Films you need to see at the 2021 Whanau Marama New Zealand International Film Festival

Whilst Auckland may be bereft of cinema outings at the mighty Civic theatre and its partners for the New Zealand International Film Festival, there's still Christchurch and Wellington as well as other centres who'll enjoy the offerings from this year's festival.

Udo Kier in Swan Song

Here's some of the best films that you need to see at the 2021 Whanau Marama New Zealand International Film Festival.

SWAN SONG

Udo Kier stars as a former hairdresser coaxed out of his hospital bed for one last job in a maudlin and melancholy but ultimately uplifting drama.

STRAY

Elizabeth Lo's Stray centres on street dogs living in Turkey. Lest you write it off as a dog's revenge following the success of cats-infused tale Kedi, this doco is a little more than that. Capturing life at the edges of society, it transcends more than just its allegory.

MOTHERS OF THE REVOLUTION

Briar March's mix of doco and recreation pulls together a powerful portrait of the women who descended on Greenham common in the UK during the height of the Cold War and the fear of a nuclear holocaust. Equal parts engaging and appalling, March's Glenda Jackson-narrated piece is a salute to the power of one voice making a difference, before the chorus erupts.

THE POWER OF THE DOG

Jane Campion's portrait of anger and repression is already being touted as an Oscar contender - and New Zealand gets to see it on the big screen before its Netflix release in December. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Thomasin McKenzie and Jesse Plemons

MANDIBLES

Possibly one of the more out there titles at this year's festival, Mandibles is the story of two simple-minded friends Jean-Gab and Manu who find a giant fly trapped in the boot of a car, and decide to train it in the hope of making a ton of cash. It's from the director of Rubber too, Quentin Dupieux, so that should tell you all you need to know. 

MARK HUNT: THE FIGHT OF HIS LIFE

MMA fighting may not be everyone's bag, and it's certainly not this reviewer's either, but Mark Hunt: The Fight of His Life focuses more on the New Zealand scrapper who ended up being a global star more by accident than design. With a frighteningly vulnerable subject, director Peter Brook Bell fashions a piece that may feel familiar to sports doco genre fans, but is also winningly available to non-sports lover.

SISTERS WITH TRANSISTORS

Filmmaker Lisa Rovner blends archival footage and interviews with female electronic musicians in this fascinating documentary, including Clara Rockmore, a Theremin virtuoso who achieved fame performing with orchestras in the 1930s; Delia Derbyshire, co-creator of the Doctor Who theme and mathematician; and Buchla modular analog synthesiser diva Suzanne Ciani, the first woman to score a major Hollywood film, alongside founding her own electronic music record label and inventing the New Age genre.

For more films playing at the 2021 Festival, please visit nziff.co.nz