New Zealand International Film Festival revealed the poster and the first five films from the 2019 program, which will screen in Auckland from July 18, and in Wellington from July 26..
The first films are a melange of styles and subjects. A 59-minute 3D tracking shot, a Southern California neo-noir, a space odyssey starring Robert Pattinson and Juliette Binoche, a Lord of the Files-style thriller from Colombia, and a deep dive into New Zealand’s flourishing wine industry feature in the line-up.
“We’re excited to finally announce our first titles for 2019. A Long Day’s Journey into Night and Under the Silver Lake will make their long-awaited NZ premieres at NZIFF after premiering at Cannes last year. We’ll also be presenting two of the most striking films from the past year, High Life and Monos, which premiered at Toronto and Sundance respectively and the world premiere of David Nash’s NZ wine documentary A Seat at the Table.” — NZIFF Program Manager Michael McDonnell.
The 2019 poster artwork is designed by Ocean Design and Ken Samonte returns for a second year as illustrator.
“Ocean has enjoyed 30 years of true creative collaboration and partnership with Bill Gosden and his amazing team. With it being Bill’s last festival as Director we wanted to create a truly memorable image. I think we saved our best for his last! The concept for this year’s image drew on NZIFF-as-a-hotel metaphor that we have explored in previous posters, but this year, were able to envision and realise our most ambitious tableau thanks to the talent of illustrator Ken Samonte.
High Life
DIRECTOR: Claire Denis
WITH: Robert Pattinson (Monte), Juliette Binoche (Dibs), André Benjamin (Tcherny), Mia Goth (Boyse), Agata Buzek (Nansen), Lars Eidinger (Chandra), Claire Tran (Mink), Ewan Mitchell (Ettore), Gloria Obianyo (Elektra), Scarlett Lindsey (baby Willow), Jessie Ross (Willow), Victor Banerjee (Indian professor)
A forbidding spaceship carrying death row inmates hurtles towards oblivion in Claire Denis’s long-awaited, intensely hypnotic sci-fi opus.
Long Day’s Journey Into Night
DIRECTOR/SCREENPLAY: Bi Gan
WITH: Huang Jue (Luo Hongwu), Tang Wei (Wan Qiwen), Sylvia Chang (Wildcat’s mother, red-headed woman), Lee Hong (Chi Wildcat), Chen Yongzhong (Zuo Hongyuan), Luo Feiyang (young Wildcat), Zeng Meihuizi (pager), Tuan Chun (ex-husband of Wan Qiwen), Bi Yanmin (woman prisoner), Xie Lixun (Zuo’s hatchet man, lover of red-hair woman), Qi Xi (woman in Jade Hotel), Ming Dow (policeman), Long Zezhi (blond man in pool hall)
Part film noir, part dreamscape, this oneiric love mystery – acclaimed for its hour-long 3D sequence shot in a mesmerizing unbroken take – intoxicatingly captures romantic obsession in southern China.
Monos
DIRECTOR: Alejandro Landes
WITH: Julianne Nicholson (Doctora – Doctor), Moises Arías (Patagrande – Big Foot), Wilson Salazar (the messenger), Sofía Buenaventura (Rambo), Deiby Rueda (Pitufo – Smurf), Laura Castrillón (Sueca – Swede), Julián Giraldo (Lobo – Wolf), Paul Cubides (Perro – Dog), Sneider Castro (Bum Bum), Karen Quintero (Leidi – Lady)
Like Lord of the Flies by way of Yorgos Lanthimos, this bold, bizarro Sundance sensation takes the feral power struggles of youth gone wild to the misty mountains and lush jungles of Colombia.
A Seat at the Table
DIRECTORS/SCREENPLAY: David Nash, Simon Mark-Brown
WITH: Stephen Browett, Jancis Robinson, Michael Brajkovich, Bob Campbell
Savor 100 minutes of eye-popping camera work, picturesque vineyards and gratuitous grape-fondling shots in this glorious toast to the talent and the stories behind New Zealand’s world-famous wine industry.
Under the Silver Lake
DIRECTOR/SCREENPLAY: David Robert Mitchell
WITH: Andrew Garfield (Sam), Riley Keough (Sarah), Topher Grace (bar buddy), Callie Hernandez (Millicent Sevence), Zosia Mamet (Troy), Patrick Fischler (comic man), Jimmi Simpson (Allen), Grace Van Patten (balloon girl), Don McManus (final man), Jeremy Bobb (songwriter), Riki Lindhome (actress)
Deadbeat slacker Andrew Garfield delves into the labyrinthine mysteries of La La Land on the hunt for a missing girl in David Robert Mitchell’s oddball neo-noir thriller.