Whanganui Programme

Ink

- OFFICIAL SELECTION: Venice Film Festival -
- OFFICIAL SELECTION: Telluride Film Festival -
- OFFICIAL SELECTION: Toronto International Film Festival -

The latest film from British cinema royalty Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire), Ink charts the rise of Rupert Murdoch’s notorious newspaper The Sun, and the creation of the UK’s tabloid culture.

Guy Pearce (The Brutalist) stars as Murdoch, alongside Jack O’Connell (Sinners) as newspaper editor Larry Lamb, newly assigned to oversee the fledgling daily paper. Tasked with attracting new readers in the competitive British media market, Lamb devises a new tactic - throw anything onto the page that will turn heads, no matter the veracity.

The Sun sees a massive spike in readership, and this new broad scope allows Jules Davies (Claire Foy) to break through the male-dominated hierarchy. But as the paper circulation grows, so too does the number of its critics.

Already generating awards season buzz, the fast-paced and gripping Ink features riveting performances from its star cast, in a thrilling exploration of this controversial newsroom legacy.

STARRING: Jack O’Connell, Guy Pearce, Claire Foy

DIRECTED BY: Danny Boyle

A Talent for Murder

- OFFICIAL SELECTION: Toronto International Film Festival - 

British national treasure Helen Mirren plays The Talented Mr. Ripley author Patricia Highsmith in this deeply intriguing thriller.

A Talent for Murder takes place in 1995, with Highsmith now in her seventies - and in poor health. Retired to her secluded house in the Swiss Alps, the author keeps to her study, immersed in her books, accompanied by her cats, and surrounded by a collection of antique weapons.

Highsmith’s solitude is interrupted by the arrival of Edward Ridgeway (recent Tony-winner Alden Ehrenreich), a mysterious messenger from a New York publisher, sent to persuade the author to write one final instalment of the Ripley anthology. Aggravated by the unexpected visit from this youthful, overly eager envoy, Patricia declines the offer. That is, unless Ridgeway can help her in conjuring up the perfect murder story.

Mirren embodies the wickedly manipulative author with gusto, while Ehrenreich imbues Ridgeway with enough guile to keep us guessing at his motives.

From director Anton Corbijn (Control), A Talent for Murder is replete with brilliant twists, biting dialogue, and delicious entanglements. Direct from its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, don’t miss this highly anticipated thriller!

STARRING: Helen Mirren, Alden Ehrenreich, Olivia Cooke, Juliet Stevenson

DIRECTED BY: Anton Corbijn

The Lost Children of Tuam

- WINNER: Best Irish Film, Galway Film Fleadh - 
- OFFICIAL SELECTION: Toronto International Film Festival - 

From producer Liam Neeson, this powerful true story of an amateur historian’s tenacious pursuit of truth won the Best Irish Film award at this year’s Galway Film Fleadh.

The film follows Catherine Corless (BAFTA-winner Monica Dolan, Days of the Bagnold Summer) as she begins researching “Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home”, a former institution for unmarried mothers and their children in Tuam, County Galway.

Catherine soon uncovers one of the darkest chapters in modern Irish history, a long-buried story of neglect and loss. Faced with deafening silence from the church and state, she embarks on a campaign for justice, confronting deep wounds that continue to shape Ireland today.

Monica Dolan turns in a phenomenally convincing performance as Corless, worthy of her compassionate, intelligent real-life counterpart. The Lost Children of Tuam is a moving testimony to the power of perseverance, and a reminder that change can begin with one person.

STARRING: Monica Dolan, Andrew Bennett, Ian McElhinney

DIRECTED BY: Frank Berry

Mother's Pride

From the creators of Fisherman’s Friends, Mother’s Pride is a heartfelt comedy about a failing pub, a divided community, and a family desperately trying to hold itself together.

The film follows Cal Harley (Jonno Davies, Better Man), a washed-up musician haunted by his past success. Returning to his hometown, he faces a family still grieving his mother’s death, and their beloved pub on the brink of closure.

