Telecom New Zealand International Film Festivals 2004

16 July, 2004
"So many movies, so little time." To assist your decision making process the Film Archive draws your attention to the following films in the Telecom International Film Festivals 2004.

Centrepiece in Wellington and Auckland is the live cinema presentation of Buster Keaton's Steamboat Bill, Jr. (USA, 1928), accompanied in Auckland by the Auckland Philharmonia and in Wellington by the NGC Wellington Sinfonia, under the direction of Timothy Brock.

For those ready to sample a truly contemporary take on live cinema, A Page of Madness (Japan, 1926) by Kurutta Ippeiji, one of the rediscovered greats of Japanese cinema makes a stunning return to the big screen. The Nursery, the Sheffield-based musical project centred around twin brothers, Klive and Nigel Humberstone, accompanies A Page of Madness, with the support of the British Council.

Steamboat Bill, Jr. screens in
Auckland, Civic, Sunday 25 July at 6.00pm
Wellington, Embassy, Sunday 1 August at 2.00pm & 6.15pm

A Page of Madness screens in
Auckland, Sky City Theatre, Sunday 18 July at 8.15pm
Wellington, Paramount, Tuesday 20 July at 9.00pm

The late Jonathan Dennis was instrumental in bringing many memorable archival programmes to the Festival. Peters Wells' Friendship is the Harbour of Joy (NZ, 2004), the story of the remarkable relationship between silent-film actress Witarina Harris and Jonathan, premieres at the Festivals on the Moving Image Centre's Homegrown: Documentary.

Homegrown: Documentary also features ex-Film Archive staffer Zoe Roland's poetic and nostalgic view of a childhood holiday, Notes For a Coastline (NZ, 2004).

Friendship is the Harbour of Joy & Notes For a Coastline screen on Homegrown: Documentary in
Auckland, Village Hoyts Cinemas, Sunday 18 July at 11.00am and Wednesday 21 July at 10.30am
Wellington (once only), Soundings Theatre, Te Papa, Sunday 25 July at 12.15pm

The Film Archive's recently opened mediaplex in Wellington, hosts screenings of two of the Festival's animation programmes, Estonian Panorama and Priit Pärn.

Estonian Panorama (Estonia, 1972-2001) features the unique animation that has flowed from Estonia's two main animation studios: Nukufilm (a studio specialising in puppet animation) and Joonisfilm which concentrates predominantly on drawn animation.

Chris Robinson (author of Between Genius & Utter Illiteracy – A Story of Estonian Animation), describes Priit Pärn, as "an illegitimate crossbreeding of George Grosz, Monty Python and Jean-Luc Godard". From the 20 films Pärn has produced the Festival have selected three titles featuring on Priit Pärn (Estonia, 1987-1998).

Estonian Panorama screens in Wellington at the New Zealand Community Trust mediatheatre, Film Archive mediaplex, cnr Ghuznee & Taranaki Sts on Saturday 31 July at 1.00pm and Sunday 1 August at 3.00pm.

Priit Pärn screens in Wellington at the New Zealand Community Trust mediatheatre, Film Archive mediaplex, cnr Ghuznee & Taranaki Sts on Saturday 31 July at 3.00pm and Sunday 1 August at 1.00pm.

Originally banned in France, and now re-released in a new, restored print, Gillo Pontecorvo's classic of political cinema, The Battle of Algiers (La Battaglia di Algieri, Italy/Algeria, 1965) provides surprising and striking perspectives on events post-September 2001. And in a late confirmation perennial cult favourite, and WWII veteran, Sam Fuller's epic meditation on the crazy logic of war, The Big Red One: The Reconstruction (USA, 1980/2004) appears in the form ("the director's cut") that Fuller originally intended.

The Battle for Algiers screens in
Auckland, Academy, Saturday 17 July at 7.00pm; Sunday 18 July at 8.15pm; Tuesday 20 July at 2.30pm and Saturday 24 July at 8.15pm
Wellington, Paramount, Saturday 31 July at 1.30pm & 8.00pm

The Big Red One screens in
Auckland, Village Hoyts Cinemas, Tuesday 20 July at 8.15pm; Wednesday 21 July at 8.15pm; Friday 23 July at 11.15am
Wellington, Embassy, Monday 2 August at 3pm & 8pm

Programmes on – or well beyond – the fringe of the archival world will definitely be worth a look. Guy Maddin continues his homage to the era of silent film with The Saddest Music in the World (Canada, 2003), "an insane extravaganza directed ... as if he's Busby Berkeley on (black and white) psychedelics", along with his self-described "hideous work of self-loathing", Cowards Bend the Knee (Canada, 2003).

In Hollywood Respliced, a selection of 12 experimental worlds, Hollywood (plus a few non-Hollywood) images are pulled apart and put together again in fiendishly inventive fashion. The 80-minute programme culminates with Virgil (Copy Shop) Widrich's Fast Film (Austria, 2003), which pilfers footage from Buster Keaton to Indiana Jones and every chase film in between.

Taiwan's art-cinema guru, Tsai Ming-liang imagines the death of cinema going in Goodbye, Dragon Inn (Bu San, 2003) while Thom Andersen argues in his clip-packed essay, Los Angeles Plays Itself (USA, 2003), that Hollywood movies have given us an utterly false picture of the city.

The Saddest Music in the World screens in
Auckland, Civic, Friday 9 July at 5.15pm; Sky City Theatre, Saturday 10 July at 8.30pm and Wednesday 14 July at 1.30pm
Wellington, Paramount, Saturday 17 July at 7.45pm and Monday, 19 July at 2.00pm

Cowards Bend the Knee screens in
Auckland, Village Hoyts Cinemas, Friday 23 July at 6.15pm and Saturday 24 July at 12.15pm
Wellington, Soundings Theatre, Te Papa, Wednesday 28 July at 4.45pm and 6.30pm

Hollywood Respliced screens in
Auckland, Village Hoyts Cinemas, Thursday 22 July at 6.15pm and Friday 23 July at 2.15pm
Wellington, Paramount, Friday 30 July at 1.30pm and Saturday 31 July at 4.00pm

Goodbye, Dragon Inn screens in
Auckland, Village Hoyts Cinemas, Thursday 15 July at 8.15pm and Friday 16 July at 6.15pm
Wellington, Soundings Theatre, Te Papa, Saturday 24 July at 5.45pm and Monday 26 July at 6.15pm

Los Angeles Plays Itself screens in
Auckland, Village Hoyts Cinemas, Tuesday 20 July at 10.30am and Sunday 25 July at 2.30pm
Wellington, Soundings Theatre, Te Papa, Saturday 31 July at 10.30am and Sunday 1 August at 2.45pm

Watch for copies of the Film Archive's new, redesigned and elegant brochure at festival venues: it outlines the collections, services and public programmes available at New Zealand's premier moving image archive.

For detailed information on films, including booking arrangements and ticket prices visit www.nzff.telecom.co.nz