Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Award Ceremony NZ International Film Festival 2017

My personal summary of NZIFF 2017. I had few disappointments this year, either the films this year were good or I was good picking the ones I would like.

Themes

Each year has its themes.  This year's themes are:
  • Thrillers, which got their own section in the program this year.
  • Woman Centred films, a lot of them this year.
  • Sex.
There were even 2 films involving poisonous mushrooms.

Best Film

Nominations:
My pick is Jasper Jones an Australian film about young Charlie Bucktin growing up fast.

Best Documentary

Nominations:
  • Abacus: Small Enough to Jail - the fallout of the global financial crisis
    • Dina - a love story with physical affection issues
    • Kedi - a cute doco about stray cats in Istanbul. Did NZIFF comp Gareth Morgan?
    • Risk - a little insight into Julian Assange
    My pick is Abacus: Small Enough to Jail a legal battle and family film

    Best Thriller

    Nominations:
    • 6 Days - docu-drama about the Iranian Embassy hostage crisis 1980
    • Bad Genius - a teen thriller without any life threatening situations
    • Berlin Syndrome - not sponsored by the Berlin Tourist Board or Lonely Planet
    • Hostages - docu-drama about 1983 hijack of Aeroflot flight 6833
    • Human Traces - Kiwi Sub-Antarctic thriller caused by none communication
    • It Comes at Night - post apocalyptic threats in the night 
    • Jasper Jones - teen thriller in small town Australia
    • The Nile Hilton Incident - noir thriller in Cairo
    • Tragedy Girls - girl power, social media and a small town killing spree
    • Wind River - you are not in call-for-backup country now, FBI girl
    My pick is Wind River, while I enjoyed some of the other thrillers more. I think this one works best as the thriller.

    Best Comedy

    Nominations:
    My pick is Tragedy Girls, though A Date for Mad Mary is a very close second.

    Best Horror

    Nominations:
    My pick is The Evil Within even though it is the most conventional of horror movies

    Best Woman Centred Film

    Nominations:
    My pick is A Date for Mad Mary, the stroppiest of women on the hunt for a man

    Special mentions for the great frocks:
    • The Beguiled - long skirts and tight bodices to be ripped, showering buttons 
    • Belle de Jour - Yves Saint Laurent elegance, even for prostitutes 
    • Lady Macbeth - tightest of corsets and the widest of skirts 
    • The Love Witch - dressed up, dishabille or naked but always sexy

    Best Sex Film

    Nominations:
    My pick is Kiki, Love to Love credits to credits sex in more variety than you'd admit to knowing.

    Strangest Film

    Nominations:
    • The Evil Within - what is behind the sunglasses?
    • The Love Witch - love, magic, sex, Victoria high tea, a renaissance fair and dead bodies
    • The Untamed - an alien in a movie that is not centre of attention
    My pick is The Untamed a Mexican modern relationship drama with an alien in the supporting cast

    Special Mentions

    I saw one Kiwi feature film (Human Traces) and 6 Kiwi short films (New Zealand's Best 2017).

    A Gentle Creature was long of the longest films and it could have been shortened by more than 2 hours and still got its message across.

    And remember, be careful of who cooked those mushrooms.

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