Just 6.5: NZIFF Review

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. 

Opening with a chase that ends in the most unexpected way, and ending the film in a most unexpected way as well proves to be fortuitous for the viewer of Just 6.5.

Samad and his colleagues are trying to stem the tide of drug use within their country and on their beat, when they get a lead on the kingpin they believe is flooding the market - Nasser Khakzad. Initially appearing as a Keyser Soze character (everyone's spoken to him, no one has met him), an unexpected lead takes the cops to their suspect.

But from there, nothing is as straightforward as it seems as a chain of events is set in motion.

Just 6.5 has a way of sideswiping you as it plays out - and certainly by the final frames, you'll be unsure where your allegiances lie.

A Separation's Peyman Maadi is a thrilling lead, all anger and determination as he fights bureaucracy as well as internal wranglings to get to the conclusion he needs. At the core of the character, Samad is facing domestic upheaval, but Roustayi never veers away from the criminal chase to soapify things with homestead woes.

It's a wise move; and while some of Just 6.5 suffers from an extended bloat, there's more than enough here to suggest a Netflix series could be fashioned from its trappings.

It helps that it has a charismatic villain in Khakzad, butting heads against the stony-faced cop - every scene drips with suspense and dangles uncertainty in the viewer's face.

However, when Just 6.5 pauses and presents the reality of what drugs are doing to its populace, the film wields its power. A bust sequence within a series of pipes and crackpipes is haunting more than thrilling - addicts emerge from the pipes like zombified rats fighting for their lives; it's viscerally gripping stuff that never really lets up.

And in the final moments, the pendulum swings viciously, leaving the audience unsettled by its conclusion.

Compelling, thrilling and magnetic, Just 6.5 is an essential viewing experience.

Jumbo director Zoe Wittock - New Zealand International Film Festival 2020 Q&A

New Zealand International Film Festival Q&A 2020: Zoe Wittock, Jumbo

Your Name

Zoé Wittock

Title of your film

JUMBO

Tell us about your 2020

2020 has literally been the biggest roller coaster ride I’ve ever taken ! My film, Jumbo, started its festival run with the Sundance Film Festival in January and went on to the Berlinale which just as exciting! What a dream, I thought, as I was waiting for the film’s French release in March 2020… Which, of course, never came as Covid-19 got the best of the whole wide world.  And we’re only halfway through the year… Can you imagine?! 2020 is about uncertainty, I think. So I’m trying to just roll with the punches and make the most of them as I keep developing new projects. 

How has Covid-19 impacted you and your film?

It pretty much destroyed its theatrical release. Less than 20% of the usual moviegoers have stepped back into the theatres to watch movies as Jumbo made its new release in France on July 1 after the theatres reopened. It seems that despite the intense safety measures that have been put in place in cinemas, people still felt more comfortable watching films from their couch on one of the many new VOD platforms they subscribed to during the various confinement periods in the world. Which, to be honest, is understandable. I actually like to believe that this will become part of Jumbo’s identity as time passes, theatres (hopefully) come back to normal, and people slowly learn about the film and its history. The lucky thing for us is that we had just enough time early this year to screen at major festivals, which, we all know, is essential to an independent film’s career. I’m ecstatic that some festivals were able to keep on through this crisis, even if their screening “platforms” had to change from “real” to “virtual”. This is giving the film the exposure needed for it to exist. It is indeed   festivals that the film is, for now, really finding its audience! Which, to be honest, is already a huge win ! 

Jumbo

What's the moment you wish audiences were seeing in a theatre, and why?

“Elephant man” – I actually went to see it as it played in select theatres after Paris’ reopening of theatre (post-COVID). And wow! It was just the biggest emotional punch I’d had in years. The first time I had seen it (on a small screen unfortunately), I had been moved, but I couldn’t remember it as one of the most exceptional screening experience I had had. Originally left with only a vague memory of the film, I am now haunted by it… The solitude of the characters, their distress and most importantly their beauty… I think this is film essential to the morose times we are currently experiencing.  

