Campion’s 'Bright Star' to open NZ Film Festival

Direct from competition at Cannes, Bright Star will open the NZ International Film Festival in July.

Festival director Bill Gosden announced that the film, directed by NZ-born Jane Campion, will open both the Auckland and Wellington legs of the Festival direct from its World Premiere screenings in competition at Cannes last month.

CLICK HERE for the full NZ International Film Festival line-up.

"To present the first post-Cannes screenings of Bright Star is a significant coup for the NZ film-going public - and to welcome Jane Campion's work back to the Festival is extremely exciting for us." says Festival director Bill Gosden.

The film tells the story of English poet John Keats’ secret love affair with the girl-next-door Fanny Brawne, played by Abbie Cornish. Keats is played by Ben Whishaw. NZ actress Kerry Fox, star of Campion’s An Angel at my Table, plays Fanny’s mother Mrs Brawne. The title ‘Bright Star’ comes from a love poem for Brawne which Keats wrote in the flyleaf of his copy of the works of Shakespeare.

Bright Star will have one public screening each in Auckland and Wellington and the Festival expect demand will be high. The film’s release date, expected to be early 2010, is yet to be announced.

The Festival programme, which was revealed in full tonight, includes further Cannes Competition highlights such as Ken Loach’s ode to Eric Cantona, Looking for Eric, Korean vampire priest shocker, Thirst and Pedro Almodovar’s Broken Embraces starring Penelope Cruz which is the Festival’s official closing night selection.

2009 also sees the return of the maestro of Japanese animation to the Festival big screen. Hayao Miyazaki’ s Ponyo, the charming tale of a friendship between a goldfish and a boy who lives on a cliff by the sea, will have its Southern Hemisphere premiere at The Civic.

Auckland will also host the world premiere and debut for writer/director James Napier Robertson with his backwoods thriller I’m Not Harry Jenson. Produced by Tom Hern and starring Gareth Reeves, Renato Bartolomei (from Shortland Street fame), Ian Mune and Ilona Rodgers the film tells the story of a bad case of writer’s block and is set in the Waitakere ranges.

Visit www.nzff.co.nz for each the city schedules and full info. The festival opens on July 9 in Auckland, then travels up and down the country finishing up in Whangarei on November 25.