Feature Documentary 'Lomu' To Premiere In NZ & Australia, Following Acclaimed World Debut

Following its world premiere at the Dublin International Film Festival in February 2026, feature documentary LOMU will make its Australian premiere at the Sydney Film Festival on June 13, before returning home for its New Zealand premiere at the 2026 Whānau Mārama New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF) where it will play as the festival’s Centrepiece film.

LOMU is a complex and deeply human portrait of Jonah Lomu - the most adored son of the Pacific and a legendary All Black - whose extraordinary talent and presence transcended rugby and reshaped the global game.

Directed by Vea Mafile’o (NZ) and Gavin Fitzgerald (IRE), the film traces Jonah’s journey from the streets of South Auckland to the world’s biggest rugby stages, charting his meteoric rise, immense cultural impact, and the private struggles that unfolded behind the legend.

Bursting onto the international scene as a teenage prodigy, Jonah shattered expectations with his unprecedented combination of size, speed and power. At just 19, he became the youngest All Black in history and a symbol of pride and possibility for Pasifika communities across Aotearoa and the wider Pacific.

Through intimate interviews with family, friends, team mates and coaches, alongside rich archival material - including never-before-seen family footage - LOMU reveals the personal cost of global fame. Beneath his on-field dominance was a shy, deeply grounded young man shaped by Tongan values, strong Christian faith, and the pressures of representing both nation and culture on the world stage.

The film builds to the 1995 Rugby World Cup, where Lomu’s electrifying performances transformed rugby’s physical and cultural landscape. Yet even at the height of his success, he was quietly battling a serious kidney disorder - an unseen struggle that would profoundly shape the later years of his life and career.

More than a sports documentary, LOMU is a powerful Pasifika story of identity, faith and resilience. It explores the weight of expectation carried by one of the world’s first global rugby superstars, and the enduring legacy of a man who changed not only how the game is played, but who it belongs to.

Co-director Vea Mafile’o says bringing the film home to Tāmaki Makaurau is especially meaningful: “This story belongs to our people. To premiere LOMU at home, in Tāmaki Makaurau where so much of Jonah’s journey began, is incredibly special. It’s about honouring not just his legacy, but the community, culture and faith that shaped him - and sharing that with the audiences who carry that same pride.”

The film is a co-production between Velvet Moss (NZ) and Sylver Entertainment (UK), produced by Simon Lazenby and Victoria Barrell for Sylver Entertainment, and Emma Slade and Victoria Dabbs for Velvet Moss. Oli Harbottle and Anna Godas serve as Executive Producers for Dogwoof, and Desray Armstrong, Leela Menon and Fraser Brown as Executive Producers for Tahi Productions. LOMU was made with UK Global Screen Funding and with the financial support of New Zealand Film Commission, the assistance of the New Zealand Government’s Screen Production Rebate and Images and Sound Ltd.

LOMU will premiere in Australia at the Sydney Film Festival on Saturday 13 June, and in Aotearoa on Saturday 1 August at Auckland’s mighty Civic Theatre. The full schedule of regional screenings for the NZIFF will be released in coming weeks.

ABOUT MADMAN ENTERTAINMENT
Madman Entertainment is an independent distributor with a focus on remarkable stories. We are proud to share films with audiences in Australia and New Zealand that transcend the screen; start conversations, encourage reflection and empower change. From documentaries that reflect on our national identity, to bold dramas that push the boundaries of cinema, or animated content at the bleeding edge of creativity, Madman represents content that connects with audiences well beyond the cinema or lounge room.

Films distributed by Madman include over 100 Academy Award® nominees and winners. Headlined by 2020’s historic Best Picture win for PARASITE; over 35 documentary nominees and Best Documentary Feature wins for SEARCHING FOR SUGARMAN, MAN ON WIRE, FREE SOLO, CITIZENFOUR and THE COVE; over 20 nominations for Best International Film including THE QUIET GIRL, FLEE, CAPERNAUM, TONI ERDMANN, THE HUNT, A ROYAL AFFAIR, DEPARTURES, THE COUNTERFEITERS; and Best Animated Feature winners SPIRITED AWAY, LOVING VINCENT and HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE.

Madman has distributed a number of New Zealand films that rank amongst the highest grossing local films of all time including the 2025 box office smash TINĀ and others including HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE, WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, THE BREAKER UPPERERS, SAVAGE recently adding classics SIONE’S WEDDING & WHALE RIDER to the catalogue.

ABOUT VELVET MOSS
Velvet Moss is a film and television production company anchored in New Zealand and committed to crafting bold, highquality stories for global audiences. The company collaborates with leading creatives and financial partners to develop exceptional content with widereaching appeal.