To make matters worse, Cal’s old rival, Edward Pritchard (Luke Treadaway, A Street Cat Named Bob) runs a bustling pub across the street, and is in a relationship with Cal’s first love, Abi (Gabriella Wilde).

Determined to right his wrongs, Cal rediscovers the long-forgotten family ritual of brewing beer, alongside his brother Jake (James Buckley, The Inbetweeners), gradually regaining his confidence - and his voice.

Cal sets out to challenge Pritchard in the prestigious CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) awards, all while trying to win back Abi with his heartfelt songs written just for her. As melodies mingle with hops, can Cal mend his broken family ties, reclaim his lost love, and rediscover himself?

With Martin Clunes and Mark Addy filling out the cast, Mother’s Pride is a quintessentially British underdog story that’s warm, funny and full of heart.

STARRING: Jonno Davies, James Buckley, Martin Clunes, Mark Addy

DIRECTED BY: Nick Moorcroft

Once Upon a Time in a Cinema

- OFFICIAL SELECTION: Dublin International Film Festival - 

This witty, light-hearted Irish comedy-drama centres on a Friday night in a small-town cinema, as a series of comic mishaps draws an entire community together in unexpected and touching ways.

Set in the 1980s, Once Upon a Time in a Cinema follows Earl (Colin Morgan, Belfast) the owner/manager of a regional Irish cinema.

Amid financial struggles and failing equipment, Earl and his crew find themselves under siege from rogue rodents, belligerent patrons, a drunken projectionist, and the ultimate existential threat - the unstoppable march of new technology known as the Video Home System (VHS).

To add to the pressure, Earl’s younger brother Gerald (Calam Lynch) is desperate to sell the struggling family business to a local businessman, who is in attendance on this chaotic night to see the cinema in action before making his final offer...

Drawing from writer/director David Gleeson’s own experience growing up in a family of cinema owners, this is a love letter to the cinema experience.

STARRING: Colin Morgan, Calam Lynch, Stanley Townsend, India Mullen

DIRECTED BY: David Gleeson

California Schemin'

- OFFICIAL SELECTION: Toronto International Film Festival - 

James McAvoy makes his anticipated directorial debut with this wild true story of two Scottish men pretending to be Americans to achieve their dreams of hip-hop stardom.

Inspired by the real-life tale of Scottish rap duo “Silibil N’ Brains”, California Schemin’ follows lifelong friends Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd. Chasing their dream of becoming successful rappers, Gavin and Billy are faced with one problem - no one will take their aspirations seriously with their thick regional accents.

Humiliated at an audition in London, the pair return home and devise an absurd scheme: they’ll reinvent themselves as hard-partying Californian MCs, complete with elaborate backstories and convincing (enough) American accents.

Miraculously, the gambit pays off, and Sibil N’ Brains’ rise to stardom is set in motion. But as the stakes get raised, the pressure begins to fracture both their success - and their friendship.

With California Schemin’, McAvoy delivers a fast-paced, funny and poignant debut with a killer soundtrack.

STARRING: Samuel Bottomley, Séamus McLean Ross, James McAvoy

DIRECTED BY: James McAvoy

The Uprising

Andrew Garfield stars as the leader of a ferocious rebellion in this captivating historical drama from the acclaimed director Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Ultimatum, Captain Phillips).

Set in 1381, in the aftermath of the devastating Black Plague, The Uprising centres on an England under the tyranny of the young King Richard II.

In the lead role, Garfield plays an unnamed ploughman, grieving the loss of his wife and children to the plague. When harsh new taxes are enforced by corrupt officials in his town, local tensions reach a boiling point.

Joined by the radical priest John Ball (Jamie Bell, All of Us Strangers), and military veteran Wat Tyler (Cosmo Jarvis, Shōgun) the ploughman transforms from a humble farmer to an outlaw leader, forming an army of the people to march on London and face the King’s might in a fight for justice.

