The 13th Annual Doc Edge, International Documentary Film Festival opens today - Wednesday 9th May at Wellington’s Roxy Cinema followed by Auckland’s Q Theatre on Wednesday 23rd May, bringing an influx of prestigious directors and documentary subjects from all over the world.

Anote’s Ark
Making its Asia-Pacific premiere, the opening feature of the festival is Anote’s Ark. Kiribati’s former President Anote Tong, who is the subject of the film, attends the Festival, as does director Matthieu Rytz. Matthieu is a producer, curator, photographer, director, and trained visual anthropologist, with his passion for photography and ethnology leading him across the globe to photograph cultural and human diversity over ten years. A Q & A follows the7:30pm Auckland screening on May 23rd.

The Invisible Heart
Canadian Screen Award-winner, Nadine Pequeneza, will attend the Auckland Premiere of her film, The Invisible Heart. Nadine has a Gold Hugo award from the Chicago International Film Festival, as well as seven CSA and Gemini nominations, and an honourable mention Silver Gavel Award from the American Bar Association. Her films have screened at festivals world-wide, and she is best known for her focus on social issues which offer unique access to character-driven stories. Q & A’s with Nadine will follow both Auckland screenings on May 25th at 7:15pm, and May 26th at 12pm.

With the support of the Canadian High Commission, the Canadian delegation of former President Anote Tong, Matthieu Rytz and Nadine Pequeneza, will also include Alicia Smith of the National Film Board of Canada. She will be attending the Doc Edge Opening Night on May 23rd and Screen Edge Forum on May 25th-27th.

Postcards From India — A Busker’s Adventure
In the World Premiere of Postcards From India — A Busker’s Adventure, we travel with musician Filippo Masé, aka 'Miserable Man', along the streets of India. From the Rajasthan desert to the big city of Kolkata, he will cross paths with many characters: fellow musicians, spiritual seekers and street kids. The film follows the steps through which this street performer decided to embrace a new lifestyle, dedicated to music, travel and self-discovery. Both subject, Filippo, and director of the feature, Tommaso Dolcetta Capuzzo, are guests of the Festival.

When God Sleeps
Premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival last year, When God Sleeps took out the Cinema Peace Award for Most Valuable Documentary at this year’s Berlinale, and the Golden Heynal Award in the International DocFilmMusic Competition at the Krakow Film Festival. Director Till Schauder will join the Festival for its New Zealand premiere in Wellington and Auckland, with Q & A’s after the screenings. Till has won a German Emmy for his previous works and appeared in the HBO series “Mildred Pierce,” acting alongside Kate Winslet.

Hope Road
In this film, refugee Zacharia Machiek sets out with high hopes to build a school back in his village in war torn South Sudan with dedicated Aussie supporters, but his ambitious plans are challenged when life intervenes. Hope Road has been nominated for the Documentary Australia Foundation (DAF) Best Australian Documentary Award. Director Tom Zubrycki has won the Australian Film Institute Awards for previous works, for both Best Director and Best Documentary. Hope Road has Q & As at both Auckland screenings on May 26th at 6:45pm, and May 27th at 12:15pm.

Point of No Return
In its Australasian premiere, Point of No Return takes viewers behind the headlines of Solar Impulse, the first solar-powered flight around the world. Billed as one of the great scientific adventure stories of our century, the film follows pilots Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg as they take turns battling nature, their own crew, and sometimes logic itself, to achieve the impossible: flying 26,000 miles powered only by the sun, to prove the potential of clean energy. Directors Noel Dockstader and Quinn Kanaly will attend the festival, as well as participate in Docs 4 Schools, Doc Edge’s educational programme providing free screenings to schools in Wellington and Auckland. Q & As will be held after the two screenings in Wellington, May 18th & 20th, and the first screening in Auckland on May 25th.   

Other international guests to visit the Festival include PJ Raval, director of Call her Ganda, which follows three strong women in their quest for justice for murdered transwoman Jennifer Laude as they take on U.S. diplomatic and military institutions. Director of Ben-Gurion, Epilogue - Yariv Mozer will attend with his film on former Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion. Star of Big In Japan,David Elliot-Jones attends with directors Lachlan McLeod and Louis Dai, with their film on fame and the dangerous idea that is “celebrity.” Kiwi Kieren Jameson returns home, attending with director Gail Freedman, after featuring in Hot To Trot, a film on the little-known phenomenon that is same-sex competitive ball-room dance.

A highlight each year at the Doc Edge Film Awards is the prestigious Doc Edge Superhero Award which recognises outstanding achievement in documentary. The 2018 recipient is Diane Weyermann (USA), President of Documentary Film & Television at Participant Media. Diane has executive produced many award-winning and critically acclaimed documentaries including Doc Edge 2018’s Far From The Tree and Kailash, and previous Oscar winnersCitizenfour and An Inconvenient Truth.

Alongside the Festival, guests will attend the 12th Screen Edge Forum on May 18th at Park Road Post and May 25th- 27th at The University of Auckland. Together, the events bring the largest annual meet-up of international filmmakers and leading screen industry in New Zealand. The Forum features masterclasses and workshops on current screen issues and developments. A popular event during the Forum is the annual Doc Pitch, a pitching competition that led to the development of many best loved Kiwi documentaries, which takes place on May 25th. Members of the public are welcome to register and attend Screen Edge Forum.

Returning this year to the University of Auckland is the Story Edge World Exhibition, a selection of the latest and most innovative interactive digital storytelling projects on May 26th-27th. Entry to view the Exhibition is free.

2018 KEY DATES:

9-20 May - Doc Edge Festival: Wellington – Roxy Cinema, Miramar
23 May - 4 June - Doc Edge Festival: Auckland – Q Theatre, CBD
18 May - Screen Edge Forum: Wellington – Park Road Post, Miramar
25-27 May - Screen Edge Forum: Auckland – University of Auckland, CBD
26-27 May – Story Edge World Exhibition: Auckland – University of Auckland, CBD
 
To see the full details visit: www.docedge.nz