered and foul-mouthed, perhaps disguising a longing for the more simple life. Kerslake is terrific in the lead role, full of spark and brutal wit. The screenplay, too, is genuinely funny, troubling, and somewhat touching, projecting a character so off the leash at times it is credit to the story-telling than we still want the best for her in the end.

See the NZIFF website for scheduling.

NZIFF: Una

Una, the new film with Rooney Mara and Ben Mendelsohn, has been talked about for months now, and arrives on the shores of the New Zealand International Film Festival. Touchy subject matter to say the least, Una delves into the personal past of a troubled young woman grown up to confront the man who succumbed to relations with her when she was a teenage girl 15 years prior. Based on David Harrower’s award-winning play Blackbird, the film is directed by Benedict Andrews.

A sexual assault drama at first taste, Una portrays the long aftermath and the psychological damage this has clearly caused with a confrontational realism. A grounded, reactionary story, focuses on the former lovers, he has changed his name, re-married, and thought he had left it behind him; Una has not forgotten, and as well as feeling anger and pain, she wants to make sense of it all as an adult. An honest, gritty take on an extremely sensitive and problematic subject.

See the NZIFF website for scheduling.

NZIFF: A Monster Calls

The audiences at the New Zealand International Film Festival may have their heart strings tugged a little more here as surprise crowd favorite A Monster Calls pays a visit. Directed by J. A. Bayona with a screenplay adapted from his own novel by by Patrick Ness, A Monster Calls is a dark, sentimental tale of young Conor and his terminally ill mother. The boy, deeply troubled, is called upon by a huge tree-slash-monster who has his own stories to tell.

A Monster Calls is likely not going to be what you think it is, with its themes going over a child’s head, but plenty of make-believe and childhood strife to keep young ones watching. A fine cast plays their part, with Sigourney Weaver and Felicity Jones proving their high worth, youngster Lewis MacDougall carries the film’s heavy reigns on his small back, while Liam Neeson lending his gruff voice to the monster is a perfect match..

NZIFF: Frantz

A gorgeous shade of gloom starts its run at the New Zealand International Film Festival, nominated eleven times at the 42nd César Awards, Frantz is a drama that sees renowned French director François Ozon step away from his perhaps more outlandish, frisky film affairs. Drama being the operative word here, the story is a sullen one of a young German woman, having recently lost her fiance in World War I, comes across another soldier now here to pay his respects to Frantz. Of course, not all is as it seems.

Shot in luscious, bright black and white, Frantz is a rare cinematic treat – albeit a melancholy one – focusing with sensitive ease the emotions that come when loss and intrigue collide, when secrets and discoveries emerge. Poignant, engaging performances from Pierre Niney and Paula Beer move the story on at a steady pace. Ozon fans need not file for disappointment with this change of direction, give it time to settle, it’s a tough film to not find its way into you heart somewhere.

NZIFF: My Year With Helen

Producer and director Gaylene Preston’s My Year With Helen premieres at the New Zealand International Film Festival on Sunday July 23rd July at Auckland’s Civic Theatre. The film’s first Wellington session on July 30th at the Embassy Theatre sold out on the first day of ticket sales. Preston will venture to each venue across the festival to attend post-screening Q&A sessions.

Helen Clark & Gaylene Preston – Photo: Helen Klisser-During

My Year With Helen is a documentary about former Prime Minister Helen Clark “campaigning to become the first woman UN Secretary-General while continuing her work as the highest ranking female at the UN, leading the UN Development Group and managing to stay in daily contact with her 94-year-old father back in New Zealand.” from the film’s press release. Clark herself commented: “The film conveys how tough it is to break the remaining glass ceilings. May it motivate future generations of women to keep at it!”. The film has already received positive reviews. Check out the Facebook page and official site below, as well as viewing the trailer.

Facebook Page

Official Site

NZIFF: The Square

Following the astonishing Animation NOW! programmes that opened the New Zealand International Film Festival, over in Auckland the first feature film to screen is the Palme d’Or winner at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, The Square. Ruben Östlund’s intriguing, slick, somewhat disturbing drama also boasts a satirical reflection on the art world, our cultural and social morals, as well as an alarming dinner scene that has had tongues wagging since May. The talented cast includes Claes Bang, Elisabeth Moss, and Terry Notary.

