A record breaking film festival for Christchurch
Thursday, 9 May 2024
A record breaking 30 premieres will be hosted by Christchurch during the city’s debut year as the home of the internationally renowned Doc Edge film festival.
Extra revenue in excess of $700,000 is also expected to benefit Ōtautahi when film fans and industry figures attend the event in June.
The full programme for the 19th edition of Doc Edge - an Academy Awards® qualifying international documentary festival - was announced on Thursday.
Featuring the largest number of film premieres ever seen at the event, the 2024 festival will run in Christchurch between June 19 and 30, and will include screenings, an awards ceremony, immersive exhibition, schools programme, live events, industry forum, pitching competition and networking opportunities.
The festival will then visit Wellington and Auckland before being offered as a virtual cinema experience between July 15 and 31.
Speaking at the official Doc Edge launch, at Maui Studios in Waltham, ChristchurchNZ CEO Ali Adams, said, “We know that the diverse offering of exciting, innovative events, can enrich a city in so many ways.
“So to have a major arts event of such high calibre in Christchurch is not only adding to the incredible momentum in our local film industry, but it’s also attracting a wealth of new visitors and of course giving our residents another way to experience the unique arts and culture world.
“We’re so proud and excited to now have Doc Edge in our main events portfolio.”
The unprecedented 30 premieres will include 11 feature length films, nine shorts and 10 immersive projects - which will feature augmented or virtual reality elements.
ChristchurchNZ’s head of major events, Karena Finnie, told The Press, “The 19th edition of this Oscar-qualifying festival will cement its home in Christchurch for 2024, launching all screenings and immersive experiences first for NZ.
“Pre event analysis estimates that $768,750 in visitor spending will be contributed to the local economy.”
Speaking at the Doc Edge launch event, the organisation’s patron and New Zealand broadcasting icon, Judy Bailey, said it was a great time for Christchurch to host the festival.
“It just seems like the perfect opportunity to launch the festival as a premier event for the Asia Pacific region and Christchurch is just ideally placed to host an event like this,” she said.
“I really think that Christchurch people will get enthused about the festival.”
Home grown premieres include Bruce Robert Foster’s Spontaneous Combustion, which focuses on artist Barry Brickell’s long held dream to create an artists’ hub, bush railway and nature sanctuary in the Coromandel.
Kiwi director Marcelle Luman’s Habana Shakes will also have its international premiere in Christchurch. The film follows the lives of five young Cubans in Havana over 10 days.
Pistachio Wars, a documentary from New Zealand director Rowan Wernham and American journalist Yasha Levine will also premiere in Ōtautahi, examining a hidden side to California’s healthy snack industry.
In Christchurch, the festival will be held across Hoyts, Lumiere Cinemas, Alice Cinemas, Christchurch Art Gallery, the Town Hall and Tūranga (Central Library).
Nick Paris, managing director at Lumiere Cinemas, told The Press true stories are essential in film.
“Real people, real stories is what matters … and if it means peppering the programme at the Lumiere with commercial films to pay for these stories, then that’s what I’ll do.
“We do the mahi - the spade work - and get it out there and known and it has an afterlife on streaming services and all that.
A partnership with the economic development agency, ChristchurchNZ, enabled the Doc Edge organisers to bring the festival to the city for the first time, with support from the University of Canterbury and its Kōawa Creative Technologies Precinct.
Speaking at the launch event, Shelley Winsor from Kōawa told The Press that the Doc Edge project was one of the first key partnerships for the initiative: “Koawa’s been set up to facilitate partnerships between the university and industry, to enable the Digital Screen degree and for students to interact and have opportunities and exposure to the industry.”
Petrina D’Rozario from Screen CanterburyNZ said, “Doc Edge is an incredible way to showcase documentary to our city, but also show off our city to the film-makers and visiting crew.
The festival was more than just documentaries, it would be taking audiences to a “new realm of possibility”, D’Rozario said.
Doc Edge co-founder and director, Alex Lee, told guests at the festival launch that the resilient spirit of Christchurch made it an ideal partner.
He added, “We hope that by centering Doc Edge in Christchurch, we can help to create a real partner in inspiration, for people to come to Christchurch and understand how special your city is.”
Tickets for Doc Edge 2024 events are now available via the festival’s website.