The film festival is alive and bustlin’ in Auckland. For this entry in Flicks’ grand #52FilmsByWomen list, we’ve gotten the help of three of the New Zealand International Film Festival‘s most significant women – Rebecca McMillan, Kailey Carruthers & Melanie Rae – to recommend a film from NZIFF showcasing as part of the section Women Make Movies.
The last recommendation is my own – a film that didn’t get as much attention as I had expected when it released.
#27 Lovesong | directed by So Yong Kim
“This is So Yong Kim’s first American feature, and it gives an intimate view of the complexity and fluidity of female friendship. This film has tender performances from Jena Malone (The Hunger Games) and Riley Keough (Mad Max: Fury Road, also the grandchild of Elvis and Priscilla Presley!).
“So Yong Kim first struck my soul with her 2008 film Treeless Mountain, a story set in Seoul, Korea and centered around two young sisters who must look after each other when their mother leaves them to find their father. Lovesong, like Treeless Mountain has already found a place in my heart too.”
– Rebecca McMillan, Publicity and Communications Manager for the New Zealand International Film Festival
Find out more about ‘Lovesong’ at NZIFF
#28 Cameraperson | directed by Kirsten Johnson
“A deeply personal essay of her work, Kirsten Johnson’s Cameraperson is both a celebration of her portfolio and an intimate journey through the stories and people who have affected her the most. Those watching are sure to recognize scenes from the documentaries of other directors, and without voiceover, we are able to explore and interpret the images before us.
“An inspiring piece of filmmaking on filmmaking, Cameraperson is a beautiful meditation on the creative process and the road both the filmmaker and the audience are taken on. I’m holding out for the sequel in 20 years’ time.”
– Kailey Carruthers, Online Content Coordinator for the New Zealand International Film Festival (as well as the female half of the Rancho Notorious Podcast duo)
Find out more about ‘Cameraperson’ at NZIFF
#29 A Flickering Truth | directed by Pietra Brett-Kelly
“With international film festival successes already under her belt for this and previous work, Pietra Brettkelly has a passion for story-telling and personal stories that reflect a bigger issue. A Flickering Truth is no exception as Brettkelly follows Ibrahim Arify – returning to his native Afghanistan with the intention of restoring thousands of hours of Afghan films, partially destroyed by the Taliban. Brettkelly’s coverage of the people, their stories, their day-to-day struggles and concerns, is all sensitively captured in an intriguing documentary.
“Her intrepid willingness to film in a country where foreign filmmakers – especially women – are at risk, is as inspirational as her work.”
– Melanie Rae, Auckland Publicist for the New Zealand International Film Festival
Find out more about ‘A Flickering Truth’ at NZIFF
#30 McFarland, USA | directed by Niki Caro
Niki Caro, director of the Oscar-nominated Whale Rider and North Country, conducted this feel-good sports drama for Disney. Based on the true story of a coach who takes students from one of America’s poorest cities to cross-country fame, the film lays out the beats of cinema inspiration as expected. But predictability can be outweighed by a narrative that takes unique ways to get there, and that’s McFarland, USA‘s biggest strength.
Managing to avoid both cartoonishly offensive stereotyping (a la Cool Runnings) and depressingly harsh honesty (a la Once Were Warriors), McFarland, USA is a film that can capture broad audiences without pushing its lead coach, played by Kevin Costner, into the Great White Hope trap. He is pivotal to this team, but this position forces him into a necessary empathy for his Mexican runners that grants his character an astute awareness of his own privilege. It makes the film richer and more effective than many of its imitators, and the unique mechanics of team-based running shakes the underdog sports formula up from a simple ‘x must defeat y’ format.
See DVD, Blu-ray and On Demand options for ‘McFarland USA’
The list of #52FilmsByWomen continues with…
February (including one pick from Deathgasm producer Morgan Leigh Stewart)
March (including one pick from NewsHub’s Kate Rodger)
April (including one pick from Sunday director Michelle Joy Lloyd)
May (including one pick from professional film geek Sarah McMullan)
June (including one pick from animator/filmmaker Mata Freshwater)