Get yourself warmed up with the following three exclusive clips:

NZIFF: Animation NOW! Dark Hearts

Already three days into the New Zealand International Film Festival, with animated shorts galore. The Animation NOW! section of the festival rounds itself off with Dark Hearts, a series of films described as bleak, sexual, creepy, macabre. Check the website for scheduling details, but here is the run-down for the Dark Hearts programme.

The Inverted Peak (2016) Greg McLeod, Myles McLeod, Tom Angell
UK – 5 minutes

Hadarim (2016) Shlomi Yosef
Israel – 5 minutes

Dead Horses (2016) Marc Riba, Anna Solanas
Spain – 7 minutes

Call of Cuteness (2017) Brenda Lien
Germany – 4 minutes

Open Casket (2016) Noah Malone
USA – 3 minutes

The Pain (2016) Nadya Fedotova
Russia – 5 minutes

How Are You Today? (2016) Sophie Markatatos
UK – 7 minutes

Fruitbat (2015) Jesse Simpson
USA – 5 minutes

Flies in May (2016) Caroline Jiang
Australia – 5 minutes

Roommates (2016) Jamie Wolfe
USA – 3 minutes

Candide “Home, Sweet Home” (2015) Zsuzsanna Kreif, Olivér Hegyi
Hungary – 7 minutes

Reflecting Black (2016) Jan Utecht
Germany – 7 minutes

Johnno’s Dead (2016) Chris Shepherd
UK – 8 minutes

NZIFF: New Chinese Animation

How much of your daily thoughts are dedicated to independent Chinese animation? I thought so. Film is an education, of course, and the New Zealand International Film Festival continues its Animation NOW! programme with what might be referred to as a new wave of Chinese Animation. Take note of the following shorts screening at the festival:

A Lone Bird Flying In The Snow (2015) Piao Yuehua – 4 minutes

Cells’ Amusement Park (2016) Li Ang, Cai Caibei – 4 minutes

Forever (2016) ZhongSu – 7 minutes

So Red and a Little Blue (2016) Luo Sijia – 4 minutes

Goodbye Utopia (2014) Ding Shiwei – 7 minutes

Books on Books (2016) Lei Lei – 3 minutes

Balloon (2015) Kang Mengchi – 6 minutes

Animal Year (2016) ZhongSu – 7 minutes

The Abyss (2016) Wu Zheng, Huang Liying – 4 minutes

Toe, Petal, Cosmos (2016) Wang Qieer – 3 minutes

Another Man (2015) Wang Weiyu – 4 minutes

Still (2015) Liu Yin – 5 minutes

Missing One Player (2015) Lei Lei – 4 minutes

Mirage (2014) Xu Yaya – 4 minutes

NZIFF: International Showcase Animated Shorts

The Animation NOW! portion of the New Zealand International Film Festival will have an evening session entitled International Showcase. This will feature some inspiring animated shorts spanning the globe, demonstrating technical range, color, themes – including a short from New Zealand itself and a very direct reference to The Simpsons. Here’s the full line-up:

Double King (2017) Felix Colgrave
Australia – 9 minutes

Table of Gods (2016) Jacob Menden
USA – 3 minutes

Party (2016) Daniel Barany
Hungary – 4 minutes

À perdre haleine (2016) Lea Krowczyk
France – 4 minutes

Ralph Plays D’oh! (2016) Fabio Tonetto
Italy – 1 minute

Frankfurter Str. 99a (2016) Evgenia Gostrer
Germany – 5 minutes

Out of Internal Worlds (2016) Helen Unt
Estonia – 10 minutes

Fire in Cardboard City (2017) Phil Brough
New Zealand – 8 minutes

Beer (2016) NERDO
Italy – 2 minutes

For Ray (2016) Heidi Stokes
UK – 5 minutes

Slow Wave (2016) Andy Kennedy
USA – 3 minutes

Waiting for the New Year (2016) Vladimir Leschiov
Latvia – 8 minutes

The Head Vanishes (2016) Franck Dion
Canada – 9 minutes

NZIFF: Black & White Animated Shorts

The Animation NOW! segment of the New Zealand International Film Festival is broken down into appropriate categories, and day two of NZIFF showcases two more of those chapters. Firstly, the Black & White session, a series of short films that dazzle the senses even without color. The ten black and white animated shorts first showing in the Auckland leg of the festival are as follows (do check out the trailers where available):

