One month on and a hundred or so movies later, Lumière's editors battled post-festival depression to wrap the 2005 TNZIFF programme. In Part A, DAVID LEVINSON takes us from the P's of Palindromes, to the Q's of Kings & Queen.

In Part B, TIM WONG tells us what rocked his boat, and what sunk it entirely.

Palestinian struggle finds a new voice in a vital, emerging cinema with Hany Abu-Assad's Paradise Now – perhaps the most gripping example of this yet. ANDREW BRETTELL reviews.

Here, in no exact order, is ALEXANDER BISLEY's baker’s dozen of festival films sure to rise aesthetically. (Fingers crossed for further screenings.)

    » The Child
    » Moolaadé
    » Kings and Queen
    » Shake Hands With The Devil
    » 3-Iron
    » The Intruder
    » Look at Me
    » Enron: The Smartest Guy in the Room
    » The 5000 Fingers of Doctor T
    » Look Both Ways
    » U-Carmen
    » Darwin's Nightmare
    » The White Diamond

From the wires: festival attendances for Wellington are in, clocking in at 72,315: just short of 2004's all-time record 73,184 admissions. Taking into account the apparent "sombre" tone of this year's programme, the numbers can be considered in good health, particularly in the wake of blow-out films such as Fahrenheit 9/11 – a notable festival selection that contributed in part to last year's windfall in box office takings. Auckland fared even better, breaking the previous festival's 100,000 threshold to reach an impressive 101,805.

Can forgiveness be found in a fairy tale? JOHN SPRY investigates The Woodsman – the story of a sex offender's attempts to regain a sense of 'self' – in search of answers.