“Interstellar” or “Apocalypse Now” – More obvious choices of cinematic experiences – but still worth a thousand rides! 

What have you learned about film-making, the film-making community and the film-going audience during the pandemic?

I’ve learned that even the biggest fan of theatre screens have lost (a bit of ) the habit of going to theatres. Hopefully this will change, but it most definitely forces you to think of how to make sure your next films remain a true cinematic experience that can only really exist on the big screen ! 

What's the single best moment of your film?

I think that’s up to the audience to decide. I of course have my favourite moments, but they wouldn’t be the ones you’d expect. It has more to do with the artistic freedom I felt as I was shooting them then the actual end result. ;) 

What do you plan to do next in terms of film-making?

I’m most definitely looking for character stories that can be both emotional and caustic at the same time!  Or at least one or the other. The two things I love the most when watching a film is to be emotionally moved (if I cry, even better! Haha) and/or to pushed to think outside of the box when asked to be rooting for a character. 

And then of course, if there is a fun visual component to the film, it’s always a plus ! I like to play with genres to elevate intimate character stories. 

Tench director Patrice Toye - New Zealand International Film Festival Q&A 2020

Your Name My name is Patrice Toye

Title of your film Tench Tell us about your 2020 Tench had its international première at the Rotterdam Film Festival, that was great ! But soon Covid changed all my plans of travelling around from festival to festival with my delicate film. First I was very frustrated and sad about that, but once I accepted things as they are, I saw the advantages: more time to spend with my family, time to read and time to write. There is beauty in being silent for a while…

How has Covid-19 impacted you and your film? Tench had just been released in theatres in my home country when Corona closed everything down. I hope we will have a ‘re-birth ‘ online and in some arthouse cinemas later this year. 

What's the moment you wish audiences were seeing in a theatre, and why? I wish they would see the whole film on big screen, but I’m sure it also works on a smaller screen. 

What have you learned about film-making, the film-making community and the film-going audience during the pandemic? A creative mind always finds solutions. The master shows himself in the limitation. One can still make powerful, inventive films even without any means. I teach film directing in a film school and my students had to start making ‘minimal’ films at home, with no crew, material etc… but some really fantastic short films came out as a result of those limitations. 

What's the single best moment of your film? I really can’t say. Maybe the moment when Bess and Jonathan have lunch and eat ‘schnitzel’ together. 

What do you plan to do next in terms of film-making? I’m working on a new script, but I don’t like talking about it, I’m superstitious.

Tench plays at Whanau Marama, the New Zealand International Film festival. You can get all the details here - https://www.nziff.co.nz/2020/at-home-online/tench/

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

New Zealand International Film Festival 2020 Q&A with Incredibly Strange director Ant Timpson

Ant Timpson's Incredibly Strange returns to the New Zealand International Film Festival.

Ant's views expressed here are strictly his own and do not necessarily represent the views of the Festival.

You can find out more on Ant's selections here - https://www.nziff.co.nz/2020/at-home-online/films/collections/incredibly-strange-1/

Hi Ant, how have you been? 

Surprisingly we've been doing very well, that was until we moved back to Auckland and remembered what traffic and malls were.  Earlier we hit the jackpot by moving the fam in January to a small isolated coastal community. And so when the world went to poop we were in a bubble within a bubble. If we didn't check news or social media, we might not have known there was a pandemic happening. 

 

Dinner In America

How has Covid-19 affected you as a programmer, film-maker and film-lover?

Programmer : Like anyone else programming festivals, this year has been a bit of a wash for obvious reasons. Many films were held back and of course the overall capacity of titles for the festival was reduced. 

Film-maker: All productions ceased and because there are so many variations in film - every project was affected differently. We still don't have a clear path forward just yet but it's encouraging being in New Zealand and not elsewhere. We have the ability to get a jump on everyone else but we also may not have the resources to fill all the eventual demand. Personally I'm involved with a few projects and things are inching forward.

Film-lover: To be honest, I was more about the beach, making cocktails and eating food during lockdown than sitting inside watching stuff on a laptop.

