International Film Festival A First For Hurunui

28 October 2024

The iconic Spanish influence of the Ballroom in the Hanmer Springs Hotel will become a Cinema for the screening of international films next month.

The collaboration between the highly successful Doc-Fest organisation & the Hanmer Springs Hotel is a first for the popular Alpine Village Resort.

The screenings will commence on Friday night 17 November 2024 with an opening of the Festival in the Spanish Splendour of the “Ballroom Cinema”.

“Ko au te Awa, ko te Awa ko au, The River flows from the Mountain to the Sea, I am the River, & the River is Me,” will be the first of selected award-winning documentaries from several countries. It’s screening opening night.

This NZ film is a highly acclaimed documentary on the land, the history, the life of the indigenous people, the Iwi, the hapu, & the mana whenua of the great AWA, that is the Whanganui River.

The film’s journey will take you to places that are “often unknown, unseen, & little appreciated.” It lays its entire beauty before you to truly enjoy.

There are eight other films visitors & residents of Hanmer can view over the Canterbury Anniversary holiday weekend. These include, the wonderful life & artistry of sculptor Barry Brickell of Coromandel, the investigation of a young Jewish boy who survived the Holocaust when he was adopted by a elite platoon of Hitler SS soldiers, & the war in Ukraine as filmed by a UK journalist Sean Langan on Russian side.

A full list of the documentaries screening at this inaugural Hanmer Film Festival will be made available prior to weekend of 15-17 November 2024:

Tickets are on sale from Wednesday. Book online via www.trybooking.com

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