BAFTA-winning director Paul Greengrass brings his trademark gritty, verité style to this action-packed epic, the first film adaptation of the 14th century Peasants’ Revolt.

Led by an excellent performance from Andrew Garfield, The Uprising is rounded out by a star cast including New Zealand’s own Thomasin McKenzie. Powerful, heartbreaking and captivating, make sure you see The Uprising on the big screen.

STARRING: Andrew Garfield, Jamie Bell, Stephen Dillane, Tom Hollander

DIRECTED BY: Paul Greengrass

Virginia Woolf's Night & Day

- OFFICIAL SELECTION: South by Southwest London - 

Love and astronomy don’t mix in this refreshing take on the romantic comedy, based on Virginia Woolf’s novel and featuring an all-star cast.

Haley Bennett (Widow Clicquot) plays Katharine Hilbery, an aspiring astronomer who is passionate about two things, and two things only: the stars and Cambridge University.

Katharine’s controlling father (Timothy Spall) attempts to push her away from learning and into a marriage with a family friend, the pompous and clueless William (Jack Whitehall).  With her independence under threat, Katharine turns to the suffragette movement, spearheaded by the straight-talking Mary (Lily Allen).

However, Katharine’s life opens up further when she crosses paths with Ralph Denham, a working-class writer hired by her mother to help edit a sprawling family biography. As intellectual and romantic loyalties shift, Katharine is forced to re-evaluate her beliefs about love, ambition, and claiming her place in the world.

Fun and contemporary in tone, this is an inventive adaptation of Woolf’s story that is as relevant today as it ever was.

STARRING: Haley Bennett, Jack Whitehall, Jennifer Saunders, Timothy Spall

DIRECTED BY: Tina Gharavi

Parky

Sir Michael Parkinson, often affectionately known as “Parky”, was one of the most ubiquitous figures on UK Television. This riveting new documentary examines the career and milestones of the man known as “the great British talkshow host.”

How did a miner’s son from working-class Yorkshire, who rose to become television’s greatest interviewer and a knighted Sir, never truly believe in himself? As told in his own words, and from those closest to him - his wife, Lady Mary, and sons Mike, Andrew and Nick - Parky is a revelatory portrait of an icon.

From his childhood in the South Yorkshire village of Cudworth, and his successful stint in uniform with the National service, to his journalism career and eventual television stardom, this tell-all uncovers the brilliant and complicated man.

Over 20 years, Parkinson hosted more than 2,000 guests on his eponymous show, from Hollywood actors to sports stars, comedians, and intellectual figures. Parky features quintessential clips with some of these legendary guests, including Dame Julie Andrews, Sir Billy Connolly, Dame Judi Dench, Sir Paul McCartney, and many more.

An enthralling combination of intimate insights from his family, as well as classic clips from his beloved show, Parky is essential viewing.

DIRECTED BY: Luke Mazzaferro and Luke Cornish

Kenny Dalglish

From Asif Kapadia, the Oscar-winning director of Senna, Amy and Diego Maradona, comes the inspiring, humorous, and emotional story of football legend Kenny Dalglish.

Dalglish narrates his own journey, joined by his wife Marina and closest footballing friends, Graeme Souness and Alan Hansen. Drawing from hours of archival footage, including never-before-seen personal clips from his playing career and home life, the film reveals Kenny’s remarkable story.

From his upbringing in Glasgow tenements, to his breakout stardom at Celtic, and his record-breaking transfer to Liverpool FC in 1977, this documentary explores Kenny’s profound humanity and leadership during deeply turbulent times. With skill, strength, flair, and sharp humour, the Scotsman became one of the club’s and Europe’s greatest players.

This is a warm and gutsy portrait of the legendary Liverpool star, expertly assembled in Kapadia’s signature style. For an absorbing portrait of an icon of the sport, don’t look past the compelling Kenny Dalglish.

DIRECTED BY: Asif Kapadia