FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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Movies from the Land of the Long White Cloud

Movies from the Land of the Long White Cloud

A documentary and two comedy-dramas screen in Bangkok this weekend at the second New Zealand Film Festival

The New Zealand Film Festival returns for its second edition tomorrow as it marks 62 years of diplomatic relations with Thailand and sets out to teach us all a little about art, culture, history and living. 
The three films selected for this year’s event will also showcase the distinctive geography that has made New Zealand famous for location shoots for such big-budget movies as “Lord of the Rings”, “The Hobbit”, “Avatar” and “The Chronicles of Narnia”.
The event kicks off tomorrow night with “My Year with Helen”, a 2017 documentary that presents the views of former prime minister Helen Clark as she sits alongside the leaders of the world superpowers in the United Nations. It portrays the discord between media, diplomats and women's defenders amidst attempts to change while the new pope is elected. It also follows Clark’s work while serving as executive director of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and as she campaigns for the position of UN Secretary-General as well as staying in daily contact with her 94-year-old father back home in New Zealand.

 

Movies from the Land of the Long White Cloud


The action comedy “Pork Pie” (2017) tells the story of Jon, a charming but not very lucky author trying to reconcile with his girlfriend by surprising her while travelling to a friend’s wedding. Jon lives in Auckland, the wedding is being held in Wellington, and his good-for-nothing car breaks down on the way. He’s forced to rely on the yellow Mini Cooper of a young man named Luke without knowing that Luke has stolen the car. Chaos ensues. 

 

Movies from the Land of the Long White Cloud


The festival closes out with “Boy”, a comedy-drama film that swept many awards from international film festivals including Melbourne and Berlin and earned a nomination at Sundance. It’s centred on a boy named Boy who dreams of becoming a famous singer like Michael Jackson. He lives with his brother, Rocky, and relatives and imagines that his father was a deep-sea diver and a hero from the war. In fact, his dad was a man without a permanent occupation, a gangster and is in jail for stealing. After the older man returns home after 7 years away, he has to face up to the fact that his father is not a hero and learn how to live with him. 
The New Zealand Film Festival runs from tomorrow to Sunday at SF World Cinema, CentralWorld.
The movies have Thai subtitles and admission is free. Tickets can be obtained at the Information Desk on the seventh floor 30 minutes before the movie. Tickets can also be booked through www.NZSocietyThai.com/nzff2018. 
For more information, contact the SF Call Centre at (02) 268 8888 or visit www.SFCinemaCity.com.
 

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