New Zealand's Best 2020

Help give the year’s best New Zealand short films the homegrown recognition they deserve by voting for your favourite.
For this year’s New Zealand’s Best short film competition, Festival Director Marten Rabarts, Head of Programming Michael McDonnell, and Paris-based Programmer Sandra Reid viewed 78 submissions to make a shortlist of 12, from which director Tusi Tamasese selected these six finalists. A jury of three will select the winner of the $4,000 Creative New Zealand Best Short Film Prize and teh $2,000 Madman Entertainment Emerging Talent Award, while the winner of an audience vote takes away the Audience Choice Award, consisting of 25 percent of the box office from this year’s online screenings.
“Overall, these films illustrate and reveal a range of human experiences and emotions. They all had characters and stories I felt were different, unique and entrancing, and that I connected with because they explored aspects of humanity from interesting perspectives. From trapped minds and bodies to how people choose to live with the consequences of their choices, they deal with defining moments that weren’t always predictable.” — Tusi Tamasese

Daddy’s Girl (Kōtiro) (12 minutes)
Te Puhi shares kai with her father when the harsh reality of his dementia forces her to face a painful truth.

Safety Net (12 minutes)
Cheeky 12-year-old Terry is taken into emergency care when his mother is arrested and finds an unlikely connection with one of his guardians.

Daniel (19 minutes)
A young novice at an isolated convent is confronted with the sudden desire to explore her sexuality when she meets the mysterious Daniel.

Love Is Real! (13 minutes)
Feuding couple Jamie and Millie are brought back together with the help of their AI home-assistant Ada and a musical extravaganza.

Oranges & Lemons (13 minutes)
Bullied at school and ignored at home, a young girl finds her voice in the strangest place in this evocative and atmospheric film set in a balmy 70s summer in rural New Zealand.

Pain (9 minutes)
A young girl’s adoration of her father is dented when an indoor cricket mishap exposes his vulnerability.

CREDITS

Daddy’s Girl (Kōtiro)
NZ 2019
Director/Screenplay: Cian Elyse White
Producer: Tweedie Waititi
Co-producer: Te Rāhui August
Photography: Fred Renata
Editor: Annie Collins
With: William Davis, Ngapaki Moetara

Safety Net
Australia 2020
Director: Anthea Williams
Producer: Naomi Just
Screenplay: Julian Larnach
Photography: Tania Lambert
Editor: Chris Plummer
With: Nikki Shiels, Steve Rodgers, William Best

Daniel
NZ 2019
Director/Screenplay: Claire van Beek
Producer: Alix Whittaker
Photography: Simon Baumfield
Editors: John Gilbert, Conan Mornard-Stott
With: Edith Poor, Matt Whelan, Elizabeth Hawthorne, Nancy Brunning

Love Is Real!
NZ 2020
Director/Editor: Calvin Sang
Producer: Briar Collard
Screenplay: Natasha Lay, Calvin Sang
Photography: Stefan Coetzee
With: Sarah Nessia, Tyler Wilson Kokiri

Oranges & Lemons
NZ 2019
Director/Screenplay: Robyn Grace
Producer: Rory MacGillycuddy, Robyn Grace, Jarl Devine
Photography: John Cavill
Editor: Kerri Roggio
With: Skyler Sylvester, Saskia Shand, Olivia Mueller

Pain
NZ 2019
Director/Screenplay: Anna Duckworth
Producer: Ilai Amar
Photography: Nina Wells
Editor: Brendon Chan
With: Eva Gardner, Wesley Dowdell

78 minutes
Censors rating tbc