High fashion and subdued festivities at the 2009 programme launch. By JACOB POWELL.

THE BAR AREA outside the main theatre of Auckland’s Lido Cinema was well packed; replete with a blazing wood fire, tasty nibbles, complementary wine, Phoenix Organics drinks, and plenty of eager, expectant cinephiles. A visibly tired Bill Gosden fulfilled his ‘host’ duties as admirably as ever exchanging conversation with many of the guests, but the whole affair seemed a little pared back compared with previous years. I think this may be a flow on result of the depressed economic environment which sees our festival without a principal sponsor for the second year running. It is impressive that Bill and his team continue to create vibrant and vital festivals under such constraints.

After the initial hubbub we entered the theatre with an underlying thread tension running through the crowd: no one had yet received their coveted festival programmes! Bill took to the stage explaining that we would be receiving our packs upon leaving the cinema after the screening. Strange things are afoot at the Circle K methinks! Bill waxed lyrical about the state of the festival in these trying times, the exciting line-up for 2009, and he acknowledged this year’s sponsors. Ant Timpson was ushered on to give an enthusiastic plug for the 2009 Incredibly Strange programme, including such geek-interest docos as Michael Stephenson’s Best Worst Movie (a must see for any B-Grade film fan) and Ben Steinbauer’s YouTube propelled Winnebago Man. His handcrafted programme also boasts the promise of such treats as Nazi-Zombies in Norwegian splatter-pic Dead Snow and Vampire-Priests in Park Chan-wook’s Thirst. Does it get any better than that?

After Ant finished frothing at the mouth Bill returned to stage central and gave a rundown of some of the overall programme highlights for 2009, including: various local delights to be savoured, the addition of the new In Praise of Slow Cinema category housing some of the more ‘challenging’ films in the festival, the raft of great Australian films we can expect to choose from, a long intended Barry Barclay retrospective, and various coups achieved in the opening and closing night features (a single screening of Jane Campion’s John Keats themed period piece Bright Star fresh from Cannes to open, and to close Pedro Almodóvar’s latest noir masterpiece Broken Embraces).

All in all Festival 2009 looks to come with as interesting a selection as ever. I only hope that in the current economic climate people won’t choose to see fewer films than they might otherwise intend to but instead will decide to cherish the small luxuries the New Zealand International Film Festival, via such great cinematic programming, affords us the opportunity to enjoy. The future of our festival could depend on it.


THIS YEAR’S PREVIEW screening was, as in 2008, an unlikely documentary film. Ostensibly about the production of American Vogue magazine’s biggest yearly issue, and its ice queen Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, R. J. Cutler’s The September Issue uses this subject matter as a vehicle to explore the centrality of relationships in human endeavour. Whereas last year’s programme launch film, Deep Water, overran my expectations I found myself somewhat underwhelmed by this year’s offering.

Focussing primarily on Anna and her right hand woman (and colleague of 20 years) Grace Coddington, Cutler’s documentary examines the creative tension and politics of power embodied in the professional relationship between these two strong willed and successful fashionistas. Cutler skirts the fringe of existential examination as he pushes his subjects to reflect on the ‘why’ of their life choices. Each muses about whether their respective fashion industry careers has afforded them a sense of inner fulfilment and/or value. Most telling, and sadly moving, is Wintour speaking about her siblings – the career paths they have chosen (her two sisters both work in humanitarian roles whilst her brother is long time political editor at The Guardian newspaper) and how they view her work – as well as her daughter’s comments about the fashion industry and why she is choosing not to follow in mother’s footsteps.

While juxtaposing the highly produced glamour of the fashion industry and some of its icons with a less flattering, more ‘real world’ view of these via lensing/lighting choices, The September Issue seemed a little cheapened by its off-colour aesthetic. Whatever the case, even with the visual versus thematic contrast noted, the film feels a little flat; failing to compel in the way that great documentary filmmaking does. That isn’t to say The September Issue made for uninteresting viewing, just not quite the lift I had hoped for to open my festival experience 2009.

See also:
» Style Wars: The September Issue