Trail-blazing festival a seasonal phenomenon

Trail-blazing festival a seasonal phenomenon.

As the festival embarks on it's tour around the rest of the country, the magnitude of the DOCNZ International Documentary Film Festival since it's opening in Auckland this year has been nothing short of incredible.

With the awards ceremony highlighting both the illustrious crop of emerging film making talent from both overseas and New Zealand, the DOCNZ International Documentary Film Festival leaves a successful season in Auckland and begins it's tour across the country.

Festival co-director Ewa Bigio is extremely pleased to announce that the audience numbers in Auckland have overtaken projections and increased by 100% for major festival venue Academy in a year when festival trends have indicated a downturn in numbers. Common belief is that the increase is attributed to the strong programme and the public's ever growing appetite for the documentary films. Films like Spike Lee's "When the Levees Broke" were booked and sold out well in advance of the film's screening whilst Bigio commented that ""¦the endless queue stretching from the Academy's basement ticket counter all the way up to the Lorne St. entrance, for films like Leonardo DiCaprio's "˜The 11th Hour was extremely heartening for the festival team'".

The New Zealand contingent of films have continued to attract strong interest with solid numbers having attended weekday screenings in Auckland of films like "Lovely RITA" Gaylene Preston's definitive work on New Zealand artist Rita Angus and Justin Pemberton's highly controversial documentary "œThe Nuclear Comeback", which picked up the Best NZ Feature Length Documentary prize at the DOCNZ International Documentary Film Festival Awards on October 1st.

New Zealand double award winner Julian Shaw', director of "Darling! The Pieter-Dirk Uys Story" which had it's international premiere during the festival looks set to continue his winning streak as the film has received a nomination for the "˜Independent Spirit IF Award' at the Lexus Inside Film Awards in Sydney this year. The film has also just been invited to make its European debut at the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival next February.

Shaw, 21, won both the "˜Best Emerging Film-maker' Award and the "˜Best Medium Length Documentary Award' at the DOCNZ International Documentary Film Festival Awards is already working on his second documentary; "Cup of Dreams". A major full length documentary which is strongly character driven, "Cup of Dream" explores New Zealand's love affair with the legendary national team against the backdrop of their dramatic exit at the 2007 World Cup in France. "Cup of Dreams" is scheduled for theatrical release in 2008.

One of DOCNZ's international highlights, "freeheld" by director Cynthia Wade which is currently featured in the medium-length competition category is another early success story, having just been shortlisted for a possible nomination at the upcoming 80th Academy Awards next February. DOCNZ festival last year had also programmed this year's Oscar winner "The Blood of Yingzhou District" prior to its shortlist status, and is garnering much praise for its programme and success in picking winners.

The DOCNZ International Film Festival has already commenced at Hoyts Otagon in Dunedin from October 11th and will be touring the rest of New Zealand, with seasons in Hoyts Regent on Worcester, Christchurch from October 25th and at Wellington's Hoyts Regent on Manner, Paramount and the NZ Film Archive from November 8th.

ends