Velvet Moss’s latest releases include LOMU, an official UK/NZ coproduction chronicling the life and legacy of rugby icon Jonah Lomu; and HOLY DAYS, the debut feature from Nat Boltt starring Judy Davis, Jacki Weaver and Miriam Margolyes. In 2024, BOOKWORM, starring Elijah Wood, Nell Fisher and Michael Smiley, opened the Fantasia International Film Festival and won the Audience Award for Best International Feature. In 2023, UPROAR, starring Julian Dennison, Minnie Driver and Rhys Darby, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival to rave reviews and went on to screen in cinemas across Aotearoa New Zealand. That same year, the feature documentary MISTER ORGAN—New Zealand’s highestgrossing documentary of 2022—was acquired by Netflix and selected as a New York Times Critic’s Pick.

The company is also known for the absurd comedy NUDE TUESDAY (Sydney, Tribeca, Edinburgh); THE JUSTICE OF BUNNY KING, which premiered at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival and received a special jury mention for leads Essie Davis and Thomasin McKenzie; and the official NZ/Irish/Canadian coproduction COME TO DADDY, which premiered at Tribeca 2019 and earned Best Director (Ant Timpson) and Best Actor (Elijah Wood) at the Toronto After Dark Festival. Earlier titles include the young adult thriller THE CHANGEOVER (Alice Nella Città, Venice Film Festival), INTO THE RAINBOW, the first Chinese/New Zealand coproduction, and LITTLE SECRET, Brazil’s entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2017 Academy Awards.

Driven by a focused and agile team, Velvet Moss delivers worldclass storytelling that champions bold perspectives and connects with audiences around the globe.

ABOUT SYLVER ENTERTAINMENT
Founded by Victoria Barrell and Simon Lazenby, Sylver Entertainment is an award-winning independent UK production company specialising in premium documentary storytelling.

Its slate includes McENROE (2022), winner of the Sports Emmy Award, which received a theatrical release and charts the rise, rivalries and turbulent inner life of tennis legend John McEnroe. Theatrical documentary THE GREATEST GAME (2022) documents England's dramatic last-ball victory over New Zealand in the final of the 2019 Cricket World Cup. SCHMEICHEL (Sky Showtime, Sky Documentaries 2025) profiles the iconic Danish goalkeeper whose career spanned Manchester United's most successful era. Hill (Sylver Entertainment & Independent Entertainment), winner of Best Documentary at The Race Media Awards, examines the life of Formula One World Champion Damon Hill. Releasing this June on ITV is BUTCHER: INVISIBLE WOUNDS, a film following former England captain Terry Butcher, who made his name at Ipswich Town and Rangers, and his life after football, including the devastating personal loss he endured after the death of his son. LOMU, a New Zealand & United Kingdom international co-production supported by the New Zealand Film Commission and the UK Global Screen Fund, had its world premiere at the Glasgow Film Festival in 2026, will release theatrically later this year and tells the story of Jonah Lomu, the New Zealand rugby player widely regarded as the sport's first global superstar.

Sylver Entertainment is backed by the UK Global Screen Fund, financed by the UK Government's Department for Culture, Media and Sport and administered by the BFI.

ABOUT DOGWOOF
Dogwoof is a London-based documentary film company that integrates production, sales, and theatrical distribution. To date, Dogwoof's titles amount to 37 Oscar-nominated documentaries, including seven winners, alongside five BAFTA-winning films. Notable titles include 2025's Oscar-winning No Other Land, 2024 Oscar-and BAFTA-winning 20 Days in Mariupol, the 2023 Oscar-and BAFTA-winning Navalny, the Oscar-and BAFTA-winning Free Solo, the BAFTA-nominated Apollo 11, and the Oscar-and BAFTA-nominated Fire of Love and All That Breathes. Other highlights include the BAFTA-winning The Act of Killing and Blackfish.

Recent Dogwoof's productions include Every Little Thing (Sundance 2024), McEnroe (Showtime and NBC Universal), The Lost Leonardo (Sony Pictures Classics), Citizen Ashe (Sold to CNN Films, Telluride 2021), Copa 71(TIFF 2023), and Playing with Sharks (Sundance 2021, National Geographic).

Other recent titles include Oscar- and BAFTA-nominated documentary features such as Black Box Diaries (sold to MTV Documentary Films), the Oscar-nominated Sugarcane, the BAFTA-nominated 2000 Meters to Andriivka directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov (20 Days in Mariupol), One to One: John & Yoko from Oscar-winning filmmaker Kevin Macdonald, and Toronto- and Venice-selected The Tale of Silyan from Honeyland co-director Tamara Kotevska.

Dogwoof begins 2026 with six titles at Sundance: Sentient by Tony Jones; Birds of War by Janay Boulos and Abd Alkader Habak (both in the World Cinema Documentary Competition); The Oligarch and the Art Dealer by Andreas Dalsgaard; Time & Water by Oscar-nominated director Sara Dosa (in partnership with National Geographic); Who Killed Alex Odeh? by Jason Osder and William Lafi Youmans; and a special screening of Mark Cousins’ The Story of Documentary Film, with Who Killed Alex Odeh? and The Story of Documentary Film also officially selected for the 2026 Berlin Film Festival.

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