Read your way around the New Zealand International Film Festival 2018

Let’s take a walk on the cinematic side! Here are the movie-related books from this year’s Christchurch leg of the New Zealand International Film Festival (it’s on from Thursday 2 August to Sunday 19 August):

Based on Books

Border

Based on the short story ‘Border’ from his anthology Let the Old Dreams Die by Let the Right One In author John Ajvide Lindqvist, this genre-defying supernatural romantic thriller draws us into the mysterious life of a gifted outsider.

Breath

Actor Simon Baker’s directorial debut is an adaptation, with Top of the Lake writer Gerard Lee, of Tim Winton’s celebrated novel Breath.

Burning

A love triangle and mystery based on a Haruki Murakami short story ‘Barn burning’ in the book The Elephant Vanishes.

Disobedience

Set inside the conservative community of Orthodox Judaism, Sebastián Lelio’s graceful adaptation of Naomi Alderman’s novel Disobedience is a probing look at the illusion of freedom in both religious and secular life.

Juliet, Naked

Rose Byrne, Ethan Hawke and Chris O’Dowd are perfectly cast in this romcom, based on Nick Hornby’s novel Juliet, Naked about an indie rock obsession that leads to romance.

Lean on Pete

A profoundly moving account of life on the margins of America, based on Lean on Pete by Willy Vlautin.

Leave no trace

New Zealand actress Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie is mesmerising as 13-year-old Tom living off the grid with her war vet father. Based on the novel My Abandonment by Peter Rock.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post

Chloë Grace Moretz delivers a heartbreaking and nuanced performance as a queer teen shipped off to a gay conversion camp in Desiree Akhavan’s touching drama based on the novel The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth.

You were never really here

A startling, nerve-shredding thriller about a brutal hitman contracted to save an abducted teen. Based on the novel You were never really here by Jonathan Ames.

NZIFF-related Books

Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story

Find books and resources about actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr

Celia

Find books by New Zealand author and social commentator Celia Lashlie.

If I leave here tomorrow: A film about Lynyrd Skynyrd

Music by – and books about – the band Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Kusama – Infinity

Books about the artist Yayoi Kusama.

McKellen: Playing the part

Books about actor Ian McKellen, and movies that star him, and more.

McQueen

Books about designer Alexander McQueen.

Merata: How Mum decolonised the screen

Books and films by – and about – New Zealand filmmaker Merata Mita.

Paul Callaghan: Dancing with Atoms

Books by New Zealand scientist Paul Callaghan.

RBG

Books about Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda

Music by composer Ryuichi Sakamoto.

Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist

Books about – and by – fashion designer Vivienne Westwood.

and – of course, there is a movie about ONE OF US  …

Ex Libris: The New York Public Library

Follow the Festival

• View the Christchurch programme
• Visit the Festival website
• View the NZIFF YouTube channel
• Follow @NZFF on Twitter
• Like New Zealand International Film Festival on Facebook

Visit our page about film for movie resources and information.

New Zealand International Film Festival 2017

Today the Christchurch programme for the New Zealand International Film Festival was launched.

Every year the New Zealand International Film Festival screens a range of films. It’s Christchurch’s turn from 3 August to 20 August.

Literary films at the Festival

If you like movies based on books — or want to read the book before you see the movie — there are plenty of films for you at the 2017 Christchurch leg of the NZ International Film Festival. Thanks to the Film Festival organisers for providing us with some of the following information:

A Monster Calls
A story-telling monster (voiced by Liam Neeson) helps a sleeping boy with his waking-life nightmares in this adaptation of Patrick Ness’ novel, spectacularly realised with lavish CGI and painterly animations.
Based on the novel A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness.

A Woman’s Life (Une Vie)
A literary adaptation of a story by Guy de Maupassant styled with striking immediacy, Stéphane Brizé relates the tragedy of an adventurous young 19th-century noblewoman harshly judged for an unfortunate marriage.

Bill Direen: A Memory of Others
A documentary about New Zealand musician Bill Direen.
Find books and music by Bill Direen in our collection.

