New Zealand Film Festival

The Embassy of New Zealand , the Philippines- New Zealand Business Council and the UP Film Institute present the New Zealand Film Festival 2007 from Feb 12 to 15.

Screening schedule is as follows:

Feb 12 Mon
5 p.m. The World's Fastest Indian
7:30 p.m. Sione's Wedding

Feb 13 Tue
4 p.m. Cinema of Unease: A Personal Journey by Sam Neill
5 p.m. No. 2
7:30 p.m. Whale Rider

Feb 14 Wed
2 p.m. The World's Fastest Indian
5 p.m. Sione's Wedding
7:30 p.m. Whale Rider

Feb 15 Thu
4 p.m. Cinema of Unease: A Personal Journey by Sam Neill
5 p.m. In My Father's Den
7:30 p.m. No. 2

Each screening daily at 5 and 7:30 p.m. and on Wednesday at 2 p.m.
will be preceded by a short film.

All films in exhibition are in 35mm print. Admission is free.


Some notes and descriptions for the must-see films:

Feature Films

Sione's Wedding
Four Samoan guys are banned from their best friend's wedding unless they each find the right girl to take to the nuptials and put an end to their remarkable record of ruining every marriage ceremony they attend.
Nominated for Ten Major Awards including Best Picture-2006 New Zealand Screen Awards
Direction: Chris Graham. Screenplay: James Griffin, Oscar Kightley. Cast: Oscar Kightley, Robbie Magasiva, Shimpal Lelisi, Iaheto Ah Hi, Teuila Blakely, Madeleine Same, David Fane, Pua Magasiva, David van Horn, Nathaniel Lees, Maryjane McKibbin-Schwenke, Ana Tuigamala.
2006 97 minutes 35mm color

Whale Rider
A feisty little girl bucks tradition in an attempt to become the first female chief of a Maori tribe.
Winner of People's Choice Award -2002 Toronto IFF; Audience Award-2003 Sundance FF; Audience Award-2003 Rotterdam IFF; Best Foreign Film-2004 Independent Spirit Awards; Best Picture-2003 New Zealand Film and Television Awards among over 50 awards and distinctions including Oscar Nomination for Best Actress for Keisha Castle-Hughes- 2004 Academy Awards
Direction and Screenplay from Witi Ihimaera's novel: Niki Caro. Cast: Keisha Castle-Hughes, Rawiri Paratene, Vicky Haughton, Cliff Curtis, Rawinia Clarke.
2002 101 minutes 35mm color

No. 2
A matriarch puts on a big feast for her family to name her successor.
Winner of Audience Award-2006 Sundance FF; Winner of Best Original Music, Best Actress for Ruby Dee, Best Supporting Actor for Rene Naufahu, Best Supporting Actress for Mia Blake plus more nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay-2006 New Zealand Screen Awards
Direction and Screenplay: Toa Fraser. Cast: Ruby Dee, Tuva Novotny, Taungaroa Emile, Xavier Horan, Rene Naufahu.
2006 94 minutes 35mm color

In My Father's Den
A disillusioned war journalist is implicated in a teenage girl's mysterious disappearance.
Winner of International Critics Prize-2004 Toronto IFF; Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay-2005 New Zealand Screen Awards among more awards and distinctions including Best Actor for Matthew Macfadyen, Best Actress for Emily Barclay, Best Supporting Actor for Colin Moy, Best Supporting Actress for Jodie Rimmer
Direction and Screenplay from Maurice Gee's book: Brad McGann. Cast: Matthew Macfadyen, Miranda Otto, Emily Barclay, Colin Moy.
2004 126 minutes 35mm color
For mature viewing with sexual content, language,some violence and drug use

The World's Fastest Indian
The true story of Burt Munro-the New Zealand man who spent decades perfecting his classic 1920 Indian motorcycle. At age 68, he risked everything, including his own life, taking the bike to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah to break the world speed record.
Winner of Seven Major Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Actor for Anthony Hopkins-2006 New Zealand Screen Awards; Official Selection for Golden Seashell-2005 San Sebastian IFF
Direction and Screenplay: Roger Donaldson. Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Diane Ladd, Paul Rodriguez, Aaron Murphy, Annie Whittle.
2005 126 minutes 35mm color


Documentary Feature

Cinema of Unease: A Personal Journey by Sam Neill
A documentary feature by Sam Neill and Judy Rymer
A century of New Zealand cinema is recounted in a personal journey through the childhood and memories of one of its key actors.
1995 56 minutes 35mm color


Short Film Selection

Blue Willow (Veialu Aila-Unsworth, 2005, 14 minutes)
An animated fable haunts with its tale of love and betrayal.

No Ordinary Sun (Jonathan Brough, 2004, 15 minutes)
A man confronts his fears against the majestic backdrop of the Antarctic.

Infection (James Cunningham, 2000, 9 minutes)
A mutant hero. A virtual bank heist. A digital action thriller. The perfect digital crime.

The Lounge Bar (Don McGlashan-Harry Sinclair, 1989, 12 minutes)
A bizarre web of fate links a man and a woman meeting for the first time to a singer, his song, his sideburns and bell bottoms.

Shadow over the Sun (Rachel Douglas, 2006, 8 minutes)
A new mom in colonial New Zealand is visited by a tui in her garden in anticipation of fear and hope for a new life.

Hotel Hawkestone (Sebastian Doyle-Jonathan Smith, 1992, 14 minutes)
An Asian woman books a holiday in a New Zealand hotel yet to be built.

The Grocer's Apprentice (Sebastian Doyle, 1997, 11 minutes)
A grocer leaves his store in the care of an errant assistant. Based on the Goethe classic.

Two Cars, One Night (Taika Waititi, 2003, 11 minutes)
One night outside a rural pub, three children in two cars await their parents.


University of the Philippines Film Institute
(Member, CILECT/Internationa l Association of Film and Television Schools )
Plaridel Hall, Ylanan Road , UP Diliman, Quezon City
Tel: 9818500 (UP Trunkline) local 2669, 2670; 9206863 (Telefax)
Cine Adarna, Magsaysay and Osmeña Avenues, UP Diliman, Quezon City
Tel: 9818500 (UP Trunkline) local 4286, 4289; 9262722 (Telefax)