DOCNZ E-Newsletter

#04–Aug 2007

If you enjoyed the documentaries screened at this year’s NZIFF, wait until you see the line-up for DOCNZ 2007.

With less than 2 months left till kick off of the DOCNZ 2007 Summit & Festival in Auckland, preparations are well underway. We received hundreds and hundreds of submissions and we are ready to reveal a few of the selected films. So mark your calendars now to ensure that you will not miss the best DOCNZ Film Festival ever. Here’s the latest news.

The DOCNZ Team
Dan, Alex, Ewa, Heidi

In this issue

DOCNZ 2007 Film Festival Update
First peak at some of the films at DOCNZ 2007
DOCNZ 2007: Summit Update
DOCNZ 2007 Dates & Venues Update

1. DOCNZ 2007 Film Festival Update

Close to 450 films were submitted to DOCNZ 2007 from NZ and around the world. We are thrilled about the quality of films submitted this year. The topics are diverse, the subjects are unique and the story-telling is outstanding. From award-winning documentaries to world and international premieres, at DOCNZ 2007 there will be something for everyone.

The New Zealand International Documentary Film Festival ‘DOCNZ’, running 27 Sept–21 Nov, is shaping up to deliver a stellar showcase of top rated documentaries from leading international film festivals from the US to the Far East. Featuring just over 75 long format documentaries, local audiences will be treated to a round up of some of the finest documentaries running in the international film festival circuit including Sundance, Cannes, Venice and Bangkok International Film Festivals. In addition, a staggering number of films featured in the festival’s line-up this year—close to half, will be world and international premieres when they show in New Zealand. The high ratio of world and international premieres to the number of films selected is a solid indication of DOCNZ’s international reputation as an important event in the arts calendar.

2. First Peak at some of the films at DOCNZ 2007

Screening as part of the festival’s ‘Best of Fest’ line-up, the Morgan Spurlock produced What Would Jesus Buy has already elicited international controversy. The documentary, focusing on consumerism and the commercialisation of Christmas has caused Starbucks, formerly one of the sponsors for a significant American documentary festival, Silverdocs, to withdraw it’s sponsorship after continued targeting from activist/performer and film subject, Bill Talen during the film. Morgan Spurlock’s previous documentary Supersize Me was an international theatrical success and received a theatrical release here in New Zealand.

Undoubtedly one of this year’s crowd pleasers, watch as democracy is put to the test in a central elementary school in China in Weijun Chen’s Please Vote for Me. Here, 3 eight year olds campaign for the position of Class Monitor. As an experiment in democracy unfolds, a humorous and fascinating observation follows as both the pint-sized candidates and their respective parents resort to lying, bribery and defamation. Please Vote for Me recently won the Sterling Feature Award at this year’s AFI Silverdocs Film Festival in North America. Please Vote For Me will be one of the 6 films in this year’s international medium length competition category.

Featuring in the festival’s popular arts and culture strand, ‘Culture Vultures’ is Jon Else’s Wonders Are Many: The Making of Dr Atomic. A prestigious film which premiered at Sundance just earlier this year, Wonders Are Many documents the making of the San Francisco Opera’s 2005 world premiere of Doctor Atomic—an opera based on Robert Oppenheimer and his creation of the atomic bomb. An intricate crafting of art and science as well as the past and present, the film focuses on the 48 hours leading up to the first test of the Trinity bomb, as the group fashion a work of art from a shocking moment of American History.

The philanthropic efforts of a tattooed and former Thai boxer turned Buddhist monk Khru Bah Neua Chai Kositto are examined by Dutch filmmaker Mark Verkerk in Buddha’s Lost Children. A cinematic observational documentary set in the foothills of the Thai Golden Triangle, the film has been the recipient of many international awards including the International Documentary Grand Jury Prize at the Los Angeles AFI fest.

More films will be announced soon as well as the final list that made the cut for the local and national competitions.

3. DOCNZ Summit Update

The DOCNZ Summit will be held in Auckland, 24–26 September 2007. The 3-day event will include Master-classes, Seminars and a Pitching Forum.

We will announce the selected projects for the Pitching Form in late August. Registration for the Summit will be open from late August. Watch this space.

The DOCNZ Summit will be an excellent opportunity to learn, network, and share with others from the industry. We look forward to seeing you there.

4. DOCNZ 2007 Venues & Dates

DOCNZ Summit: Auckland, 24-26 September (Venue TBC).

DOCNZ 2007 will be held in 4 centres nationwide. We welcome our new venue partners in Wellington, Regent on Manners and The Film Archive.

Auckland: 27 Sept–10 Oct at Academy Cinemas & Skycity Cinemas (Queen Street)
Dunedin: 11–21 Oct at the Octagon
Christchurch: 25 Oct–4 Nov at the Regent on Worcester
Wellington: 8–21 Nov at the Paramount, Regent on Manners & The Film Archive

Please mark your calendar and get ready for the best showcase of documentary films in New Zealand this year!