Call Me By Your Name
This gorgeous and moving adaptation of André Aciman’s acclaimed novel, directed by Luca Guadagnino (I Am Love), stars Armie Hammer and Timothée Chalamet as lovers in sun-kissed northern Italy.
Based on the book Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman

Citizen Jane
A documentary capturing the showdown in the 1950s between the activist Jane Jacobs and the trumpian urban planner Robert Moses: as she fights preserve urban communities in the face of destructive development projects.
Based on The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs

Ethel and Ernest
This animated adaptation of Raymond Briggs’ graphic memoir of his parents’ lives is both humble and profound, with gorgeous renderings of Briggs’ justly famous lines. Featuring the voices of Jim Broadbent and Brenda Blethyn.
Based on the graphic novel memoir Ethel and Ernest by Raymond Briggs

Heal the Living
A catastrophic accident leaves one family in ruins and bestows another with precious hope in a hospital drama immeasurably enhanced by the delicate sensitivity of Katell Quillévéré’s script and the poetic force of her direction.
Based on Mend the living by Maylis de Kerangal

I Am Not Your Negro
A documentary based on James Baldwin’s unfinished manuscript, Remember This House, exploring the history of racism in the United States through Baldwin’s reminiscences of civil rights leaders.

Lady MacBeth
Florence Pugh is mesmerising as she transmutes from nervous bride to femme fatale in this bracing British period drama based on the 19th-century Russian classic by Nikolai Leskov – Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District.

The Lost City of Z
Charlie Hunnam makes a commanding flawed hero as British Amazon explorer Percy Fawcett in a sweeping giant screen epic, filmed with rare intelligence by writer/director James Gray. With Sienna Miller and Robert Pattinson.
Based on the novel by David Grann, The Lost City of Z

No Ordinary Sheila
A documentary exploring the life of New Zealand writer Sheila Natusch who has written over 30 books including Animals of New Zealand, The Cruise of Acheron, Hell and High Water and Wild Fare for Wilderness Forager. No Ordinary Sheila is a documentary about her life, times – and places.

Stalker
Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1979 masterpiece, like his earlier Solaris, is a free and allegorical adaptation of a sci-fi novel, Arkady and Boris Strugatsky’s Roadside Picnic.
See also the book about the movie Stalker – Zona: A book about a film about a journey to a room by Geoff Dyer.

Swallows and Amazons
Four children (the Swallows) on holiday in the Lake District (UK) sail on their own to an island and start a war with rival children (the Amazons).
Based on the book Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome

To Stay Alive: A Method
This Dutch documentary film is based on Michel Houellebecq’s 1991 essay To Stay Alive, about struggling artists, the role of the poet, and mental health problems. It features marginal artists as well as Houellebecq and the rock singer Iggy Pop.
Read books in our collection by Michel Houellebecq

Una
A young woman arrives unexpectedly at an older man’s workplace looking for answers as to their shared past in an abusive sexual relationship.
Based on the play Blackbird by David Harrower

More information

• See the full Christchurch programme
• Read our page about the NZIFF
• NZIFF website
• Visit our page about film for movie resources and information.

New Zealand International Film Festival 2016

Last night the Christchurch programme for the New Zealand International Film Festival was released and as usual, in amongst a programme that really does have something for everyone, there’s a healthy clutch of literary offerings.

Every year the New Zealand International Film Festival screens a range of films over a two week period. The 2016 Christchurch festival runs from 28 July to 14 August.

Literary films at the Festival

Several of the films at the Festival are based on books, or are on the subject of writers. Portions of the following list have been kindly supplied by the Festival organisers.

Chimes at Midnight
Thanks to an astonishingly crisp restoration, Orson Welles’ 1965 Shakespearean masterpiece lives anew. Welles gives a mammoth performance as the Bard’s tragic fool Falstaff, along with John Gielgud as Henry IV and Keith Baxter as Hal. Chimes at Midnight is based on a compendium of Shakespeare’s history plays – Richard II, Henry IV Parts I and II, Henry V, and The Merry Wives of Windsor.

The Daughter
The most lauded Australian drama of the last year, this bold, superbly acted debut from acclaimed theatre director Simon Stone reimagines Ibsen’s The Wild Duck in a contemporary small town.

The Handmaiden
Based on Welsh novelist Sarah Waters’ Fingersmith, this outrageous and lusciously erotic thriller from the director of Oldboy transposes a Victorian tale of sex, duplicity and madness to 1930s Japanese-occupied Korea.

