A new film festival is premiering in Auckland early in the new year after the city missed out on this year's New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF) due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In The Shade will run from January 19 - February 1 at The Hollywood in Avondale and Academy Cinema in the central city, featuring a slew of hits from international festivals including Cannes, Sundance, Toronto and the NZIFF.
The festival will kick off with Nightmare Alley on opening night, the latest film from Guillermo del Toro which stars Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara and Toni Collette.
Other films announced for In The Shade include:
- Asghar Farhadi's A Hero
- Paul Verhoeven's Benedetta
- Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Memoria
- Michael Showalter's The Eyes of Tammy Faye
- Leos Carax's Annette
- Janicza Bravo's Zola
- Valdimar Jóhannsson's Lamb
- New Zealand documentary Fiona Clark: Unafraid
- Classic films Chopper (2000) and Purple Noon (1960).
More titles are promised to be added in the coming weeks.
In The Shade is being organised by a group called Dos Ojos which describes itself as "a collective of cinephiles", although doesn't give any information on who its members are.
"Auckland is currently in the throes of a big screen drought, the like never seen in our moviegoing lifetimes," the group says in a statement.
"Dos Ojos was assembled to create a much needed big-screen care-package to quench audience's insatiable hunger for the very best in cinema from around the world."
More information about the In The Shade festival will be shared on its official website and social media channels.
