Masterton Film Festival offers over 30 movies

Jamie Morton
A new Vincent Ward docu-drama hailed by The Hollywood Reporter as a "haunting historical epic" is just one slice of cinematic fare jammed into next month's 32nd Masterton International Film Festival.
The Greytown director's Rain of the Children, which re-imagines a central character from his 1978 work In Spring One Plants Alone, will prove a highlight for film buff and Regent 3 Cinemas owner Brent Goodwin.
"That will be great to see graphic images in the 1978 film are still etched in my mind, I remember it vividly."
Mr Goodwin sees the festival, which has run at the theatre since the early 1990s and this year boasts more than 30 features, as Masterton's largest cultural event.
"It's always a challenge to host it here as we are so small but people always respond well to it and we usually sell about 2000 tickets.
"In my view, that's because we are basically a suburb of Wellington and many people have had regular access to these sort of films before."
The two-week festival will kick off at 8pm on Wednesday, October 15, with Welcome to the Sticks, a satire that is now the most successful French film of all time.
"The French have a long tradition of making great films and this one's widely acclaimed."
Other treats Mr Goodwin is keen to see are Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr Hunter S. Thompson and the 2007 German film The Counterfeiters, which scooped the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2008 Academy Awards.
Elsewhere in the programme is Irish prison break action The Escapist, a selection of films from Iceland, Israel, Brazil, Spain and USA, a variety of documentaries and a special section of six Homegrown New Zealand short films.
Several films also have short films preceding them.
"There's that much in it that you could stick a pin in the programme and choose any film to go along to.
"You might read about it and think it won't be that good, but lo and behold, it is.
"That's how high the standard is."
Mr Goodwin said the festival would provide relief to punters wanting more serious viewing than the upbeat Mamma Mia!, which is still selling well since premiering in early August.
"I'm sure there will be a lot of people happy about us getting a lot of new movies in."
The festival will close at Wednesday, October 29, with an 8pm screening of The Escapist.
Further information on session times and movie synopsises are available at the website www.nzff.co.nz