High-rise
In Ben Wheatley’s ambitious, wildly disorienting adaptation of the J.G. Ballard novel, tenants of a high-tech skyscraper slip into a literal class war. Starring Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller and Elisabeth Moss. (Read our blog post about the novel, High-rise: J. G. Ballard’s Vertical Zoo)

The Idealist
A plane crash, government corruption and nuclear warheads are just some of the ingredients for this taut Danish docu-drama, set in the aftermath of the Cold War. Based on a book by the award-winning journalist Poul Brink.

Indignation
Adapted from Philip Roth’s autobiographical novel of the same name, Indignation is an incisive, affecting drama of embattled individuality on a 50s American campus. With Logan Lerman and Sarah Gadon.

Life, Animated
This incredibly moving and fascinating doco takes us into the interior life of autistic Owen Suskind, and explores how his love of Disney animated features gave him the tools as a child to communicate with the world. Based on the book by Ron Suskind.

Neruda
Not your conventional biopic, this enthralling dramatic exploration of the legacy of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda conjures up a fiction in which he is pursued into political exile by an incompetent detective played by Gael García Bernal.

Obit
Vanessa Gould’s fond and fascinating documentary introduces us to the unseen women and men responsible for crafting the obituaries of the New York Times.

A Quiet Passion
Cynthia Nixon, Jennifer Ehle and Keith Carradine star in Terence Davies’ lively, witty and ultimately intensely moving dramatisation of the sheltered life of 19th-century New England poet Emily Dickinson.

The Rehearsal
In Alison Maclean’s vibrant screen adaptation of Eleanor Catton’s debut novel, a first-year acting student (James Rolleston) channels the real-life experience of his girlfriend’s family into art and sets off a moral minefield.

Sunset Song
“Terence Davies’s Sunset Song is a movie with a catch or sob in its singing voice: a beautifully made and deeply felt adaptation of Lewis Grassic Gibbon’s 1932 novel of rural Scotland.” — Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

Vita Activa: The Spirit of Hannah Arendt
This new documentary provides insight and historical perspective on the life and work of philosopher Hannah Arendt, illuminating her relevance to some of the most troubling phenomena of our own times.

More information

• See the full Christchurch programme
• Read our page about the NZIFF
• NZIFF website
• Our film page gives you all the best links to film resources and information

All about Yves – a passion for fashion

I love fashion, and am glad to see the New Zealand International Film Festival has a trio of fashiony movies:

Saint Laurent

The latest French biopic of the iconic fashion designer is a heady experience, stunningly realised without official YSL approval, and concentrating on the decade that culminated with a triumphant collection in 1976

The library has the other recent YSL biopic Yves Saint Laurent. I watched in the weekend – the actor who played Yves nailed his fragility and fierce glamour.  Find more YSL stuff at the library.

Iris

Colourful fashionista Iris is one of my style heroines. Big glasses, accessories piled on.  Check out the book Rare bird of fashion for a closeup look at her fabbo gear, and Advanced Style (book or movie) if you want to see some more older style goddesses.

Iris talked to Noelle last weekend on Radio New Zealand Saturday morning.

Women he’s undressed

Gillian Armstrong’s doco celebrates the colourful Orry-Kelly, the Australian-born designer who dressed Bogart and Bergman in Casablanca, Marilyn Monroe in Some Like It Hot and Bette Davis in many of her greatest roles.

We have the splendid looking book on order.

Fashion docos and movies in our collection you might like to watch include:

• Valentino
• Coco avant Chanel
• Bill Cunningham New York (street style photographer supremo)

And just to tantalise your fashionbuds – here’s some new books to swoon over:

• Check out our pages on Fashion and New Zealand fashion.
• Read more NZIFF blog posts.

Best picks: The Christchurch NZIFF programme

Last night the Christchurch programme for the New Zealand International Film Festival was released and boy, are there some goodies in the mix. Not to mention that some films will be shown in the rebuilt Isaac Theatre Royal, just in case you needed any additional enticement to get along to the festival.

Film enthusiasts from The Press are already making their picks for must-sees on Twitter. Senior Reporter, Philip Matthews’ (@secondzeit) top ten is –

1. Inherent Vice
2. 45 years
3. The Women of Pike River
4. The Wolfpack
5. The Lobster
6. The Look of Silence
7. Cemetery of Splendour
8. Out of the Mist
9. Clouds of Sils Maria
10. Going Clear

Whereas Charlie Gates (@nzcharliegates), Arts and Data reporter, in all his enthusiasm, can’t limit himself to a top ten, preferring an unorthodox “top 12” instead.

