Whanau Marama - the New Zealand International Film Festival 2020 Preview - five of the best 

The hybrid film festival is just days away from launch.

This year's festival will offer a selection of screenings in cinemas and online to deal with the ongoing Covid-19 situation which continues to affect the film industry globally.

There may be a reduced programme on hand, but there are no lesser offerings in this year's event, and certainly some will need to be snapped up before they reach online capacity.

Here are five titles that you absolutely cannot afford to miss

Just 6.5

Just 6.5

As searing a drama as last year's Les Miserables was, this Iranian cop drama focuses on the war against drugs in Iran.

Masterfully put together by its director and screenplay writer, Saeed Roustayi, this is a visceral thriller
that commands every frame as it unspools. 

Focussing in on the cops as they try and take down a druglord, the film's got a way of sideswiping you - and certainly by the final frames, you'll be unsure where your allegiances lie.

Some Kind of Heaven

Some Kind of Heaven

Director Lance Oppenheim's peek behind the curtains of The Villages in Florida in the US is a crafty little doco that finds a way of inveigling itself under your skin.

It starts with a series of golf carts being organised in a synchronicity and from then on, Oppenheim leads you through the lives of some of the residents.

Part of the joy of Some Kind of Heaven is seeing it unfurl and its poignant surprises - but its look beneath the polished veneer of OAP happiness is as disturbing and as tragic as they come, without ever feeling exploitative.

Relic

Relic

Aussie director Natalie Erika James' generational horror may be being lauded for being female-led, but that's not the only reason to see this smartly executed psychological terror.

When Emily Mortimer's Kay finds her mother Edna missing, she sets about dealing with the realities of what lies ahead - and soon finds herself and her daughter (Bella Heathcote) having to tackle a bigger problem than they imagined.

Slow-burning and akin to The Babadook, this horror's likely to leave an impression after it's ended. And that's a great thing.

Jumbo

Jumbo

Easily the oddest sell in the Incredibly Strange, this is the tale of Portrait of A Lady on Fire's Noemie Merlant's Jeanne who falls for a rollercoaster at the amusement park where she works.

What could easily be exploitative and laughable, becomes surprisingly intimate and unconventionally humane, preferring never to mock its subjects and leaving you with a wistful and thoughtful meditation on what desire means to many.

Don't overlook Jumbo - it's one of the programme's hidden secrets that's well worth discovering.

Driveways

Driveways

Easily the most affecting movie of the entire festival, Andrew Ahn's intimate picture of a young Asian boy's friendship with his elderly neighbour (Brian Dennehy) is the first unmissable film of 2020's festival.

Sweet, innocent and yet profoundly moving, the story is one of those that can be filed under "Life happens"; and yet, it's a little more than that. 

It may be one of Dennehy's last roles, but that sentiment isn't the reason to adore Driveways - it's a timeless film of connection that doesn't rely on cheap narrative tricks and reveals to hammer its point home. In fact, it's the antithesis of such films - and it's all the better for it.

Driveways also has the most bittersweet final shots of the festival too, so don't be surprised if it catches you off guard.

Whanau Marama - The New Zealand International Film Festival 2020 runs from 24 July to August 3. 

All the details can be found at nziff.co.nz