NZIFF25: It was Just an Accident
Thursday 28 August 2025
7:00 PM
A masterpiece of cinematic invention and political bravery, Jafar Panahi’s rousing new film deservedly won the Cannes Palme d’Or and opens NZIFF 2025 on a powerful and inspiring note. Rating: M
Space available: 50+
Friday 29 August 2025
11:30 AM
A washed-up songwriter drowns his sorrows as his former collaborator triumphantly opens Oklahoma! on Broadway. A career-peak performance by Ethan Hawke powers Richard Linklater’s theatrical drama. Rating: M
Space available: 50+
NZIFF25: A Little Something Extra
Friday 29 August 2025
1:30 PM
This wacky and heartfelt comedy, from popular French standup Artus, follows two criminals on the lam who lay low at a summer camp for young adults with disabilities. A runaway hit at the French box office last year. Rating: M
Space available: 50+
Friday 29 August 2025
3:30 PM
In a future world where senior citizens are banished from society, a rebellious matriarch instead embarks on a fantastic Amazon adventure. Gabriel Mascaro’s film is an ode to life and freedom with no age restrictions. Rating: M
Space available: 50+
Friday 29 August 2025
5:30 PM
Mattias spends his days pretending to be someone else, offering companionship to strangers in need. Bernhard Wenger’s unsettling drama quietly dissects loneliness, identity and the cost of always performing. Rating: M
Space available: 50+
NZIFF25: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Friday 29 August 2025
7:30 PM
Frequently cited as the greatest horror film ever made, Tobe Hooper’s raw, deeply disturbing journey into a sweaty, grimy, all-too-real hell still has the power to shake you to your core. Rating: R18
Space available: 50+
NZIFF25: Nga Whanaunga: Aotearoa NZ Best 2025
Saturday 30 August 2025
10:15 AM
In 2025, Nga Whanaunga: Aotearoa New Zealand’s Best, the best of Maori and Pasifika filmmaking now alongside the best films made by everyone in Aotearoa. Wairoa Maori Film Festival founder Leo Koziol (Ngati Kahungunu, Ngati Rakaipaaka) and Pollywood Film Festival founder Craig Fasi (Niue) continue their role in short film programming, focusing their lens upon Aotearoa New Zealand’s Best 2025 Indigenous talent in their role as co-curators. Rating: TBC
Space available: 50+
NZIFF25: One to One - John & Yoko
Saturday 30 August 2025
12:00 PM
This immersive portrait of the time John and Yoko spent living in Greenwich Village is a vivid time capsule of America in the early 70s. A time of extreme political polarisation which may seem uncannily familiar. Rating: M
Space available: 50+
Saturday 30 August 2025
2:15 PM
Brazilian filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho painstakingly recreates the Recife of the 70s dictatorship years in this sprawling, colourful spy thriller like no other. Winner of Best Director and Best Actor at Cannes. Rating: R16
Space available: 50+
Saturday 30 August 2025
5:30 PM
The uncharted highs and crashing lows of Jacinda Ardern’s time at the helm of Aotearoa get their due in an intimate-access international documentary about state power and human vulnerability. Rating: E
Space available: 38
Saturday 30 August 2025
7:30 PM
Set amongst the rugged countryside of Western Ireland, Christopher Abbot (Poor Things) and Barry Keoghan (Saltburn) deliver standout performances in a thriller that is as shocking as the landscape is serene. Rating: R16
Space available: 50+
Sunday 31 August 2025
10:45 AM
Raoul Peck, the acclaimed documentary chronicler of power in America, looks to George Orwell’s writing of 1984 as a prescient guide to our modern era of Trumpian rule and reality manipulation. Rating: M
Space available: 50+
NZIFF25: Grace: A Prayer for Peace
Sunday 31 August 2025
1:00 PM
A portrait of one of Aotearoa’s greatest living artists by one of our greatest documentary filmmakers. You should expect something special, and that’s what you get. Rating: E
