NZIFF 2026: Previewing what's ahead for the NZ Film Festival

The 2026 version of the New Zealand International Film Festival is back, kicking off in Auckland at the end of July before heading around various centres.

As usual, there's a smorgasbord of cinema ahead for cinephiles - including some of the big hitters from Cannes 2026.

Here's just some of what you can see - for more, visit nziff.co.nz

This year's opening night film is coming of age tale Big Girls Don't Cry.

Big Girls Don't Cry.

It’s the summer school holidays of 2006 and stormy 14-year-old Sid (Ani Palmer) is desperate to reinvent herself. She lives with her dad (Noah Taylor) and older sister (Tara Canton) in a rural town near Ōmaha, New Zealand, the usually-sleepy beach destination that, during the summer, brings an influx of holidaymakers — a fresh audience for Sid’s performance of her ideal self. 

Another centrepiece film is Lomu, the tale of Kiwi rugby legend Jonah Lomu.

Born in South Auckland as a first-generation Tongan and son of a minister, Jonah would transcend his humble beginnings and become rugby's first real international superstar.

However, it was his childhood in the Kingdom of Tonga that was his foundation, and the film brings looks at his formative years, with personal photos and videos, as well as interviews with his mum Hepi and brother John, to trace his origin story.

The big winner from Cannes, Fjord, also receives its New Zealand premiere.

Fjord

A divisive talking point at the festival even before it took its top award, Cristian Mungiu’s story of a conservative immigrant family under institutional suspicion is a barbed interrogation of liberal Nordic attitudes.

The Gheorghiu family have relocated from Romania, the homeland of the father Mihai (Sebastian Stan), to a village in Norway, where the mother Lisbet (Renate Reinsve) is from. The devout evangelical couple are soon questioning the move after they fall under the scrutiny of neighbours and care workers who suspect them of child abuse after their daughter turns up at school with bruises. 

The film draws on real-life custody cases that sparked intense international debate and protest over whether Norwegian child protection services were doing a model job in harm prevention, or whether intolerance cuts both ways and can be a blind spot for progressives.

The long-awaited Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, a sure-to-be cult classic for horror fans. 

American director Jane Schoenbrun's latest flick opened the prestigious Un Certain Regard section at this year's Cannes Film Festival, and went on to win the coveted Queer Palm.

A surreal meta-slasher that blends horror, romance and film-industry satire, the film stars Hannah Einbinder as a young filmmaker tasked with reviving the Camp Miasma franchise, and Gillian Annderson as the reclusive actress who played the ‘final girl’ in the original movie. Along the way, expect blood splatters galore, teenage horniness, and a killer wearing a ceiling vent mask. 

Stephen Graham's shocking The Good Boy also plays. It's a twisted tale of an obnoxious teen who’s taught some unconventional lessons and is not to be confused with Good Boy, the tale of a dog trying to save its owner from a haunting. Alpha is a pandemic dystopia from celebrated French body horror maestro Julia Ducournau, and Sydney’s neon-soaked queer underworld comes to light in Aussie crime thriller, Body Blow. 

The Good Boy

Also on the list so far, Indonesian horror-comedy Ghost in the Cell turns a prison block into a splatter fest, adult animation Jim Queen and the Quest for Chloroqueer pokes a stick at queer gym culture, and I Want Your Sex, the sizzling latest from indie director Gregg Araki, explores the dark side of the LA art world as a fresh-faced young intern is sucked into a wicked and murderous power game.

And there are also some films for the young-at-heart, as well as the younger members of the audience.

Kiri and Lou Go Raaa!

After seven years of friendship captured across 104 episodes, Kiri and Lou Go Raaa! takes us back to the very beginning, telling the story of how Kiri, a feisty little dinosaur, and Lou, a gentle and sensitive ‘palorchecie’, became the unlikeliest of best friends – in their biggest adventure yet.  

Featuring the voices of Jemaine Clement and Olivia Tennet, with music by Don McGlashan, Kiri and Lou is quietly one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most successful franchises. From Nickelodeon to the BBC, the series has broken into children’s programming lineups alongside shows like Paw Patrol, Peppa Pig, and Bluey, picking up a BAFTA nomination along the way.  

Murray Ball's iconic Footrot Flats gets a 40th anniversary outing.

40 years ago, New Zealand’s most loved cartoon strip was adapted into our first-ever animated feature and the result broke the box office and captured the hearts of a far more innocent nation.

The 4K remaster is set in the fictional rural town of Raupo, Ball’s film (from a script he co-penned with fellow cartoonist Tom Scott) focuses on establishing the origins of fan-favourite characters Dog and Wal’, along with a host of other recurring characters from the cartoon strips, including nature-loving neighbour Cooch Windgrass, farmhand Rangi, Wal’s niece Pongo, the villainous Murphy’s from an adjacent farm and of course Dog’s animal companions – love interest Jess, Major the pigdog, and Horse (Wal’s seemingly indestructible cat.)

There are also a raft of international and local guests attending the event.