 

How did it affect the selections for this year's Incredibly Strange?

Lots of major genre titles didn't want to risk any online premieres before their VOD release so we missed out on many titles just through that aspect. There was also uncertainty between producers and sales agents about what strategy they were going to take - the timing wasn't great for us - if we'd had a bit more time then we could've had some other choice cuts and had them playing in cinemas. Still super happy with the small number I have and very lucky to have a couple of 'em tbh. 

Is it a double edged sword for you this year with some films in cinemas, some in homes? A chance for more people to see your selections, but less gatherings and atmospheres?

Double edged? It's a guillotine!

I've only got one title playing in cinemas so that's gutting to me. It's not what I signed up for decades ago. HA!  Online festivals are the antithesis of what I've spent every year doing since the mid 80s.  

I'm the wrong guy to be asking all this stuff  - I'm not a fan of people tweeting what they think of a film as it's playing - all this supposed "interaction" with a large online audience - it's one giant distraction to me. Film is escapism - so how do you escape into a film when someone is sending you moronic memes or their new Tik Tok jam? 

Festivals have always been kind of snobby and elitist - and that was ok to me - cos it meant there was etiquette applied that you don't get during some Marvel poop on a Friday night at the plex. 

Look there's zero atmosphere around the festival unless it's in a cinema - we're so lucky we have that component happening for us - otherwise it would have been one sad affair.

 

You are doing some in cinema screenings - what's going to be the best one in terms of audience reception?

Is this for me or for fest director Marten?  Have you done a cut and paste again Darren?   Anything playing in a cinema is worth seeing at the moment. There's only a 1/4 of the line-up playing so read up on 'em and go see em how they're supposed to be seen. 

Relic

Turning to the selection, Relic is fantastic - what drew you to this?

Advance word before it hit gold at Sundance, a slow burn debut chiller from an exciting new voice coming out of Australia - Natalie James, like Jennifer Kent before her with Babadook, will be going on to do big things. 

Losing your mind has to be one of ultimate fears of any sane adult - and so a film that manages to weave that and some dark generational angst alongside some genuinely creepy moments was always going to fit the bill.

Yummy brings virus and zombies to the IS -the best moment in this film is what?

Yummy

You're asking me? The King of Non-Spoilers to reveal the best moment? Sorry comrade - no can do. Not on my watch. If you like slickly produced demented zombie fun then you're going to find enough puerile gags and gore laden amusement throughout YUMMY.  It does what it says on the box. 

 

Jumbo's inspired by a true story - what more can you tell us about that?

Loosely inspired by Amy, who was the star of the documentary Married to the Eiffel Tower.  The real life Amy has many lovers, one of them a theme park ride and the documentary explores how she and two other Objectum Sexuals (people who are horny for objects) deal with intimacy. Their "partners" range from the Berlin Wall to the Eiffel Tower. You can check out Amy and others here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5OiplprDFU 

Jumbo

 

2020 finds us in a reflective mood generally, so Friedkin on The Exorcist seems perfect fodder. What is it about The Exorcist that keeps drawing people in do you think?

Well it's perpetually cited as the scariest film ever made so there's that huge cultural hook that keeps pulling in new generations of viewers. It's very hard to describe to people who weren't around in the 70s just how impactful the film was to audiences. It was shocking and convincing. 

So hearing Friedkin take us back to that time and to hear about the creation of the film is something anyone interested in cinema is going to find captivating. 

 

Tell us about Dinner in America

Another buzzy Sundance title - this was one of those films that starts off so abrasively with an obnoxious character that you're not sure whether you wanna spend 90mins with em - but then things take a few turns and a relationship begins to grow and it suddenly morphs into something a lot sweeter. A simple story of two miscreants who end up being good for each other once they let their walls down.

 

Congrats on having the best film title in the programme with Jesus Shows You The Way to the Highway.....

Not only the best title but possibly the best film for the right viewer. I truly felt invigorated after seeing it for the first time - it wasn't just because it was gonzo filmmaking, it seemed to celebrate all of cinema and I had a smile throughout and for a long time afterwards. 

