Telecom 2006 New Zealand International Film Festivals

The best time of the year for film lovers has arrived. The Telecom International Film Festivals ride into town again to drive away those despicable winter blues. During this New Zealand film fest, you can choose from over 150 features, documentaries, animated and short films--hand picked over the last year from around the world. This is your best chance to see international cinema in New Zealand.

The New Zealand film fest will travel to 16 centres nationwide, opening in Auckland in July and ending the year in Whangarei in November.

Festival Dates Nationwide - New Zealand Film Fest

July

• Auckland, 13-30 Jul
• Wellington, 21 Jul-6 Aug
• Dunedin, 28 Jul-13 Aug

August

• Christchurch, 3-20 Aug
• Palmerston North, 10-27 Aug
• Hamilton, 17 Aug-3 Sep
• Napier, 23 Aug-10 Sep
• Tauranga, 31 Aug-13 Sep

September

• New Plymouth, 7-20 Sep
• Nelson, 21 Sep-4 Oct

October

• Greymouth, 5-9 Oct
• Masterton, 11-25 Oct
• Queenstown, 26 Oct-8 Nov

November

• Levin, 2-15 Nov
• Gisborne, 9-22 Nov
• Whangarei, 16-29 Nov

You can view more information about accommodation options in key city centres:

• Auckland accommodation options
• Wellington accommodation options
• Dunedin accommodation options
• Christchurch accommodation options

Must-see Films - International Cinema in New Zealand

The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006, Ireland)

Ken Loach, the most admired and critically acclaimed of contemporary British directors, won this year's Palme d'Or for The Wind That Shakes the Barley.

This powerful and persuasive movie about the Irish-British conflict is literally a story about brothers against each other. It is set during the 1920 guerrilla war to oust the British from Ireland after the 1916 uprising.

With a 40-year career behind him, Loach is approaching his seventies and stirring up controversy once more, especially for those who prefer not to be reminded of the UK's colonial brutalities.

The Science of Sleep (2006, France)

Michel Gondry takes us once again into the surreal world of the mind with The Science of Sleep (La science des rêves), about a man struggling to keep separate his dream and waking life.

Gael Garcia Bernal takes the lead role of Stéphane, a brilliant and creative inventor who falls in love with namesake Stéphanie, played by Charlotte Gainsbourg.

Through the eyes of Stéphane, we enter a Dr. Seuss-like world in which anything can happen, taking us further into an amazing weirdness--far away from Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004).

An Inconvenient Truth (2006, USA)

"I'm Al Gore, and I used to be the next president of the United States," he says at the beginning of the multimedia presentation he has given over 1,000 times since 1989. It inspired An Inconvenient Truth, a highly persuasive documentary made to spread the message to a wider audience.

Global warming is an old issue that is made new and current by Gore and this documentary. The message of the film sounds bleak, using real and projected catastrophes to reveal what is at stake.

But it is also quite rousing. Gore is finally matched with the right topic, one for which he demonstrates real passion, in this brilliantly straightforward and hard-hitting activist film.

Next Top Ten List - Films You Can't Miss

• The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2005, Romania)
• Shortbus (2006, USA)
• A Scanner Darkly (2006, USA) - dir. Richard Linklater
• Dave Chappelle's Block Party (2005, USA)
• Waves, The Diaries of Chinese International Students in New Zealand (2006, NZ)
• Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story (2005, UK) - dir. Michael Winterbottom
• Bubble (2005, USA) - dir. Steven Soderbergh
• Keane (2004, USA)
• Oil Crash, A Crude Awakening (2006, Switzerland)
• The New World (2005, USA)