International guests

Abinash Bikram Shah

Director of Elephants in the Fog

Screenings:

Auckland – Sunday 9 August, 3:45 p.m. at Academy Cinemas

Christchurch – Wednesday 12 August, 5:45 p.m. at Lumière Cinemas (Bernhardt)

Christchurch – Thursday 13 August, 10:00 a.m. at Lumière Cinemas (Bardot)

Wellington – Friday 14 August, 6:00 p.m. at Massey University National Academy of Screen Arts Cinema

Wellington – Saturday 15 August, 3:55 p.m. at Light House Cinema Cuba

James J. Robinson

Director of First Light

Screenings:

Auckland – Thursday 6 August, 1:15 p.m. at Rialto Cinemas Newmarket

Auckland – Friday 7 August, 6:00 p.m. at Academy Cinemas

Sophie Hyde

Director of Jimpa

Screenings:

Auckland – Saturday 1 August 2:45 p.m. at The Civic

Auckland – Sunday 2 August, 1:15 p.m. at Bridgeway

Kai Stänicke

Director of Trial of Hein

Screenings:

Auckland – Saturday 8 August, 6:00 p.m. at Academy Cinemas

Christchurch – Thursday 13 August, 6:00 p.m. at Lumière Cinemas (Bernhardt)

Christchurch – Friday 14 August, 10:30 a.m. at Lumière Cinemas (Bardot)

Wellington – Saturday 15 August, 5:30 p.m. at Massey University National Academy of Screen Arts Cinema

Wellington – Sunday 16 August, 8:15 p.m. at Light House Cinema Cuba

Warwick Thornton

Director of Wolfram

Screenings:

Auckland – Thursday 30 July, 6:30 p.m. at The Civic

Auckland – Friday 31 July, 11:00 a.m. at Academy Cinemas

New Zealand guests

Gwen Isaac

Director of Be Merry

Screenings:

Auckland – Sunday 2 August, 10:00 a.m. at SkyCity Theatre

Wellington – Saturday 22 August, 3:30 p.m. at Massey University National Academy of Screen Arts Cinema

Wellington – Sunday 23 August, 12:30 p.m. at Light House Cinema Petone

Paloma Schneideman

Director of Big Girls Don’t Cry

Screenings:

Auckland – Wednesday 29 July, 7:00 p.m. at The Civic

Auckland – Friday 31 July, 3:45 p.m. at Academy Cinemas

Christchurch – Thursday 6 August, 7:00 p.m. at Lumière Cinemas (Bernhardt)

Christchurch – Thursday 6 August, 7:30 p.m. at Lumière Cinemas (Bardot)

Wellington – Wednesday 12 August, 7:00 p.m. at The Embassy

Wellington – Thursday 13 August, 4:00 p.m. at Light House Cinema Cuba

Dunedin – Friday 14 August, 7:00 p.m. at Regent Theatre

Pietra Brettkelly and The Critics

Directors of Crocodile

Screenings:

Auckland – Sunday 2 August, 6:15 p.m. at SkyCity Theatre

Wellington – Monday 24 August, 6:15 p.m. at The Embassy

Wellington – Tuesday 25 August, 4:00 p.m. at Light House Cinema Cuba

Pat Cox

Producer of Footrot Flats: The Dog’s Tale

Screenings:

Auckland – Saturday 1 August, 6:30 p.m. at SkyCity Theatre

Kieran Charnock and Jonathan Watt

Directors of In Search of My Moehau

Screenings:

Auckland – Friday 31 July, 9:00 p.m. at Hollywood Avondale

Wellington – Thursday 20 August, 8:00 p.m. at Massey University National Academy of Screen Arts Cinema

Masterton – Wednesday 9 September, 8:00 p.m. at The Screening Room

Harry Sinclair

Director of Kiri and Lou Go Raaa!

Screenings:

Auckland – Saturday 8 August, 10:00 a.m. at The Civic

Wellington – Saturday 15 August, 10:00 a.m. at The Embassy

Christchurch – Sunday 23 August, 10:30 a.m. at the Isaac Theatre Royal

Gerd Pohlmann

Director of Last Man Standing

Screenings:

Auckland – Saturday 1 August, 3:30 p.m. at SkyCity Theatre

Christchurch – Friday 14 August, 2:00 p.m. at Lumière Cinemas (Bernhardt)

Christchurch – Saturday 15 August, 3:00 p.m. at Jack Mann Theatre

Wellington – Sunday 16 August, 2:15 p.m. at The Embassy

Wellington – Monday 17 August, 10:30 a.m. at Light House Cinema Petone

Vea Mafile’o

Director of Lomu

Screenings:

Auckland – Saturday 1 August, 5:30 p.m. at The Civic

Wellington - Saturday 15 August, 5:45 p.m. at The Embassy

Sean Wallace and Jordan Mark Windsor known as THUNDERLIPS

Directors of Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant

Screenings:

Auckland – Friday 7 August, 8:45 p.m. at The Civic

Wellington – Friday 21 August, 8:15 p.m. at The Embassy

Mark Papalii

Director of My Humble Friend, Fonoti Pati Umaga

Screenings:

Auckland – Saturday 1 August, 10:00 a.m. at SkyCity Theatre

Wellington – Saturday 15 August, 3:00 p.m. at Massey University National Academy of Screen Arts Cinema

Peter Terry

Producer of Nambassa Festival

Screenings:

Auckland – Sunday 2 August, 9:00 p.m. at SkyCity Theatre

Robert Sarkies

Director of Out of the Blue

Screenings:

Auckland – Friday 31 July, 6:15 p.m. at Hollywood Avondale

Dunedin – Sunday 16 August, 7:30 p.m. at Regent Theatre

Wellington – Monday 17 August, 8:30 p.m. at The Embassy

Conor Bowden

Director of The Ungrateful Tenant

Screenings:

Auckland – Thursday 30 July, 7:00 p.m. at Hollywood Avondale

Wellington – Friday 21 August, 6:15 p.m. at Roxy Cinemas

Ryan Alexander Lloyd

Director of Uncle

Screenings:

Auckland – Saturday 1 August, 8:45 p.m. at SkyCity Theatre

Christchurch – Tuesday 18 August, 5:45 p.m. at Lumière Cinemas (Bernhardt)

Wellington – Wednesday 19 August, 6:15 p.m. at Massey University National Academy of Screen Arts Cinema