Te Waiwhakaata Wairarapa Film Festival returns to Martinborough and Featherston this November with four Spring Sessions showcasing films with strong local connections.
Three events will be held at Circus Cinema in Martinborough, with a fourth screening taking place at Featherston Heritage Museum for the first time.
Opening on Saturday 7 November at 3pm with In Search of My Moehau, a darkly comic New Zealand mockumentary directed by Jonathan Watt. The film follows Morris Fubbins, who becomes convinced a mythical creature has taken his missing father into the bush. Watt will introduce the screening and take part in a Q&A. The film recently screened at the Whānau Mārama New Zealand International Film Festival and begins its New Zealand theatrical release in Martinborough.
On Sunday 8 November at 3pm, a double bill celebrates pioneering Aotearoa filmmaker Barry Barclay (Ngāti Apa). The programme pairs Wairarapa (1968), filmed in the region in the late 1960s, with Graeme Tuckett’s documentary Barry Barclay: The Camera on the Shore (2009). Together, the films explore Barclay’s work and offer a glimpse of Wairarapa life more than half a century ago.
Featherston Heritage Museum will host the world premiere of Mark Pacey’s Lemon Squeezers and Walking Sticks: The Treasures of the Featherston Heritage Museum on Sunday 15 November, with screenings at 1pm, 2pm and 3pm. Each session includes a talk on the town’s history and objects from the museum’s collection. Entry is $5.
The festival concludes on Sunday 22 November at 3pm with By Hand, a documentary about wheelwright and coach-painting couple Ali and Greg Lang, screening alongside The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) as the film marks its 25th anniversary.
Come support your local cinema this November, bring a friend and enjoy films that have a connection to the place we call home. Screening information and bookings are available at www.waifilmfest.co.nz.
