The Festival is a national event bringing a variety of new films in different styles and genres straight from the international festival circuit to the giant screens of New Zealand. The consolidation of several separately evolved Festivals into a single event known as The New Zealand International Film Festival occurred for the first time in 2009 and since then it is held annually starting in Auckland, original home of the Festival, before travelling to towns and cities around the country.
The festival's purpose is to demonstrate the development of the art and contribute to a knowledge of new styles and trends in film-making, to encourage the screening of films which might not otherwise be brought to New Zealand and to encourage and promote widespread discussion of these films. The main strand of the Festival is non-competitive and all participating films receive a measure of financial reward.
The festival's purpose is to demonstrate the development of the art and contribute to a knowledge of new styles and trends in film-making, to encourage the screening of films which might not otherwise be brought to New Zealand and to encourage and promote widespread discussion of these films. The main strand of the Festival is non-competitive and all participating films receive a measure of financial reward.