NZIFF 2026: 6 Must-See Films

After Jai Courtney’s variable run of commercial Hollywood roles, it’s refreshing to see him in earthy crowdpleaser The Fox.

His Nick is a likeable, naive rural Aussie bloke. He discovers his fiancée, Kori (Emily Browning), is cheating on him with her vet boss Derek. 

Nick follows some magical advice from Olivia Colman’s quipping talking fox, but twists and turns lie ahead. Some of The Fox’s scenes are a hoot, from the family dog vomiting (critically) to Claudia Doumit’s Diana — Derek’s partner — and her amusing attempts to salvage the unfortunate sitch. 

The dearly departed Sam Neill wins, voicing a cheeky magpie, swearing like a sozzled sailor.  

Find out more about The Fox here. 

Claire Denis’ Beau Travail, The Intruder, and 35 Shots of Rum are three of the great female-directed films of the last 30 years. 

The Fence fits her oeuvre: elliptical and enigmatic, edgy and elegant, as Denis and her English co-writers adapt 1979 play Black Battles with Dogs. There’s plenty for her sharp French teeth to bite into. 

The setting is a watch-towered West African construction project, about to be taken over by Chinese management. Site foreman Horn (Matt Dillon) is increasingly on edge. His newlywed wife, a nurse (Mia McKenna-Bruce), is flying in that night. His sinister young engineer Cal (Tom Blyth) — arrestingly introduced with “Beds Are Burning” — is driving her. 

Alboury (Isaach de Bankolé) arrives outside the fence, tenaciously seeking his dead brother’s body, after his onsite death. 

The Fence has that tactile Denisian sense of unease. Working with cinematographer Éric Gautier (The Motorcycle Diaries), her compositions are striking. A zeitgeisty exploration of colonialism, fuelled by muscular and expressive acting.  

Find out more about The Fence here. 

Up Close, No One is Normal is the title of the important play in All of a Sudden. Marie-Lou (Virginie Efira) agrees with the sentiments, with characteristic style.

Marie-Lou is the compassionate director of a Parisian nursing home, who befriends Mari (Tao Okamoto), a Japanese theatre director fighting terminal cancer. Their terrific performances anchor a touching story about friendship and family, humanity and mortality. 

Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s first French-language film is as sophisticated and absorbing as his Oscar-winner Drive My Car. One of seven Japanese selections in the festival’s ‘Journeys’ spotlight.  

Find out more about All of a Sudden here.