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Simon Zhou previews the In Praise of Slow Cinema, Animation and Incredibly Strange Film sections at the 2010 NZ International Film Festival. See more previews here.

Simon Zhou previews the In Praise of Slow Cinema, Animation and Incredibly Strange Film sections at the 2010 NZ International Film Festival. See more previews here.

Perhaps, if the grace of God allows, hidden somewhere in these three slates is an incredibly strange, slow paced animation. 

Two of these sections (In Praise of Slow Cinema/Incredibly Strange) represent films for those who are looking for something off the beaten path, and in some ways, the films in these sections are the most likely to challenge, move or bore to tears, invigorate, or disgust, providing cinematic experiences that you are unlikely to find at any other time of the year.  

These films could be unforgettable, or turn you off from movies forever, so perhaps a gin or two before attending isn’t a bad idea.  The most wistfully poetic title of the film festival goes to I Travel Because I Have To, I Come Back Because I Love You (dir. Marcelo Gomes, Karim Ainouz) and competing for the most nauseatingly, violently gross film in the festival are most of the films under the Incredibly Strange banner.

The animation section promises lighter fare, with three short film programs, one with a selection of short films just for kids, and three feature length animations from three different regions of the world: In the Attic: Who Has a Birthday Today (dir. Jiri Barta), a Japanese/Czech/Slovakian love letter to old toys; My Dog Tulip (dir. Pal Fierlinger, Sandra Fierlinger), an American production based on JR Ackerley’s heartfelt account of a man’s relationship with his dog, told with plenty of dollops of  British drollness; and Summer Wars (dir. Hosoda Mamoru), a Japanese film in the anime mode that takes us to a world divided between those who live a traditional existence, and those who choose to conduct the majority of their lives in a digital, online world.  

In many ways, these three sections represent exactly what the festival is about: providing opportunities for films to be screened that might not otherwise have an avenue, no matter how esoteric or obscure, and the privilege for audiences to see them, from The Human Centipede (dir. Tom Six) to dogs named Tulip. 

See you at the movies.