How are you going with the New Zealand International Film Festival programme? How many times have you re-read the programme? Or re-worked your booking sheet?
It can be a mammoth task pulling your wish-list together - how many films you can get to in an evening, will you be able to get from the Rialto Cinema in Newmarket to the Civic Theatre in time?
So here are a couple of thoughts to help make planning less stressful.
How are you going with the New Zealand International Film Festival programme? How many times have you re-read the programme? Or re-worked your booking sheet?
It can be a mammoth task pulling your wish-list together - how many films you can get to in an evening, will you be able to get from the Rialto Cinema in Newmarket to the Civic Theatre in time?
So here are a couple of thoughts to help make planning less stressful.
1. Try My Schedule on the NFIFF website: www.nzff.co.nz
You go to the website and register and then when you find a film you’re interested in click Add to my schedule. What you’ll get is a very helpful list of films and their dates, times and locations, to help you organise your festival experience. You can then get on with arranging your life around the festival, booking the babysitter and purchasing those tickets - it’s a much appreciated addition to the website.
2. Treasure the Civic. Personally, I can’t think of a more magical setting than Auckland’s grand Civic Theatre to see films such as Anderson’s whimsical coming of age story Moonrise Kingdom, so don’t forget the unique experience a location like this offers.
3. Decide how many times you can really attend the Festival. If your time is limited look for the more obscure and intriguing films - the better known films in the programme will more than likely return to our screens over the next 12 months. Already this year Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom, which opened the Cannes Film Festival in May, is listed as Coming Soon on several cinema websites, as is the Japanese film I Wish, while the Australian film The Sapphires will be listed shortly.
4. Take a chance. Make sure you pick a couple of films you know nothing about – this is what the festival’s all about; surprises, discoveries and unpredictable experiences that, good or bad, are likely to stay with you longer than your average cinema visit.
I go as far as to point my finger at a random page from the programme to make sure I see at least one film that requires nothing from me but to turn up and hopefully be moved, engaged, challenged, informed, or entertained.
5. If you can - watch them all! The NZIFF team have given us a chance to see an impressive number of award winners and nominees from film festivals such as the Sundance Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, the Academy Awards and most recently the Cannes Film Festival in May – make the most of it!
See you there.