In 1963, Roman Polanski’s debut feature film Knife in the Water screened at the inaugural New York Film Festival; five decades later it’s just been announced that his most recent film Carnage will open the 49^th New York Film Festival, which opens on September 30....

With Father’s Day yesterday, it is the perfect time to talk about Songs for A Bigger Island (Sunday 11^th September, 5.50pm). In this one hour documentary, director Costa Botes captures Will Crummer recording his album Shoebox Lovesongs - The Rarotongan Music of Will Crummer; a musical collaboration between Will and his well-known daughter Annie Crummer....

Fashion Week is upon us people, and over the next week celebrities will be swilling free booze and changing their outfit three times a day, fashion reporters will be updating us on “key pieces” and “emerging trends” and gossip columnists will be keeping a close eye on front row breaches of fashion show etiquette.

 

Behind the scenes though, it will be a different story as local designers and their teams work tirelessly to promote and sell their collections. We don’t get to see the reality of life behind the scenes very often, but now thanks to the effort of Sara Ziff and Ole Schell, we get to see inside the fashion industry from the unique perspective of the model...

Coming up on Rialto this Saturday night (20 August, 8.30pm) is the New Zealand television premiere of local film The Insatiable Moon starring Rawiri Paratene (Whale Rider) as psychiatric patient Arthur. He’s utterly charming and convincing as this colourful character who wanders barefoot around Ponsonby, Auckland looking for his Queen of Heaven (Sara Wiseman), caring for  those who struggle to take care of themselves, and imparting his worldly wisdom on anyone sensible enough to stop and listen....

Simone Horrock’s debut feature film After the Waterfall premieres on Rialto Channel this Saturday evening (Saturday 27^th August). It’s a brooding, intense and ambitious debut set against the timeless and remote backdrop of Auckland’s West Coast, and star’s Outrageous Fortune’s Antony Starr as John Drean, a park ranger who takes his four year old daughter to work one day, only for her to mysteriously disappear....

In a recent chat I had with Simone Horrocks, director of After the Waterfall, we were discussing the length of time it can take for a film to see the light of day. In her case, 12 years.

It lingered longer than usual, thanks to Harry Potter 7.2 hogging all the 3D screens, but the New Zealand International Film Festival has finally wrapped in Auckland.

Over the last 15 years reviewing and talking film I’ve scored some pretty good jobs, although I’m still trying to convince some family members “watching movies” is a legitimate career. My latest gig here on Rialto Channel’s fabulous new website, must be one of the best yet