Movie magic defies Covid

Fans can catch films online and 27 titles at select venues as part of festival

event to be realised. Here, Will Ferrell and Rachel Mcadams play Icelandic musicians Lars and Sigrit, who are given the chance to pursue their dreams of winning singing stardom. It looks to be the classic, crazy underdog story that Ferrell has made his own, and though we doubt it will be recognised at the Academy Awards we're fairly certain it'll provide a few laughs on a cold winter's night. Streaming tomorrow.

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EAGLE VS SHARK TVNZ Ondemand

See where the unstoppable moviemaking force that is Taika Waititi began. This low-key, lo-fi, romcom came out in 2007 and is Waititi's first feature film. It stars Jemaine Clement — his good pal and regular collaborator — and Loren Horsley, as two lonely misfits bumbling their way towards — and away from — love. At the time is was overshadowed by the similarly awkward Napoleon Dynamite but Eagle vs Shark is filled with Waititi's trademark Kiwiana, a cracking Kiwi soundtrack and plenty of cringeinducing LOLS. Streaming now.

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MOANA REO MA¯ ORI Disney+

This is wonderful. Just in time for Matariki, Disney+ has announced that the Ma¯ ori language version of Moana will be available for streaming. Members of the original cast — Jemaine Clement, Rachel House and Temuera Morrison — returned to lend their voices to the Ma¯ ori language dub, while newcomer Jaedyn Randell took over the lead role of Moana and seasoned Ma¯ ori media personality Piripi Taylor stepped into the big shoes left by The Rock to voice Ma¯ ui. Ka pai Disney. Streaming from tomorrow.

George Mackay plays Ned Kelly in International Film Festival.

The Wha¯ nau Ma¯ rama: New Zealand International Film Festival has announced its full programme, and organisers aren't letting a global pandemic derail movie magic.

Organisers had previously said they would hold the festival entirely online, but now Kiwis have moved to Covid-19 level 1 fans can also catch 27 of the films in select theatres and venues in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin.

Movies have been confirmed for screening at Auckland's ASB Theatre and the Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch, and additional incinema screening times will be announced next week.

The festival kicks off with a bang on July 24 with True History of the Kelly Gang — George Mackay of 1917 and New Zealand's own Thomasin Mckenzie (Jojo Rabbit), Russell Crowe, and musician Marlon Williams star. The film will also be available online concurrently when it screens in-cinema.

All 79 feature films and seven collections of short films screening screening at Wha¯ nau Ma¯ rama: New Zealand during the festival will be available online. A programme of special Q&AS, panels, ceremonies, and more are yet to be announced. These too will screen online and feature in cinemas.

“Bringing together this year's programme of films has certainly been challenging as we've responded to the constantly changing landscape globally and in New Zealand,” festival director Marten Rabarts said.

“In March as Covid-19 led the world towards lockdown we made the decision to take the festival online, rejecting the only other option at that time which would have been outright cancellation. Since then we've been working tirelessly to secure a strong programme of films and upgrade our video-on-demand platform to bring the festival to a nationwide audience.”

The festival includes a special collection called EUROPE!: Voices of Women in Film. Tickets for the premiere screenings are available from July 10, and films will be available to rent from the first available screening date.

The full festival line-up is available online from 9am today on the festival's website, and it's the best place to check how to rent and watch the movies. ■

Wha¯ nau Ma¯ rama: New Zealand International Film Festival runs from July 24 to August 2.