 

What are your picks from the rest of the programme?

If there's a chance to support a local film in person at a cinema screening - then please go check it out. Ya just never know when we might all be back in lockdown!

 

Do you hope the NZIFF can run a hybrid festival like this again?

Nope. Zero interest in ever doing this again. 

 

What's the one moment in all your films you want audiences to experience, either in a cinema or at home?

That they got their money's worth for their time and emotional investment. 

And at home I just want them to experience the feeling of wanting to be in a cinema watching the film.

Relic - director Q&A for the 2020 New Zealand International film Festival

Your Name – Natalie Erika James 

Title of your film – Relic 

Tell us about your 2020

I’ve tried to make the most of being in lockdown by getting stuck into writing a few projects. Joining a writing group online has done wonders for my productivity and morale. But along the way I’ve definitely had some unproductive weeks where I was glued to the news and suddenly baking a lot.

How has Covid-19 impacted you and your film?

I’m so grateful we managed to squeeze in our Sundance premiere, because soon after all of the festivals where Relic was supposed to play began cancelling. Our US Distributor was really proactive in making the decision to release the film in July, taking advantage of the gap created by a lot of the bigger studio films postponing their release. We had originally planned to release the film theatrically in Australia, but I was over the moon when Stan jumped on board and we were able to release the film online alongside the US.

What's the moment you wish audiences were seeing in a theatre, and why?

Probably the whole third act, ha! It gets particularly dark (both in image and content), and there’s something amazing about experiencing horror in the darkness of a cinema with others.

What have you learned about film-making, the film-making community and the film-going audience during the pandemic?

I’ve been fascinated by the different approaches filmmakers have been coming up with to ensure they can continue shooting in a socially distanced, safe environment. Things like, writing scenes with only three people or less who don’t have physical interaction, rehearsals over Zoom, splitting up crews over two units so that if one becomes infected, the other unit can continue shooting, etc.  

What's the single best moment of your film?

I think most people would say the final scene of the film, I suppose because it is horrific and emotionally affecting at once. 

What do you plan to do next in terms of film-making?

I’m working on a Japanese folk horror with the same co-writer and Australian producers from Relic. 

Relic plays at Whanau Marama New Zealand International Film Festival. Get all the details here - https://www.nziff.co.nz/2020/at-home-online/relic/

New Zealand International Film Festival - Q&A with director Marten Rabarts

Welcome to 2020's festival, Marten - guessing it was not the start you had in mind?

Hi Darren - Not exactly! I started my position as Festival Director in October 2019 and as we put together the building blocks for the festival in February this year, COVID-19 came thundering down upon us … so I got to invent our first online festival from the ground up.

At what point did you realise the festival would have to change, and how difficult was that decision?

I began to understand we’d need to be making adjustments in early February when my flight back from Europe, after attending the Rotterdam Film Festival, was cancelled as Italy already started to close its borders to Asian Airlines. Experiencing this – I had to re-book, re -route, and cut my trip short as I was meant to go to Rome to screen Italian films after Rotterdam – and Italy being among those first directly affected outside China and Iran, it was a loud clanging warning bell.

As COVID-19 restrictions tightened in New Zealand, and lockdown approached, it became clear that we had a choice; either we cancel the festival entirely and forfeit a year of excellent filmmaking and community engagement, or we adapt and ensure our audiences have the same rich and broad curated programme we always do, but this time through a new medium – online streaming through our VOD (video on demand) platform.

Now that we’ve moved back to Level 1, and some cinemas are reopening, are you a little disappointed the festival can't make it fully back out to the movies?

Cinema screenings  will always be the beating heart of the festival but it takes six months to mount a festival and there was no way anyone could predict whether New Zealand would be in a position to allow social gatherings and cinema re-openings, but starting six weeks ago we managed  to introduce a hybrid situation where 26 titles will be screened in certain cinemas across the country. These are supplementary screenings … the full festival will be NZIFF At Home – Online as planned.