1. Inherent Vice
2. Amy
3. The Kid
4. Out of the Mist
5. Kiss me Kate 3D
6. The Misfits
7. ’71
8. Turbo Kid
9. Ex Machina
10. The Wolfpack
11. The End of the Tour
12. Banksy Does New York

And of course, my top ten is different again.

1. Turbo Kid – There is significant buzz online about this film and the trailer is gloriously over the top, both in gore and tone, which is right up my alley, thanks.
2. Going Clear – As Matthew’s said yesterday “See it before the Church of Scientology stop you”.
3. The Diary of a Teenage Girl – Kristen Wiig and Alexander Skaarsgard are people I would watch in anything. In a movie together? It’s a no-brainer.
4. The Art of Recovery – Very much a documentary about us (Christchurch) in a particular time and place but this time it’s not about destructive forces but creative ones.
5. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night – Because I’m a sucker for vampires (geddit?). And interesting takes on gender politics.
6. Women he’s undressed – Documentary about camp Australian costume designer, Orry-Kelly who makes it big in Hollywood, dressing the biggest stars of the day. Am I mostly in it for the clothes and an insight into Cary Grant’s secret love life? Yes.
7. Tale of Tales – Sumptuous fairy tales, dark and twisted, portrayed by an amazing cast.
8. The Price of Peace – Documentary from Kiwi journo Kim Webby explores the greater social issues at work with the Urewera Four and Tame Iti. A story that New Zealand needs to be told.
9. She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry – Yay for feminism and the campaigners of the 60s and 70s.
10. The Misfits – Because I’ve never seen Marilyn Monroe on the big screen.

The Christchurch leg of the festival runs 7 – 23 August but tickets to popular sessions do have a tendency to sell out so get booking ASAP.

Read more

• Our blog post on the literary films at NZIFF 2015
• NZIFF website

Have you had a chance to peruse the film schedule yet? What are your top picks for this year’s festival?

New Zealand International Film Festival 2015

Every year the New Zealand International Film Festival screens a range of films over a two week period. The 2015 Christchurch festival runs from 7 August to 23 August.

Literary films at the Festival

Several of the films at the Festival are based on books, or are on the subject of writers. Portions of the following list have been kindly supplied by the Festival organisers.

Aunty and the Star People: Documenting Lives

One of the most successful films at the New Zealand International Film Festival had a New Zealand author as its focus: Jean Watson. Aunty and the star people explores the “fascinating double life” of Jean Watson (author of Stand in the rain) who started a children’s home in Southern India. It was completely sold out during the Festival and will be released in cinemas very soon.

Gerard Smyth (the director of Aunty and the star people) and Jean discussed her life and work in India as part of WORD Christchurch.

28 years ago, Joy Cowley invited Jean to accompany her to India to explore her interest in religion. During the trip, Joy had to rush home but Jean decided to stay. She says she’s been there “ever since, emotionally when not physically”.

For the last 27 years, Jean has set up, funded and run Karunai Illam, a Children’s home in India where children from dysfunctional or destitute homes live and attend school. They now also have a school and vocational training community college. There are currently 43 children in the home and 269 attending the day school. Jean spends about three months a year in India. She says “When I’m there, I forget about here. When I’m here, I can’t forget about there.”

Jean first found literary success with Stand in the Rain, a fictionalised account of her life with Barry Crump. Gerard described this novel as meeting “with huge acclaim”. Jean countered with “Not huge acclaim.” “Some acclaim.” Gerard compromised, Jean clarified with “Well, there weren’t many writers then…” Needless to say, Jean is very humble. She said “my ordinary life seems described as extraordinary in the media, to me it is an ordinary life, maybe I should make it more extraordinary.”

Throughout her career, Jean has met many New Zealand literary luminaries:

• Bob Lowry: He gave Jean a job after he inadvertently got her fired from the Salvation Army by showing up to visit her in an inebriated state. Jean said he was renowned as the best typographer in New Zealand and taught her how to set up type.
• Dennis Glover: “Very sort of sarcastic, open person. You could never take offence at him. I remember him calling me a middle aged Ophelia. Whatever that means.”
• Janet Frame: Jean met her when she was trying to get a reference to get into University from Frank Sargeson. Janet eventually wrote her a reference as well. “Just a young lady with red hair who seemed to me extremely nice and empathetic.”
• Joy Cowley, long-time friend and Patron of Karunai Illam, said “Unwrapping Jean’s writing takes you to  place beyond words.” Jean now wants to focus on her existential writing, similar to Address to a King, complete her autobiography and write a follow-up chapter for Karunai Illam, her book describing the establishment and running of Karunai Illam. Although her goals may change; when Gerard reminded her that “55 [her age when she started the Illam – ed.] is quite old to start a new life.” She countered with “I don’t know, maybe I’ll start a new one tomorrow. Time is an illusion.”

