he 39th Auckland International Film Festival programme arrived in the mail a couple of days back. It’s that time of year. (A bittersweet moment: Amit Tripuraneni‘s Five wasn’t selected but there’s Francis Glenday‘s Tumanako Springs to catch.)
A perusal of its 152 glossy pages brings back familiar behaviours, namely:
- excitedly dog-ear-ing a third of the programme because they’re ones that I must see, until –
- a reality check of limited funds means some serious whittling – I hope I can still live with myself with a new list of twenty or so, and then –
- I’m gripped by the realisation that family commitments make the idea of leaving either the Goddess and children, or just the children with a babysitter, for even just ten films (or just over thirty hours in total*) is just asking for trouble, until finally –
- somewhere between three and six sessions are selected and booked.
C’est la vie.
Friend and festival veteran Stevo once sagely advised: use the fest to see something that’s unlikely to return ’cause the big and/or popular productions are bound get general release – and failing that, they’ll eventually make it onto video.
Excellent advice for those with limited funds and/or time.
* Maths in a Minute: based on an average movie running time of 105 minutes, with an additional 90 minutes return-travel and park-finding time – just ten films is a 32.5-hour commitment over the festival’s sixteen-day run.
alas, this year I will not be partaking due to illness….so my complicated excel spredsheet of scheduling fims, and calculating film times etc will not appear
the other tip is, now, that there are too many films in my opinion, that even if you had leave for the whole period of the festival, depending upon the number of films you wish to see, there will be potential clashes…..so, as Davo mentioned, avoid those which will come back later like La vie en rose or A Mighty Heart
you should, however, catch those fils which will look fantastic on the big screen like the 70s selection or This Is New Zealand which was oringally made for special big screens at Expo 70
your presence shall be sorely missed, Mr Webber. not that we crossed paths that often at the fest. (and when we did, you were seeing so many a day that you were pretty much a zombie anyway.)
is the “This is New Zealand” film-thingie the same pomp-filled extravaganza they used to play before the feature in cinemas of the 1970s?
yes, my arse will be spared numbness this year
and I will not have to put up with the lack of leg rooom at the Sky City theatre in Auckland
re. This Is NZ, I can only recall it coming back for general play, and making the odd TV appearance…altho, as I say it is best to enjoy the pretty split screen country shots on the large screen