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The Whānau Mārama New Zealand International Film Festival

The Whānau Mārama New Zealand International Film Festival is on again from 29 July - 9 September, across 11 towns and cities throughout Aotearoa.

Published on:

July 30, 2026

NZIFF

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The Whānau Mārama New Zealand International Film Festival is on again from 29 July - 9 September, across 11 towns and cities throughout Aotearoa. Featuring documentaries, dramas, horror, heartbreak, history, comedy, and a healthy dose of the unhinged, this year's festival includes more than 130 movies from New Zealand and beyond, including a top selection straight from the glitzy Cannes Film Festival.

Standouts from the lineup include New Zealand-made opening night film, (Big Girls Don’t Cry), a coming-of-age tale about the awkwardness of growing up, a backstage French farce (Comédie-Française), a star-studded comedy-drama about family complexities (Father Mother Sister Brother), a jazz icon’s comeback from tragedy (Everybody Digs Bill Evans), and this year's centrepiece, the untold story of a sporting legend (Lomu).

Also on the NZIFF 2026 programme list, Cannes' big winners including top prize Palme d’Or recipient, Fjord - a stark family drama set in a Norwegian fishing village where the locals are not kind to the newcomers, and Grand Prize winner, Minotaur, an ice-cold political thriller about a Russian business magnate whose professional and personal life is rapidly unravelling.

"We're excited to share another incredible line-up of films with New Zealand audiences for NZIFF 2026,”

says Artistic Director Paolo Bertolin.

“This year's selection is diverse, free and adventurous, a line-up that represents cinematic quality, while also being big on emotional impact, fun and topicality. We're really looking forward to the moment our audiences discover them on the big screen."

The Whānau Mārama New Zealand International Film Festival kicks off in Auckland on 29 July, before travelling to 10 other towns throughout Aotearoa. All dates, details, film listings and ticketing info can be found at nziff.co.nz.