NZIFF
Auckland i s currently in the throes of the New Zealand I nternational Film Festival, and the symptoms are starting t o show. You can see punters shuffling between cinemas, eyes red f rom a potent combination of tears, l aughter, t i redness and an air t hick with salty popcorn dust. I f you haven’t got a strategy f or tackling the dense film festival booklet by now, and are blindly booking t i ckets with t he control of a whacky inflatable arm- flailing tube man, allow me t o guide you t hrough the next week of high- class cinematic delights.
My f i rst ti p f or the f estival, regardless of what films you are going t o see, is to stay wellhydrated and nourished. This is a marathon, not a sprint, and requires similar sustenance. Keep pouches of pure fructose in your pockets to maximise staying power and minimise candy bar temptations. Sip on a camelbak if you really want to freak out the people around you. But do not, under any circumstances, bring hot f ood i nto t he cinema. With your nutrition under control, head to
Ants on a Shrimp: Noma i n Tokyo f or a l ook i nto the whacky cuisine f rom the greatest restaurant i n the world ( spoiler: a l ot of t wigs and bugs). To anyone needing t o quash t heir guilt f or necking a donut between daytime sessions, t he body positive documentary movement Embrace will empower you to love your wobbly bits regardless. I f you can stomach i t, Swiss Army
Man’s touching tale of a f arting corpse could be the weirdest l ate night session of t he f est.
It’s also i mportant t o stay active during the festival. Go f or brisk walks between sessions; catch Pokemon as you j og f rom lengthy German comedies to I ranian horror films. I f moving your own body doesn’t appeal, check out Le Ride starring our own l ocal TV l egend Phil Keoghan. Attempting t o recreate the treacherous conditions of t he 1 928 Tour de France ( bike i ncluded), Phil and his mate Ben might make you f eel slightly guilty f or Ubering a block up j ust because i t was raining.
Feel bad f or exchanging the great outdoors f or artificial l i ghting and prolonged sitting? Escape to the stunning
Altai Mountains of The Eagle Huntress, or the luscious island paradise of Tanna.
With the rain pelting down on t he roof of t he Civic, there’s no better ti me to transport yourself elsewhere. It ’ s not all ravishing landscapes and exotic l ocations however — The Land of the
Enlightened t akes you i nside war- t orn Afghanistan, and A Syrian Love Story follows a
The New Zealand International Film Festival, until July 31. nziff. co. nz
refugee couple on their j ourney to f reedom.
For those who can’t resist documenting the plush flamingo curtains f or all t heir mates on I nstagram, t here are plenty more beautiful reallife moments captured in the vast array of documentaries on offer. Disney f ans will adore
Life, Animated, t he story of an autistic man who l earnt to communicate t hrough t he l i kes of The
Lion King and The Little Mermaid. I f being behind t he camera i nterests you, Cameraperson captures the illustrious career of veteran cinematographer Kirsten Johnson and No
Home Movie l ets you i nside i ntimate conversations between a daughter and her dying mother.
As a wise man in a film once told us, the film festival is like a box of chocolates — you have to try a bit of everything, even if it makes you f eel sick sometimes. Try the t hrilling French ghost film Personal Shopper, or Jim Jarmusch’s delicate introspection i n Paterson. Locally, the biggest must- see i s The Rehearsal, by Alison Maclean, adapted f rom Eleanor Catton’s f i rst novel. And i f you are still hungry after all of t hat, I dare you to gorge upon the visceral gross- out horror of The Greasy Strangler. A perfectly balanced diet. 1 Thrilling theatrics It’s shaping up as a record- breaking year f or Auckland Theatre Company. I ts production of To Kill a Mockingbird was the most successful drama i n the company’s history; now the season f or i ts f ourth main- bill production of 2016 has been extended. The Curious I ncident of the Dog i n the Night- Time opened l ast night with a cast that i ncludes Tim Earl, Rima Te Wiata, Wesley Dowdell, Peter Hayden, Hera Dunleavy and Damien Avery. The Curious I ncident of the Dog i n the Night- Time, Rangatira at Q Theatre until August 20. 2 Work i n progress When is a painting f i nished? Ponder this question at one of the year’s most unique art exhibitions. It features artworks that were never completed because the artists — Simon McIntyre, Sharon Vickers, Lindsey Kirk, Ross Ritchie, Frank van Schaik, John Oxborough, Allie Eagle and Patrick Malone — couldn’t “resolve them satisfactorily”. Arrested Practice, northart i n the Northcote Shopping Centre until August 3 3 Talking words Robert Glancy and Fiona Sussman grew up i n Africa and now l i ve and write on Auckland’s North Shore. Born i n Zambia, raised i n Malawi and ( high) schooled i n Edinburgh, Glancy recently won the Grimshaw Sargeson Fellowship while South African Sussman is a doctor who started writing after she had children. The authors discuss their respective recent novels — Please Do Not Disturb and
The Last Time We Spoke — as well as power, i nequality and what i t takes to get a story f i nished. I n Conversation, today at 3pm at the Kerr Street Artspace, Devonport; entry by koha. 4 The Real Thing I f you missed i ts premiere l ast night, there’s another chance to see one of the year’s most talked about home- grown films at the NZ I nternational Film Festival. Director Alison Maclean ( Kitchen Sink) returned to New Zealand f or this adaptation of Eleanor Catton’s acclaimed debut novel. A psychological drama, i t stars James Rolleston as one of a group of acting students who use a real- life sex scandal i nvolving a teacher, as creative f uel f or their end of year show. The cast mixes experienced names ( Kerry Fox) with emerging talents ( Alice Englert, daughter of Jane Campion). The Rehearsal, Civic Theatre, Tuesday at 1 . 15pm. 5 Picking and mixing What better way to i ntroduce the kids to the performing arts than through a series of f ree Saturday morning performances and workshops? With 27 performances during 1 2 weeks i n three Auckland l ocations, Pick n Mix allows you to take the kids to a 45 minute “taster” performance f ollowed by a f ree 45- minute i nteractive workshop. This Saturday, dancers f rom the Royal NZ Ballet l perform excerpts f rom artistic director Francesco Ventriglia’s The Wizard of Oz and Liam Scarlett’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the duet f rom Alexander Ekman Cacti, and
Geiger, a new work by RNZB dancer Loughlan Prior. Pick n Mix, RNZ Ballet, ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre at 1 0.30am Saturday and Bruce Mason Centre, 1 0.30am Sunday. No bookings are required and there i s no allocated seating so participants can come and go as they please. See aucklandlive. co. nz/ pickandmix2016 f or the f ull schedule.