Space available: 50+
NZIFF25: The Teacher Who Promised the Sea
Sunday 31 August 2025
3:00 PM
A progressive teacher brings new methods to a village in Burgos on the eve of the Spanish Civil War, whilst in present day Catalonia a woman searches for answers as to the whereabouts of her great-grandfather’s remains. Rating: M
Space available: 50+
NZIFF25: The Ballad of Wallis Island
Sunday 31 August 2025
5:15 PM
What would you do if you won the lottery? Charles answers the age-old question by inviting his favourite former folk duo to his remote island, where the estranged band members prove that some flames never die... Rating: M
Space available: 50+
Sunday 31 August 2025
7:30 PM
What is love? Through the stories of a straight woman and a gay man, Haugerud defies conventions with humor and compassion, in an eloquent and moving masterwork on human relations in the 21st century. Rating: PG
Space available: 50+
Monday 1 September 2025
12:45 PM
The Dardenne brothers’ return with a deeply affecting drama exploring the lives of five teen mothers. Hopes and fears steer the young women towards bettering their lives for themselves and their children. Rating: M
Space available: 50+
Monday 1 September 2025
3:00 PM
A teenage girl recounts her crush for her teacher through the pages of a memoir. The winner of the Golden Bear 2025 is a lucid and tender chronicle of the unforgettable experience of first love. Rating: PG
Space available: 50+
Monday 1 September 2025
5:30 PM
Ahmet stumbles upon a forest rave at the edge of his local village, where he finds the escape he’s been desperately seeking in Georgi M. Unkovski’s loveable debut, the first ever Macedonian film to be awarded at Sundance. Rating: PG
Space available: 50+
Monday 1 September 2025
7:30 PM
Plunging through the corridors of a surgical ward, this frantic Swiss drama charts the pulse-racing worklife of an overstretched, underappreciated nursing professional. Rating: M
Space available: 50+
Tuesday 2 September 2025
1:00 PM
A young girl scrambles to prepare a high-stakes birthday cake for a dictator amidst the dangers and deprivations of the Gulf War in this irresistibly scrappy Caméra d'Or-winner from Iraq. Rating: M
Space available: 50+
Tuesday 2 September 2025
3:15 PM
Panic around a new digital Big Brother era underpins a clever, absurdist send-up of bourgeois hypocrisy, as a married couple are put on the spot by their daughter’s all-pervasive telepathy. Rating: M
Space available: 50+
Tuesday 2 September 2025
5:30 PM
Panic around a new digital Big Brother era underpins a clever, absurdist send-up of bourgeois hypocrisy, as a married couple are put on the spot by their daughter’s all-pervasive telepathy. Rating: M
Space available: 50+
Tuesday 2 September 2025
7:30 PM
Returning from last year’s Festival to screen alongside the rest of his Sex Dreams Love trilogy, Dag Johan Haugerud’s comic drama takes a candid and refreshing look at modern gender roles. Rating: M
Space available: 50+
Wednesday 3 September 2025
1:00 PM
Set amongst the rugged countryside of Western Ireland, Christopher Abbot (Poor Things) and Barry Keoghan (Saltburn) deliver standout performances in a thriller that is as shocking as the landscape is serene. Rating: R16
Space available: 50+
NZIFF25: The Ballad of Wallis Island#2
Wednesday 3 September 2025
3:15 PM
What would you do if you won the lottery? Charles answers the age-old question by inviting his favourite former folk duo to his remote island, where the estranged band members prove that some flames never die... Rating: M
Space available: 50+
Wednesday 3 September 2025
5:30 PM
One of the standouts of Cannes 2025, Carla Simón’s personal exploration of the restlessness of a young woman without parents is a poignant example of the healing power of cinema. Rating: M
Space available: 50+
Wednesday 3 September 2025
7:30 PM