• Read more WORD Christchurch Writers and Readers Festival posts
• Read our 39 quick interviews with festival guests including Jean Watson
• Our page on WORD Christchurch

Film Festival Literary Connections

The New Zealand International Film Festival is coming to Christchurch in August and we recently chatted to the Festival Director, Bill Gosden about cinematic books that inspired him.

Bill said he was indebted to Dunedin Public Libraries where he had his unofficial film education while at high school. Titles that helped spur his interest in film included:

• Pauline Kael’s books of film criticism.
• David Thomson’s The new biographical dictionary of film, which he called “rewarding and provocative”.
• François Truffaut interviews with Alfred Hitchcock which he described as “hugely important when I was really young”.

Take a look at our collection of movie related resources to get some inspiration for your future-film-festival-directing endeavours. If you are more interested in watching films than curating them however, there are a bunch of films in the Festival that have literary connections. We’ve got a list of them on our website, as well as a list of upcoming film and TV adaptations  and a huge list of books that have previously been filmed. Here are some of the highlights:

• Poets: Relationships are at the core of films about Friedrich Schiller and Elizabeth Bishop, one set in 18th Century Europe and the other set in 1950s Rio.
• Authors: Violette Leduc and New Zealander Jean Watson both are the focus of films this year. Aunty and the star people explores the “fascinating double life” of Jean Watson (author of Stand in the rain) who started a children’s home in Southern India.
• Photographers: Gavin Hipkins (NZ) and Sebastião Salgado’s photographic works come off the page and onto the big screen.
• Adaptations: Human capital, Under the skin and Snowpiercer give some thrills this year, but there are also some slower-paced choices on our list.

There are a lot more titles on our list. Let us know in the comments if we have missed any literary connections in this years Festival.

 

NZ International Film Festival programme announced

The New Zealand International Film Festival programme has been released and we caught up with its Director, Bill Gosden, to discuss what Christchurch audiences should head out to see.

Bill says this year is the biggest so far for Christchurch Film Festival audiences with over 90 films screening at Hoyts cinemas. Nick Paris (Christchurch publicist for the Festival) described the programme as being filled with “contagious cinematic bling”.

The Festival has films for all ages, including children. The NZIFF received a harsh letter from some 7 year old festival-goers a few years ago who deemed the “Animation for Kids” programme “Animation for BABIES”. In light of that stinging criticism, the festival now provides two animated programmes for kids, one aimed at 3 – 6 year olds: Toons for Tots, and the other aimed at 7 – 10 year olds: Animation for Kids 2014. Toons for Tots features adaptations of two popular children’s books: The legend of the golden snail by Australian master Graeme Base and the hilarious I want my hat back by Jon Klassen.

If you’ve been enjoying your movies for longer than 3 – 10 years though, Bill pointed out two movies that star modern cinema legends: Isabelle Huppert in Folies Bergère and Catherine Deneuve in In The Courtyard. If you like your stars more local or literary, here are some films that strike a literary or local chord include:

• The young and prodigious T.S. Spivet based on the book by Reif Larsen.
• Aunty and the Star People, the story of author Jean Watson who started a children’s home in India, directed by When a city falls director Gerard Smyth.
• The world première of Into the Void about the eponymous underground Christchurch band.
• Violette, a dramatic portrait of writer Violette Leduc.

Bill encourages Christchurch cinephiles to take on the Film Festival films. He and his team have spent months viewing over 800 films across the world in order to bring Film Festival audiences “the most interesting films of the year. One effect of being able to bring films digitally to the Festival is that there are quite a few films that viewers haven’t heard much about as they are so new.” Festival attendees have the opportunity to be the first in the world to check them out.

Tickets go on sale Friday 18 July and the Festival runs from 7 – 24 August. On the Film Festival website you can timetable in your viewing pleasures and make sure you don’t double-book yourself. Programmes are also available from our Libraries.