In an unusual precedent, the Incredibly Strange section of the New Zealand International Film Festival is handing out awards to films before they have even screened to the general public. The film festival doesn't officially open until July 9th but several films have already been bestowed awards.

Festival Programmer Ant Timpson had this to say regarding his controversial decision,

"I already know these films are very special. I don't need a jury to tell me what I already know. I'm giving these films awards in advance because 99% of the public don't care what films win awards AFTER they've screened, they want to know BEFORE they screen. Call me a ground-breaking loose canon if you must but maybe, just maybe, the public would prefer to know what films win awards before a festival has finished!"

THE INAUGRUAL STRANGIES FOR '09 AS FOLLOWS...

Simply an amazing documentary and worthy of all the praise its getting from around the globe. You cannot watch this and not have the image of youtube sensation Susan Boyle recently being admitted into a psych ward for over exposure. Well here's a too-good-to-be-true (but is!) tale you mightn't have heard about someone whose trajectory was similar to Boyle's if a little more underground... more.

Sometimes the most obscure subjects make the most entertaining of docs. In 1990 a little known horror sequel farted into existence, the film Troll 2 was barely released ending up in video store discount bins. And then in the quiet of late night cable tv, something amazing happened. The z-grade film began to attract a cult... more.

Grace is an anomaly in this day and age. A stoic horror film that eschews the manic style of modern horror for a more formal (and queasy) approach used by directors like Cronenberg, resulting in a film that gets under your skin and stays with you for days... more.

Horror fans may been feeling a litte satiated with the recent glut of zombie pics. I mean how many ways can you skin a cat (and eat it)? Two words. Nazi Zombies. This giddy Norwegian splatterfest was the midnight romp at Sundance, an utterly unapologectic throwback to the gory days of 80s zombie flicks... more.

Raimi the Detroit super 8 horror nut who became a Hollywood titan (Spiderman 1,2,3) returns to his roots (Evil Dead 1,2,3) with a hellacious and hysterical chillride that owes more than a passing nod towards Curse of the Demon; Jacque Tourneur's classic tale of supernatural coercion... more.

If you've never heard of the legendary Brazilian filmmaker Jose Mojica Marins then its time to wake the fuck up. Shame on you. If you're a fan of John Waters or Russ Meyer or Alejandro Jodorowksy, then shame on you doubly so. You need to get down to the ticket office and book a ticket to this show as it will sell out... more.

A raw and relentless low-fi thriller that trades star power and big budget superficiality for gritty realism and ferocious performances. This indie joins the pantheon of brutal revenge pics like Straw Dogs and Last House on the Left, films that refused to bow to commercial pressures by santising the ugly reality of their grueling subject matter... more.

If you're going to do a love story, make it a mad love story. Get down into the essentials: ecstasy, pain and all the bodily fluids, especially blood... more.

Voted the worsts worst film on IMDB, this true cult phenomenon has legions of fans around the world. Come along for a special one-off screening to see the film that inspired director Michael Stephenson to make the award winning doc Best Worst Movie... more.

Sono's dazzling & demented pic sushis religion, family and sexual mores in an epic saga that follows a rebellious boy named Yu whose life is thrown into chaos following the death of his mother. Yu realises that to gain affection from his father (a catholic priest) he must perpetually commit sins like mass murder and upskirt photography... more.