A grieving brother finds an unlikely connection at a support group for siblings who have lost a twin, but his burgeoning bromance threatens to turn into something darker in this uncomfortably sharp-witted comedy. Rating: R16
Space available: 50+
Thursday 4 September 2025
11:00 AM
Ahmet stumbles upon a forest rave at the edge of his local village, where he finds the escape he’s been desperately seeking in Georgi M. Unkovski’s loveable debut, the first ever Macedonian film to be awarded at Sundance. Rating: PG
Space available: 50+
NZIFF25: The Teacher Who Promised the Sea#2
Thursday 4 September 2025
1:00 PM
A progressive teacher brings new methods to a village in Burgos on the eve of the Spanish Civil War, whilst in present day Catalonia a woman searches for answers as to the whereabouts of her great-grandfather’s remains. Rating: M
Space available: 50+
Thursday 4 September 2025
3:15 PM
Mattias spends his days pretending to be someone else, offering companionship to strangers in need. Bernhard Wenger’s unsettling drama quietly dissects loneliness, identity and the cost of always performing. Rating: M
Space available: 50+
NZIFF25: What Marielle Knows#2
Thursday 4 September 2025
5:30 PM
Panic around a new digital Big Brother era underpins a clever, absurdist send-up of bourgeois hypocrisy, as a married couple are put on the spot by their daughter’s all-pervasive telepathy. Rating: M
Space available: 50+
Thursday 4 September 2025
7:15 PM
An unsettling, sinister slow-burn thriller, Samuel Van Grinsven unites rising star Dacre Montgomery with Phantom Thread’s Vicky Krieps and New Zealand’s own Sarah Peirse for a supernatural chiller like no other. Rating: R16
Space available: 50+
NZIFF25: One to One: John & Yoko#2
Friday 5 September 2025
11:00 AM
This immersive portrait of the time John and Yoko spent living in Greenwich Village is a vivid time capsule of America in the early 70s. A time of extreme political polarisation which may seem uncannily familiar. Rating: M
Space available: 50+
Friday 5 September 2025
1:15 PM
One of the standouts of Cannes 2025, Carla Simón’s personal exploration of the restlessness of a young woman without parents is a poignant example of the healing power of cinema. Rating: M
Space available: 50+
Friday 5 September 2025
3:30 PM
A woman navigates the experience of motherhood as a deaf person in a hearing world in Eva Libertad’s crowd-pleasing, feel-good drama which collected the Panaroma Audience Award at Berlin this year. Rating: PG
Space available: 50+
NZIFF25: Anchor Me - The Don McGlashan Story
Friday 5 September 2025
5:30 PM
A long overdue documentary tribute to one of nation’s best loved songwriters, charting Don McGlashan’s storied career from arty punk upstart to one of the strongest voices in the chorus of Aotearoa’s national identity. Rating: E
Space available: 50+
NZIFF25: Lesbian Space Princess
Friday 5 September 2025
7:30 PM
Set in a gay-laxy far, far away this crowd pleasing and proudly queer Aussie adult animation delights with its vivid, candy-coloured palette, kinky sense of humour and catchy, upbeat musical numbers Rating: R16
Space available: 50+
NZIFF25: War Stories Our Mothers Never Told Us
Saturday 6 September 2025
10:45 AM
Seven women reflect on the emotional cataclysm of World War II in Dame Gaylene Preston’s landmark contribution to Aotearoa’s collective memory, which has lost none of its raw power on its 30th anniversary. Rating: G
Space available: 50+
NZIFF25: The President's Cake#2
Saturday 6 September 2025
1:30 PM
A young girl scrambles to prepare a high-stakes birthday cake for a dictator amidst the dangers and deprivations of the Gulf War in this irresistibly scrappy Caméra d'Or-winner from Iraq. Rating: M
Space available: 50+
NZIFF25: A Little Something Extra#2
Saturday 6 September 2025
3:30 PM
This wacky and heartfelt comedy, from popular French standup Artus, follows two criminals on the lam who lay low at a summer camp for young adults with disabilities. A runaway hit at the French box office last year. Rating: M