Logistically, what have been the issues for an online festival this year?

They were huge but largely arcane issues around technical demands of online delivery, digital security measures to prevent piracy, complex rights acquisitions for a festival screening on VOD platform, cinemas unhappy with us for taking the festival online; the same  cinemas unhappy with us offering them films to screen when COVID-19 restrictions were lifted … (shoulder shrug emoji) … it was endless and I just hope the difficulty and pain COVID-19 has put our team through is invisible to our viewers, as it should be.

But what do you see as the benefits for the festival's first at home fest?

Not every New Zealander lives in Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch. Even with all of the regions we commonly screen in across the country, New Zealanders living rurally can still be hours away from a cinema.

Moving online means that we have the ability, for the first time ever, to reach more Kiwis than ever before from Kaitaia to Bluff and everywhere (with broadband) in between.

What can punters expect?

Same Great Films , Same Great Festival … just online! Punters should get their screening set up ready and prepare for a selection of fantastic titles. 

We've had the We Are One Festival, how did you see that?

I wouldn’t call the We Are One YOUTUBE marketing venture a festival … in my evaluation it was a damp squib; a motley collection of mostly older films, some shorts  and a few regurgitated celebrity interviews from various festival archives.

There’s no comparison to what we’ll be offering which is the usual world-class curation of the past years’ finest cinema offerings which NZIFF audiences always expect from us.

Once a ticket is purchased, viewers will also be able to watch filmmaker introductions and Q&A sessions with cast  and crew which we are recording and streaming live for certain premiere titles. We’ll have many times more international guests than has ever been possible before!

This is another aspect showing NZIFF At Home – Online will be a FILM FESTIVAL not a global branding exercise for GOOGLE (parent company of YOUTUBE).

How has the lack of festivals like Cannes impacted the choice of films, have some distributors been reticent to premiere material on these shores?

Obviously Cannes is our usual source of big name ,big cast films so like the rest of the world we’re missing some of these titles as they wait to premiere at Venice and Toronto festivals  later in the year … but not to worry, as our catalogue shows, we have a fine selection of films from across the world including films from Venice and Toronto 2019, Sundance, Berlin, Rotterdam, Locarno and even a couple from Cannes 2019 which slipped through the net of the NZIFF 2019 selection, which I’ve included this year.

What can you tell us about the platform it'll be on, how events will happen, films will happen and ticketing etc?

The great team at  Shift72 have created our NZIFF At Home – Online platform. These guys are working from a small Hamilton-based office and have made a name for themselves, internationally being the platform of choice for other film festivals like SXSW CPH:DOX Festival Copenhagen, Sydney and Melbourne film festivals and the Cannes Film Market.

Events will largely be online. Obviously with international travel being a pipedream, we couldn’t fly filmmakers in as we usually would so pre-recorded filmmaker intros will be available for selected titles, as well as Q&A live streams on our social media pages.

Part of cinema-goer culture is having lobby chats and discussions generated around the films, so we wanted to keep this flame burning as much as possible through our online presence. In saying that, now that we also have selected theatrical screenings, many of our New Zealand titles will have their world premiere screenings in cinemas and venues including in-person Q&A sessions with the local film teams. All “how to“ instructions are detailed on our website.

What film or event has you most excited this year and why?

Without having to worry about scoring a big comfortable Cannes title for a corporate-sponsored GALA opening event I’m excited to open the festival this year with a film that has as much speed-punk anarchy coursing through its veins as the outlaw rebel it portrays – Justin Kurzel’s dazzling and disturbing adaptation of Peter Carey’s masterpiece True History Of The Kelly Gang.

Its star-studded cast includes our own Thomasin McKenzie, Russell Crowe and Marlon Williams, alongside George MacKay (1917) Charlie Hunnam (Sons Of Anarchy), Essie Davis  (The Babadook) and Nicholas Hoult (The Favourite, X-Men) The film may divide audiences but it won’t be easily forgotten… 

Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival kicks off 24 July. Details on nziff.co.nz