Lumière at the TNZIFF

04.07.05 | THOSE not already clued into the wee fact that the Telecom New Zealand International Film Festivals are just around the corner – kickstarting in Auckland this coming Friday (July 8), then Wellington the following week (July 15) – should make a beeline immediately to the nearest box office; if not to secure tickets to the festival's "event" movies (Howl's Moving Castle, Kung-Fu Hustle and Hidden being a mere three), then to reserve seats to many of its more rarified oddities. Indeed, much of the anticipation that comes from this time of year belongs not so much to the big-name Cannes selections, or the regular slew of "buzz" features – many of which distributors will bring back for seconds – but the inconspicuous gems that screen once, maybe twice, only never to return. Discovering these films for oneself is just part of the fun.

However to make sure you don't miss out, we've scoured the programme cover-to-cover, picking ten of the best from the (probably) never-to-return school of film:

- The World (Jia Zhangke)
- The Intruder (Claire Denis)
- Café Lumière (Hou Hsiao-hsien)
- Tony Takitani (Jun Ichikawa)
- Moolaadé (Ousmane Sembene)
- Undertow (David Gordon Green)
- Duck Season (Fernando Eimbcke)
- The Man From Laramie (Anthony Mann)
- Cinévardaphoto (Agnès Varda)
- Whisky (Juan Pablo Rebella)

We, of course, will be embarking on our own plunge into darkness, bottling the highs and lows of a two-week festival binge into the official Lumière Weblog of the TNZIFF. With daily reports from first Auckland, and then Wellington, it may prove (or not) to be an ideal barometer on what's cooking at the festival, or at least take some of the guess work out for those privy to word-of-mouth. There's also a slew of feature articles and film reviews already online to whet your appetite in the interim.

The URL to note is lumiere.net.nz/nziff – bookmark it and visit regularly (or alternatively, access it via The Lumière Reader). In the meantime, gatecrash nzff.telecom.co.nz for all your other festival needs.

IF YOU'VE scrolled down this far, then you're in luck: courtesy of the generous people at the Telecom New Zealand International Film Festivals, Lumière has a bunch of Auckland and Wellington festival tickets to giveaway:

One double pass to Auckland/one double pass to Wellington screenings of Wong Kar-wai's 2046 (Entries close Auck 10.07/Wgtn 17.07)

Four double passes to Auckland/six double passes to Wellington screenings of the annual Homegrown: Works on Film/Video/Documentaries programme (Entries close Auck+Wgtn 10.07)

Two double passes to Auckland/two double passes to Wellington screenings of NZ documentary Banana in a Nutshell (Entries close Auck 17.07/Wgtn 24.07)

To be into win, you'll need to visit the weblog and answer a few simple questions.

ENDS

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