Space available: 50+
Saturday 6 September 2025
5:30 PM
A washed-up songwriter drowns his sorrows as his former collaborator triumphantly opens Oklahoma! on Broadway. A career-peak performance by Ethan Hawke powers Richard Linklater’s theatrical drama. Rating: M
Space available: 50+
Saturday 6 September 2025
7:30 PM
A teenage girl recounts her crush for her teacher through the pages of a memoir. The winner of the Golden Bear 2025 is a lucid and tender chronicle of the unforgettable experience of first love. Rating: PG
Space available: 50+
Sunday 7 September 2025
11:00 AM
A woman navigates the experience of motherhood as a deaf person in a hearing world in Eva Libertad’s crowd-pleasing, feel-good drama which collected the Panaroma Audience Award at Berlin this year. Rating: PG
Space available: 50+
Sunday 7 September 2025
1:00 PM
In a future world where senior citizens are banished from society, a rebellious matriarch instead embarks on a fantastic Amazon adventure. Gabriel Mascaro’s film is an ode to life and freedom with no age restrictions. Rating: M
Space available: 50+
Sunday 7 September 2025
3:00 PM
The Dardenne brothers’ return with a deeply affecting drama exploring the lives of five teen mothers. Hopes and fears steer the young women towards bettering their lives for themselves and their children. Rating: M
Space available: 50+
Sunday 7 September 2025
5:15 PM
For over 40 years, the iconic John Clarke tickled the funny bones of Australian and New Zealand audiences. Now, in this intimately produced documentary, hear his story in his own words. Rating: E
Space available: 50+
Sunday 7 September 2025
7:15 PM
Joachim Trier’s follow-up to his arthouse hit The Worst Person in the World, this piercing and ecstatically moving reflection on family and memory stars Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, and Elle Fanning. Rating: TBC
Space available: 50+
Sunday 14 September 2025
1:00 PM
Conductor Joana Mallwitz takes the podium to conduct a stellar ensemble cast including American bass-baritone Michael Sumuel as the clever valet Figaro.
Space available: 50+
Nat Theatre Live: The Importance of Being Earnest
Thursday 18 September 2025
7:00 PM
Three-time Olivier Award-winner Sharon D Clarke is joined by Ncuti Gatwa in this joyful reimagining of Oscar Wilde’s most celebrated comedy.
Space available: 50+
Friday 19 September 2025
7:45 AM
Join us for a Suffrage Day Breakfast talk outlining the challenges of the Hawkes Bay suffragists and celebrating their collective actions
Space available: 20
Sunday Cinema: Marlon Williams Nga Ao Te Wekaweka
Sunday 21 September 2025
3:00 PM
Directed by Ursula Grace, Marlon Williams: Nga Ao E Rua – Two Worlds is an intimate four-year portrait of performer Marlon Williams (Kai Tahu and Ngai Tai) as he writes and records his first te reo Maori language album Te Whare Tiwekaweka.
Space available: 50+
Sunday 5 October 2025
1:00 PM
American soprano Angel Blue headlines as the Ethiopian princess torn between love and country in a new production of Verdi’s Aida
Space available: 50+
Sunday 26 October 2025
1:00 PM
Claus Guth, one of Europe’s leading opera directors, gives the biblical story a psychologically perceptive Victorian-era setting.
Space available: 50+
Thursday 13 November 2025
7:00 PM
The spectacular Musée d’Orsay exhibition brings fresh eyes to this extraordinary tale of passion and rebellion.
Space available: 50+
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Sunday 16 November 2025
2:00 PM
The spectacular Musée d’Orsay exhibition brings fresh eyes to this extraordinary tale of passion and rebellion.
Space available: 50+
MET Opera: Il Barbiere Di Siviglia
Sunday 7 December 2025
1:00 PM
Rossini’s effervescent comedy takes the stage in Bartlett Sher’s madcap production at the Metropolitan Opera.
Space available: 50+
