New Zealand International Film Festival launch this week

New Zealand International Film Festival launch this week

<<UPDATE >> The whole programme is now live and can be found on their site.
But in even better news, three of the international guests have been confirmed:

They are:

Confirmed international guests so far are: West of Memphis:  Producer Damien Echols (and also one of the West Memphis Three),Bully's director Lee Hirsch and The Ambassador's director and star  Mads Brugger.

It's almost time for the rain to pour down - and so that can mean only one thing.

The New Zealand International Film Festival is about to get underway. Monday sees the launch of the annual programme and The New Zealand Herald's had a bit of a peek at what's ahead and got the word on some of the treats ahead.

We already know the likes of The Cabin in The Woods, Bully, Peter Jackson's West Memphis Three doco, LCD film Shut Up and Play The Hits, Marley, Your Sister's Sister, Crazy Horse, and a whole heap of NZ Docos are on the way.

But now, a little more of the programme's leaked.

And here are some of the details:

On The Road - Kristen Stewart's Jack Kerouac film, fresh from Cannes this year

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes - the classic Marilyn film.

Beasts of the Southern Wild - rumoured to be the opening night film; and according to imdb, Faced with her father's fading health and environmental changes that release an army of prehistoric creatures called aurochs, six-year-old Hushpuppy leaves her Delta-community home in search of her mother.

Holy Motors - rumoured to be the closing night film and with a dash of Kylie and Eva Mendes. It's about " a few hours in the life of Monsieur Oscar, a shadowy character who journeys from one life to the next"

The Sapphires - Chris "Bridesmaids" O'Dowd's latest and about a group of singers.

Bernie - Jack Black's latest with Richard Linklater

This Must Be the Place - Sean Penn, Frances McDormand, about "A bored, retired rock star sets out to find the man responsible for his father's humiliation, an ex-Nazi war criminal who is a refugee in the U.S."

Killer Joe - Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch and Juno Temple star in this, "When a debt puts a young man's life in danger, he turns to putting a hit out on his evil mother in order to collect the insurance."

Rampart - Woody Harrelson's latest, "set in 1999 Los Angeles, veteran police officer Dave Brown, the last of the renegade cops, works to take care of his family, and struggles for his own survival."

Maori Boy Genius - the local film which has already had major success abroad

The Angel's Share - Ken Loach's latest, "Narrowly avoiding jail, new dad Robbie vows to turn over a new leaf. A visit to a whisky distillery inspires him and his mates to seek a way out of their hopeless lives."

The Hunt - The latest from Mads Mikkelsen, in which "a kindergarten teacher is falsely accused of child abuse."

The Last Dogs by Costa Botes - a great looking doco about huskies

How To Meet Girls from a Distance - a local flick made from scratch from January this year - and sounds incredibly promising.

Blackmail - the live cinema this year is getting a bit of a Hitchcock feel

The Shining - a remastered print likely to see many leering "Here's Johnny..." all over again

Bonjour Tristesse - a 1958 flick from Otto Preminger

From Up on Poppy Hill - the very latest animation from Studio Ghibli; always a delightful treat and becoming a regular presence at the festival.

Undefeated - imagine if Friday Night Lights the TV series were turned into a doco, this would be Undefeated; it's got great calibre though, given it won the Oscar this year.

That's all the piece reveals now - guess you'll have to wait until Monday evening to find out more when the programme is officially launched. 

More info and reviews coming on this blog - and for all the latest on The New Zealand International Film Festival visit their site, www.nzff.co.nz