NZ documentary opens cinema showcase

World Cinema Showcase 2012
Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin

Two new New Zealand documentaries will have world premieres as part of the World Cinema Showcase 2012 programme. Now in its 14th year the festival will be presenting films from thirty countries

Mental Notes and Te Hono ki Aotearoa will debut in Auckland on opening weekend, headlining an international selection of over 36 features and documentaries including one 3D film.

In Mental Notes, from filmmaker Jim Marbrook, five former patients recall their experiences in the psychiatric institutions that were the bastions of the country’s mental health for most of the last century.

“Jim’s subjects provide a gentle, affirmative assertion of survival against the odds while bearing eloquent witness to a long dark era in our social history,” says Festival Director Bill Gosden.

Jan Bieringa’s Te Hono ki Aotearoa documents the commissioning and delivery of a new waka taua for the Museum Volkenkunde in Leiden.

“The sight of a magnificent waka taua being propelled through European waters is a thing of beauty to stir the heart of any New Zealander. What’s so fascinating here is Jan’s insights into the way it stirs European hearts too. The rapport between master carver Hekenukumai Busby and the museum’s director is the starting point for a gratifyingly thorough immersion in kaupapa waka.” says Gosden.

The annual Showcase, now in its 14th year, is selected by NZ International Film Festival and presented in collaboration with cinemas in Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin and Christchurch.

“The Showcase is an important part of the New Zealand Film Festival Trust’s annual screening calendar. It gives us the opportunity to present films that debuted after last year’s NZIFF, unreleased gems deserving a second viewing from the Festival, and discoveries made in the course of the never-ending quest for great movies.” says Gosden

Auckland 29 March - 11 April at Rialto Cinemas Newmarket and Bridgeway

Wellington 5 – 22 April at the Paramount

Dunedin 19 April – 2 May at the Regent Theatre

Christchurch 26 April – 9 May at Hollywood 3 Sumner.