New Zealand Film Festival serves up the finest in Kiwi cinema
A selection of three award-winning movies from New Zealand will be screened during the New Zealand Film Festival 2018 at SF World Cinema, 7th floor of CentralWorld, Ratchadamri Road, from Friday to Sunday at 7.30pm.
A collaboration between the New Zealand embassy and the New Zealand Society Thailand, the festival marks 62 years of relations between the two nations, and the exchange of art, culture, history and lifestyle through film.
The films will showcase the warmth of New Zealand’s people and the distinctive beauty of its landscape, showing why it is a dream destination for tourists and a popular location for major Hollywood movie productions such as The Lord Of The Rings, The Hobbit, Avatar and The Chronicles Of Narnia.
The festival will feature one screening a day, starting with My Year With Helen (2017) on Friday. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Gaylene Preston, this observational documentary follows former prime minister Helen Clark’s work while serving as head of the UNDP and competing to become UN Secretary-General.
It also shows the discord between the media, diplomats and women’s rights defenders amid attempts to change the structure of the UN ahead of the election of its new leader. Saturday will see the screening of Pork Pie (2017), an action comedy about Jon, a charming but down-on-his-luck author who hopes to reconcile with his girlfriend at a friend’s wedding. But his car breaks down on the way and he finds himself relying on a young man named Luke in a yellow Mini Cooper to get him there. Little does Jon know that Luke has actually stolen the car.
The last film, set for Sunday, is Boy (2010). Written and directed by Taika Waititi, this comedy-drama swept many awards at international film festivals. The film tells the story of a young boy with an imagined heroic ideal of his father. But the truth is that his father is a criminal and a gangster. When the father returns after a lengthy absence, the boy has to find a way to live with him.
All films have Thai subtitles. Free tickets can be obtained at the Information Desk 30 minutes before screening. Alternatively, visit nzsocietythai.com/ nzff2018 for advanced bookings.