📣The news you’ve been waiting for… check out the first 12 films of our 2026 lineup!
“We are excited to share this first batch of titles from NZIFF 2026. They reflect the diverse, free and adventurous nature of a line up that promises to be high on cinematic quality, and also on emotional impact, fun and topicality. We can’t wait to share more titles, and really look forward to the moment our audiences discover them on the big screen.” - Paolo Bertolin, NZIFF Artistic Director
Be sure to stay tuned, we’ll be keeping you in the loop with film details, ticket info and more exciting festival tidbits over the coming weeks 👀
🎬 Special announcement! 🎬 Our Centrepiece film for NZIFF 2026 is… Lomu!
You don’t have to be a rugby fan to be captivated by this complex and deeply human portrait of legendary All Black Jonah Lomu - the towering winger whose extraordinary talent and presence shaped the global game.
Directed by Vea Mafile’o and Gavin Fitzgerald, Lomu is lighting up the big screen at Tāmaki Makaurau’s mighty Civic on Saturday 1 August, before heading to other NZIFF venues.
Stay tuned for details, sign up to our e-newsletter for the latest, and follow along for more NZIFF film announcements on 15 May. 🎉
@madmanfilmsnz
Giveaway!🚨👀
Kiwi-made cannibalistic horror-comedy The Weed Eaters was a hit at NZIFF 2025, and now, it’s coming back to the big screen 🎉
To mark the occasion, the fearless film crew are setting off across Aotearoa on a Big Forking Tour, where they’ll be at cinemas for Q&As and advance movie screenings.
We have 3 double passes to giveaway to any session of your choice - swipe to see the list of dates and places. To enter, just tag a movie-loving mate (and make sure you’re following us on socials), and we’ll pick the winners at random.
NZ entrants only, competition closes 9am, Friday 10 April.
We’re baacckk! 🎬🍿NZIFF 2026 is coming to a cinema near you!
In case you missed it, our 2026 festival dates are:
Auckland: 29 July - 9 August (encores 10 - 12 Aug)
Christchurch: 6 - 23 August (encores 25 - 31 Aug)
Wellington: 12 - 23 August (encores 24 - 29 Aug)
Dunedin: 14 - 30 August (encores tbc)
Hamilton, Napier, Nelson, Tauranga, New Plymouth and Masterton: 27 August - 6/9 September (encores tbc)
Stay tuned for venue and film updates, and sign up to our edm (link in bio) for all the latest!
Giveaway! Love a psychological thriller? Nuremberg is coming soon to a cinema near you from Dec 4 👀
Starring a portly Russell Crowe as high-ranking Nazi Hermann Göring, and Rami Malek as the psychologist who sees right through him, Nuremberg is an explosive drama that delves into one of history’s most infamous trials.
Expect power plays, mind games and death stares galore as prosecutors look into the horrors of the Nazi regime, and the courtroom becomes a battleground of justice versus evil.
We have 5 double passes to Nuremberg to give away. To enter - just tag a mate who loves the movies (and make sure you’re following NZIFF), and we’ll draw winners at random. Winners will be notified via direct message. NZ entrants only, competition closes midnight Wednesday 3 Dec.
Your Sunday arvo sorted - join us for our NZIFF special screening of Rental Family, in partnership with our mates at The Walt Disney Company New Zealand and Searchlight Pictures 🍿🎥
In case you missed it in our recent e-newsletter, we’re holding screenings in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin - where you can be among the first in NZ to see this feelgood comedy-drama starring Oscar winner Brendan Fraser.
Set in Tokyo, Rental Family follows out-of-work actor Phillip (Fraser) on his weirdest gig yet - with an unusual agency that lets families hire paid actors to stand in for long lost relatives, therapists or even con artists; whatever it takes to make an awkward problem go away. All is going well, until one particular job strikes a different chord…
Screenings are on Sunday 23 Nov at Rialto Newmarket, Wellington’s Empire Cinema, the Lumiere in Chch, and Rialto Dunedin - check out nziff.co.nz for details and tickets!
Pollywood Pasifika Film Festival is back! 🌺
Screening on Nov 11 at Māngere Arts Centre and Nov 22 at Auckland Art Gallery, each session features six short films that tell captivating and provocative stories from throughout our beautiful Pacific neighbourhood.
Films include Dear Aloha; a heartfelt look at environmental displacement in Hawaii, Puti; the courageous tale of a sex worker on Auckland’s K’Road, and I Am Not Your Dusky Maiden; where a therapy session takes an unlikely twist.
Get tickets to Pollywood Pasifika Film 23 (named after the number of years the fest has been running) through Eventfinda, and keep an eye on @_pasifikafilms and Pollywood - Pasifika Film for all the latest.
Giveaway! 🎥🍿🎬
After its first run at this year’s NZIFF, Familiar Touch is coming back to big screens from 13 November - and we have tickets to give away.
A triple award-winner at the 2024 Venice Film Festival, the film follows retired cook Ruth, who is navigating a move into an aged care village as she grapples with dementia. Told with dignity and compassion, the film highlights Ruth’s grace, wit and quiet strength as she comes to terms with her changing sense of self, and it asks the question - what if we glow most warmly at the edges of memory?
We have 5 double passes on offer thanks to our friends at @potentialfilmsanz - to enter, describe a favourite memory using 3 words.
NZ entrants only, entries close 5 Nov and winners will be contacted via direct message.
Note - Familiar Touch is screening in Auckland, Christchurch, Gore, Lincoln, Oamaru, Masterton, Motueka, New Plymouth and Thames. See potentialfilms.com for details.
Continuing our series of chats with Kiwi filmmaker Rob Sarkies (director of Scarfies, Consent: The Louise Nicholas Story), we asked him what it was like working with the stars of Pike River; Melanie Lynskey and Robyn Malcolm.
Sonya Rockhouse and Anna Osborne, alongside Rob, will be attending special Q&A screenings across the country. Details at https://www.madman.co.nz/pike-river/
Heartbreaking, hopeful, and beautifully honest, Pike River is in cinemas nationwide October 30th.
In this next instalment of our chat with Kiwi filmmaker Rob Sarkies (director of Scarfies, Consent: The Louise Nicholas Story), he discusses showing Pike River for the first time to Sonya and Anna.
Sonya Rockhouse and Anna Osborne alongside Rob will be attending special Q&A screenings across the country. Details at https://www.madman.co.nz/pike-river/
Heartbreaking, hopeful, and beautifully honest, Pike River is in cinemas nationwide October 30th. Special sold out “In Conversation” premiere screenings are happening this week in Auckland, Christchurch & Wellington.
We sat down with Kiwi filmmaker Rob Sarkies (director of Scarfies, Consent: The Louise Nicholas Story) and talked all about his latest film, Pike River.
Melanie Lynskey and Robyn Malcolm star as Anna Osborne and Sonya Rockhouse, two women who led the charge for change after tragedy. Keep an eye out this week for more snippets of our chat with Rob.
Heartbreaking, hopeful, and beautifully honest, Pike River is in cinemas nationwide October 30th. Special sold out “In Conversation” premiere screenings are happening this week in Auckland, Christchurch & Wellington.
Missed out? Join Rob and special guests Anna and Sonya for a series of Q&A events across the country. Details at https://www.madman.co.nz/pike-river/
