New Zealand International Film Festival

Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival takes a curated programme of international and Aotearoa cinema to towns and cities across New Zealand. Features, documentaries and shorts screen alongside filmmaker visits and audience discussions. Its combined Ngā Whanaunga Aotearoa: New Zealand’s Best short-film competition presents Māori and Pasifika filmmaking alongside other work from Aotearoa. The 2026 programme also includes jury and audience awards for Fresh, its debut-film section, and Frames, its documentary section.

The festival operates through the non-profit New Zealand Film Festival Trust. Its national identity dates to the consolidation of regional festivals in 2009; the Whānau Mārama name forms part of its identity from 2020. The dates of the 2026 cinema season are 29 July–9 September across 11 centres, including Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.