I have volunteered at the NZ International Film Festival for over a decade now. And part of the reason why I keep coming back is because of the films I have to sit in on as an usher, rather than the ones I chose to see.
Here is a brief selection of the films I saw while helping people to their seats.
Loop Track (Thomas Sainsbury, 2023)
Disclosure: I have been acquainted with Tom Sainsbury for over a decade. I contributed a short play to a production he directed in 2011, and we have been friendly acquaintences ever since.
As in his previous work for the stage, Sainsbury is fascinated by Pakeha masculinity, which is reflected here through the characters of Ian (Sainsbury) and Mickey (Hayden J. Weal)
While it boasts an understated sense of humour, the emphasis is on tension of another kind. For most of its runtime, Loop Track is a character study about an individual’s breakdown, and the film slyly avoids any attempt to make Ian’s fears concrete.
A terrific little thriller.
Kokomo City (D. Smith, 2023)
A documentary about black trans sex workers in New York and Georgia, Kokomo City is a movie I wish I could watch again with an audience - just to feel the reactions.
Made up of talking heads, with occasional re-enactments, the film is an assemblage of perspectives of the local industry. Sex workers, clients and others are interviewed.
Shot in black and white, the film is forthright, hilarious and completely uninhibited in its presentation, letting its subjects tell their stories.
River (Junta Yamaguchi, 2023)
A farcical addition to the time loop sub-genre, River sees a small town’s inhabitants find themselves retreating the same two minutes.
As their ordeal progresses, they confront their own fears of the future/not progressing.
Hilarious and impressive in its ability to milk their constraints, River is a lot of fun.
Sorcery (Christopher Murray, 2023)
As far as the films I caught while volunteering, I want to highlight Sorcery.
I missed one key moment at the start - the pivotal tragedy which leads to Rosa’s (Valentina Véliz) self-discovery and quest for vengeance.
Dealing with the consequences of colonisation, the film is about a young indigenous girl exploring her own roots and catalysing a rebalancing of power and order in the small island community.
Beautifully photographed, and largely free of overt VFX for the film’s supernatural elements, Sorcery is an intriguing film that probably hit harder because I was still in the afterglow of How to Blow up a Pipeline.
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