Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne’s Star on the Rise
It’s been 10 years since her debut as Kahu in Taika Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople at age 13, and Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne’s career continues to soar, Eda Tang writes for Stuff. Named a “Rising…
Tag Archives: Toronto International Film Festival
Filmmaker Daniel Borgman Busy in Light and Shadow
Dunedin-born filmmaker Daniel Borgman, 31, whose latest film Resin world has premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in the Contemporary World Cinema section, is now developing “a pair of high-concept projects”: the crime…
Taika Waititi Takes on a Decidedly Risky Role
After years of trying to get the film off the ground, New Zealander Taika Waititi, director of Thor: Ragnarok, finally convinced Fox Searchlight to roll the dice on a comedy set in Nazi Germany…
Toronto Film Fest Review of Human Traces
“A sub-Antarctic research station is the setting for Human Traces, a twisty psychological thriller from promising New Zealand director Nic Gorman,” Richard Kuipers writes in a review for Variety. “Isolation is anything but splendid in…
Born to Dance at TIFF
“Auckland, New Zealand may seem a world away from the heart of hip-hop culture in the US, but the local dance crews featured in Born to Dance totally own it”, writes Justin Lowe for
TIFF Exclusive: Bust a Move With This Clip From ‘Born To Dance’
“While Hollywood has got the dance formula down cold, New Zealand actor/filmmaker Tammy Davisis bring(s) his own unique flavor to the genre”, writes Edward Davis for Indiewire. The New Zealand feature film Born To…
Born to Dance Trailer
Watch the trailer for New Zealand feature film ‘Born to Dance’ starring Tia-Taharoa Maipi, Stan Walker and Kherington Payne. The movie will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.
Andrew McCarten on How to Make a Film about a Living Person
New Zealand producer and screenwriter Anthony McCarten discusses the difficulties in making a film about a person who is still alive. McCarten’s latest feature is a biopic about theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, The Theory…
Cliff Curtis Gives Career-Making Performance as Genesis Potini
New Zealand actor Cliff Curtis, 46, who gives a career-making performance in fellow New Zealand director James Napier Robertson’s The Dark Horse (now playing the Toronto International Film Festival) is serious about his craft….
Wellington Vampire Movie Wins People’s Choice at Toronto Film Festival
‘What We Do In the Shadows’ was a big hit at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, winning the Grolsch Midnight Madness People’s Choice Award. Its co-creator, ‘Flight of the Conchords’ star Jemaine Clement,…
Fraser a Classical Dance Convert with New Film Giselle
New Zealand director and playwright Toa Fraser admits he wasn’t much of a dance fan before setting out to make Giselle, a new full-length film of the 1841 Romantic ballet of the same name,…
Channelling His Ancestors from Canada
New Zealand author Witi Ihimaera is currently in Alberta teaching eight indigenous Canadian writers at the globally respected arts, cultural, and educational institution, Banff Centre. The last time he was there, he began writing what…
Beyond the Edge Premieres in Toronto
“In 1953, no one even knew if it could be done,” says Auckland-based Leanne Pooley, director of the 3-D documentary Beyond the Edge, which chronicles Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay’s…
Talent Embedded in Genes
Up-and-coming actress Alice Englert, 17, the daughter of New Zealand film director Jane Campion (“similar talents seem to be embedded in her genes”), stars in Ginger & Rosa, “an evocative and beautifully shot portrait…
Toronto’s Triple Treat
New Plymouth-raised, Los Angeles-based actress Melanie Lynskey, 32, has roles in three of the most talked-about movies at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. Her roles in Jason Reitman’s Up in the Air, Tim…
Gorgeous melodrama
Niki Caro’s film The Vintner’s Luck, based on Wellington author Elizabeth Knox’s novel of the same name and starring Keisha Castle-Hughes is, according to entertainment news site Moviehole, “Gorgeous in all facets of visual…
This way through love
“The Topps defy logic,” writes Variety in a review of The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls — winners of the audience award for best documentary at the Toronto International Film Festival. “‘On paper,’ says their…
Topps in Toronto
Much-loved New Zealand entertainers Lynda and Jools Topp (aka The Topp Twins) will join the likes of Canadian rocker Neil Young, Joan Baez and horror film king George A. Romero for free public performances…
Neill the ruthless
Actor Sam Neill stars in the made-for-television Canada-China co-production of Iron Road as ruthless Canadian railroad baron Alfred Nichol. The historical mini-series purports to tell the story of the thousands of Chinese labourers who…
Edwardian assortment
Sam Neill stars in Toa Fraser’s second feature Dean Spanley which Variety reviews, describing the film as “immaculately cast”. “Based on an obscure novel by late Anglo-Irish fantasy writer Lord Dunsany, Alan Sharp’s screenplay…
Fraser’s film premiere
New Zealand film director Toa Fraser’s latest feature, Dean Spanley, is to have its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival on September 6. The film is part of the ‘gala programme’ which is…
International acclaim for national story
NZ/British co-production In My Father’s Den won the prestigious Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique (FIPRESCI) award at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. Directed by NZer Brad McGann and based on…