Child (2016) Viktor Stickel, Iring Freytag, Linus Stette
Germany – 9 minutes

Among the Black Waves (2016) Anna Budanova
Russia – 11 minutes

Deus (2016) Rebecca Essler, Alexandra Battault
France – 5 minutes

RED RIDING HOOD REDUX (2017) Danijel Žeželj
Croatia – 12 minutes

Radio Wave (2016) Miyajima Ryotaro
Japan – 3 minutes

Roger Ballen’s Theatre of Apparitions (2016) Emma Calder, Ged Haney
UK – 5 minutes

O (2015) Erick Oh
USA – 3 minutes

Tarpit (2016) Adam Leyland
UK – 4 minutes

The Walker (2016) Thibault Chollet
France – 6 minutes

I Want Pluto to be a Planet Again (2016) Marie Amachoukeli, Vladimir Mavounia-Kouka
France – 12 minutes

NZIFF: Animation NOW! Opens The Festival

The New Zealand International Film Festival opens later today local time (Friday evening) with the Animation NOW! programme, beginning with Living Masters New Works. The nine short films shown derive from eight different countries, and offer diverse movies from veteran filmmakers. The School of Design at Victoria University of Wellington donated the $5,000 prize for the jury to award the best film. Here are the nine films in the opening line-up:

Satie’s “Parade” (2016) Koji Yamamura
Japan – 14 minutes

Casino (2016) Steven Woloshen
Canada – 4 minutes

The (2016) Phil Mulloy
UK – 2 minutes

The Eyeless Hunter. A Khanty Story (2016) Olga Pärn, Priit Pärn
Estonia – 4 minutes

Tank (2015) Raoul Servais
Belgium – 6 minutes

A Photo of Me (2017) Dennis Tupicoff
Australia – 11 minutes

Scratchy (2016) Marv Newland
Canada – 3 minutes

Primal Flux (2016) Joan C. Gratz
USA – 3 minutes

Before Love (2016) Igor Kovalyov
Russia – 19 minutes

 

New Zealand International Film Festival Is Here

Uniquely consolidated across the country in 2009, the New Zealand International Film Festival is about to kick-off, literally a national event which shows some of the biggest movies across 13 of the country’s cities. Starting in Auckland on July 14th, the varied and vast movie-going program spans 6 weeks or so on an overlapping schedule – everything you need to know is all in the right place here:

Auckland 14 Jul–6 Aug 2017
Wellington 28 Jul–13 Aug 2017
Christchurch 3 Aug–20 Aug 2017
Dunedin 8 Aug–30 Aug 2017
Nelson 9 Aug–30 Aug 2017
Gore 17 Aug–27 Aug 2017
Timaru 17 Aug–27 Aug 2017
Hamilton 23 Aug–17 Sep 2017
Palmerston North 24 Aug–10 Sep 2017
Tauranga 24 Aug–17 Sep 2017
Masterton 6 Sep–20 Sep 2017
Hawke’s Bay 7 Sep–24 Sep 2017
New Plymouth 7 Sep–24 Sep 2017

The mouth-watering films on show at NZIFF range from recent prize winners in Cannes (including Loveless; The Square), cinema classics (Belle de Jour; Stalker), new films from female directors (Berlin Syndrome; Heal the Living), fascinating documentaries (I Am Not Your Negro; My Year with Helen), acclaimed 2017 releases (Call Me by Your Name; Lady Macbeth); startling indies (A Date for Mad Mary; Hounds of Love), successful international features (Frantz; My Life As a Courgette), as well as New Zealand cinema itself – the list of movies feels excitedly endless.

Stay tuned for published coverage here on the NZIFF (easily accessed through the logo at the top of the right menu). Special thanks to the dazzling Lynnaire too for connecting me with this, the homebug will be at the Christchurch leg of the festival. Check out and bookmark these links in the meantime:

Official Site
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