The full programme for the Whānau Mārama: the New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF) 2025 was unveiled this week (July 7), featuring over 100 films from more than 40 countries.
Highlights of this year’s slate include over 30 standout titles from Cannes 2025, including Jafar Panahi‘s Palme d’Or winner “It Was Just an Accident.”
Joachim Trier’s acclaimed “Sentimental Value,” the eagerly anticipated follow-up to 2023’s “The Worst Person in the World,” is certain to attract Kiwi viewers. Both films feature in the “Big Nights” strand, which is completed by “Prime Minister,” an Official Selection at this year’s Sundance Film Festival which charts the highs and lows of Jacinda Ardern’s time at the helm of Aotearoa.
Other notable international directors whose films will feature at NZIFF 2025 include Richard Linklater (“Blue Moon”), Kelly Reichardt (“The Mastermind”), Bi Gan (“Resurrection”) and the Dardenne brothers (“Young Mothers”).
The “Mahutonga” strand, meanwhile, will showcase local storytelling by Kiwi filmmakers. This section also includes “Ngā Whanaunga: Aotearoa New Zealand’s Best,” a two-part collection celebrating the best new short films from Māori and Pasifika voices.
In his programme letter, Artistic Director Paolo Bertolin says “cinema is a miracle.”
“It is a healing force that overcomes traumas, bringing comfort and hope. Looking back at the more than 100 films that shape the line up of Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival 2025, I vividly feel a positive flow seeping through the major works that we are bringing to our audiences,” he adds.
In his own letter, New Zealand Film Festival Trust Chair Kaine Thompson shares: “You said you want us to be bolder about the films we exhibit, this year our Artistic Director and his team went after the best films in world cinema. You said you want better access, so we increased the number of venues and exhibition times while keeping the prices down.”
This year’s NZIFF is heading around the country, screening films in Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Nelson, Tauranga, Napier, Hamilton, New Plymouth, Wellington and Masterton.
General ticket sales are staggered at the following times:
Auckland — July 11 (pre-sale between July 8-10)
Wellington — July 18 (pre-sale between July 15-17)
Christchurch — July 18
Dunedin — July 24
Hamilton — July 31
Napier — July 31
New Plymouth — July 31
Tauranga — July 31
Masterton — July 31
Nelson — July 31
For more information on NZIFF 2025, click here.