Tuesday, March 13, 2007

World Cinema Showcase - March 15th - April 4th


For those of you wanting something a little different from what’s showing at the multiplexes at the moment and are hanging out for the annual International Film Festival that comes around each July, the World Cinema Showcase is here to help tide you over while you wait. In it’s ninth year now the showcase has built a reputation for screening movies that perhaps won’t get a proper theatrical release and giving audiences the chance to see some lost classics on the silver screen (this year it’s The African Queen). And if that isn’t your thing there is the opportunity to see films like Little Children and Black Snake Moan before they get a proper release.

This year has a particularly good lineup with almost 30 films showing. Whether it’s the American indie films, the powerful documentaries or European art house that floats your boat there is something to suit your tastes. The opening film this year is The Namesake, from director Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding, Vanity Fair) – an adaptation of the novel by Jhumpa Lahiri. USA Today calls it ‘an engaging and moving film with a universal story about the bonds of family as told through two generations of a Bengali family.’

My personal picks for the fest include the 1951 classic, The African Queen – which was the first colour film for both Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn. Black Snake Moan, from the director of Hustle and Flow has had some great reviews and fans of Samuel L. Jackson should definitely check it out. With a plot that includes nymphomania, the blues and interracial sex it’s certainly intriguing. Out of the documentaries, ‘Dixie Chicks: Shut up and Sing’ catches my interest – mainly because of the furor they caused when they stated on tour that they were ‘ashamed’ that President Bush was from Texas (their home state) and consequently lost half of their fanbase.

I don’t want to end up listing the whole line-up (it’s hard though – believe me) but briefly I also plan on seeing Infamous – that other Capote film and Little Children, a movie about what goes on behind the façade of the upper middle class. Based on the novel by Tom Perrotta and with a cast that includes Kate Winslet, Jennifer Connelly and child star come good, Jackie Earle Haley you should definitely take a look. If I still have enough money left over I might also check out Lemming – if only for the chance to see Charlotte Gainsbourg act again as she was amazing in The Science of Sleep.

On the New Zealand side of things, Suburban Mayhem shows that Emily Barclay’s performance in 2004’s In My Father’s Den was not a one-off, winning the Best Actress award at the Australian Film Institute’s most recent awards ceremony. Waves, a documentary about Chinese international students at a New Zealand high school is screening again on the back of it’s success at the International Film Fest so don’t miss it the second time around.

The Showcase runs from March 15th – April 4th at the Academy Cinemas with ticket prices varying from $10-$14 depending on what time of day you want to go. There are booklets dotted around town with details on all the films plus the schedule for the whole showcase but you can also access the information online at their website. As an extra incentive if you visit the website there is a chance to win one of ten double passes to a screening of your choice by answering the question on the homepage. No I’m not going to tell you the answer – it’s incredibly easy.

More info at:

The World Cinema Showcase Website:

www.worldcinemashowcase.co.nz

Academy Cinemas Website:

www.academycinemas.co.nz

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