Check out following titles which will screen at the 2012 NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL.

Visit www.nzff.co.nz for information on screening dates, venues and ticket purchases.

WELLINGTON JULY 27 - AUGUST 12

PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST

GERHARD RICHTER PAINTING
Corinna Belzs process-oriented record of, yes, Gerhard Richter painting, sometimes pulls in close, sometimes stays back, as the calm, kindly, rigorous master digs into a series of abstracts in his Cologne studio. Aside from showing Richter attending to daily business and archival glimpses of his feisty younger self, the documentary sticks with the now-80-year-old artist as he paints, pauses and contemplates. At times filling the screen with symmetrical compositions of paintings in progress in the studio, the film is akin to being in a museum thats come alive. Nicolas Rapold, Film Comment

2011 | Germany | Director: Corinna Belz | Documentary 97 Minutes | In German and English, with English subtitles

AI WEIWEI: NEVER SORRY

In April 2011, Chinas most famous artist was scooped up at Beijing airport by government officials, and held in secret detention for 81 days. The biggest surprise was that it had not happened sooner. As the absorbing Never Sorry shows, Ai Weiwei had for years been one of the ruling partys most trenchant, irrepressible and charismatic critics. He disowned his part in the design of the Beijing Olympics Birds Nest Stadium in protest at the treatment of the citys residents. He challenged the official response to the 2008 Sichuan earthquake by compiling a list of the names of the thousands of students whose deaths had gone unacknowledged. And he defiantly tweets and documents everything online. TM

2012 | USA/China | Director: Alison Klayman| Documentary | 91 minutes | In English and Mandarin, with English subtitles

MARINA ABRAMOVIC: THE ARTIST IS PRESENT

If youre not already a fan of Marina Abramovic, prepare to become one. Matthew Akers compelling portrait catches the stunning, Givenchy-wearing 63-year-old at the height of her career as she prepares for her 2010 MoMA retrospective. This mammoth exhibition requires her to train young artists to perform her early work (they learn through fasting, silence and meditation) as well as create a major new piece, The Artist Is Present. Half of the film is devoted to this extraordinary new work, in which Abramovic sits silently for three months, available for the public to individually encounter her. JR

2012 | USA/Serbia/Montenegro | Director: Matthew Akers | Documentary | 106 minutes

THE SCREENING DATES AND TIMES FOR THIS FILM ARE YET TO BE CONFIRMED BUT INDICATIONS OF INTEREST FOR GROUP BOOKINGS ARE BEING TAKEN NOW. EXPRESS YOUR INTEREST FOR GROUP BOOKNGS OF 20 PLUS PEOPLE BY JULY 2nd. PLEASE CONTACT robyn@nzff.co.nz OR CALL 04 802 3140. YOUR BOOKING WILL BE SECURED AS TICKETS GO ON SALE AND YOU PAY CONCESSION PRICES.