International Film Festival

The Armidale International Film Festival is an annual celebration of international cinema, bringing the best of global film to our local community.

Friday, 23 August

5:30pm – Opening Night Drinks and Canapés – included with Season Pass (Optional Separate Purchase: $38.50 for Non-Season Pass Holders  – Preorder Only)

6:30pm – Opening Feature – Blind at Heart (CTC – 136 minutes – Drama – Germany)

Based on Julia Franck’s novel which retraces the journey of a woman who, after the WWII, is ready to do anything to start a new life. Helene, a central character with many faces, shares life between two men, two worlds far from being alike

Saturday, 24 August

9:45am – The Promised Land (MA15+Strong violence and coarse language – 127 minutes – Biography – Denmark)

In 1755, the impoverished Captain Ludvig Kahlen (Mads Mikkelsen) sets out to conquer the harsh, uninhabitable Danish heath with a seemingly impossible goal: to build a colony in the name of the King. In exchange, he’ll receive a desperately desired royal name for himself. But the sole ruler of the area, the merciless Frederik de Schinkel (Simon Bennebjerg), arrogantly believes this land belongs to him. When de Schinkel learns that the maid Ann Barbara (Amanda Collin) and her serve husband have escaped for refuge with Kahlen, the privileged and spiteful ruler swears revenge, doing everything in his power to drive the captain away. But Kahlen will not be intimated and takes up the unequal battle – not only risking his life, but also the family of outsiders that has formed around him.

1-hour Lunch Break – Light lunch options available for purchase

1:05pm – The Monk and the Gun (PG – 107 minutes – Comedy – Bhutan)

An American travels to Bhutan searching for a valuable antique rifle and crosses paths with a young monk who wanders through the serene mountains, instructed by his teacher to make things right again.

30-minute break – tea, coffee, and cakes available for purchase

3:25pm – Divertmento (PGMild themes – 114 minutes – Biography – France)

Classical symphonic music is everything for 17-year-old Zahia Ziouani and her twin sister, Fettouma. Nevertheless, living in underprivileged Parisian suburbs in 1995 with their Algerian background, they struggle arduously to approach their dreams – becoming an orchestra conductor and a cellist. Driven by determination, passion, and courage, they create their own orchestra, Divertimento. It will be a game-changer. Divertimento is inspired by the life of Zahia Ziouani, one of the few worldwide renowned female conductors.

70-minute dinner break – light snack options available for purchase

6:40pm – The Movie Teller (M – 116 minutes – Drama – Spain)

María Margarita is the youngest of four siblings in a family living in a mining town in the Atacama Desert (Chile). The most special time of the week for this family is Sunday, when they all go to the movies to enjoy stories that let them escape their everyday lives by transporting them to other worlds. The girl’s parents soon realise that the little girl has a very special gift: an almost uncanny ability to recount movies. The girl’s extraordinary talent will spread throughout the village, changing the fortunes of her family as the country is transformed forever.

Sunday, 25 August

9:45am – The Mountain (PG – Mild themes and coarse language – 90 minutes – Adventure – New Zealand)

Sam, a fearless young girl raised outside of her Māori culture, is determined to fulfil her mission of connecting with her mountain in the hope they can heal her from the cancer she battles. Along the way she meets some misfits and new kids in town – Mallory, hoping to find friends, any kind of friends – and Bronco who claims to be a runaway from his dad who is too busy to notice him. As they make their way through the difficult “off the beaten track” route, they learn the true spirit of adventure and the magic of friendship.

1:30pm – A Moroccan Affair (M – 107 minutes – Comedy – Spain)

Follows the Díaz-Aguirre family, whose perfect universe turns upside down after the death of the patriarch, who in his will asks his wife to recover the ‘Sardinete’, his first fishing boat which is rusting in a Moroccan port.

25-minute break – tea, coffee, and cakes available for purchase

3:50pm – Bernadette: The President’s Wife (M – Coarse language – 93 minutes – Drama – France)

Legendary French actress Catherine Deneuve (8 Women, The Midwife) is hilarious in her satirical portrayal of Bernadette Chirac – the poised wife of former French President Jacques Chirac. In 1995 Bernadette arrives at the Élysée anticipating she’ll receive the respect she deserves, after tirelessly supporting her husband’s journey to the presidency. Instead, she is cast aside and mocked for being too old-fashioned, cold, and irritable. Undeterred, and with the help of her chief of staff, Bernadette reinvents herself to become an iconic figure in her own right, and claims the spotlight in her role as the First Lady.

1-hour dinner break – light snack options available for purchase

6:30pm – One for the Road (CTC – 115 minutes – Comedy – Germany)

As a construction manager, drinking is more of a normality for Mark than not drinking. In addition to his work on construction sites, during business dinners and sprawling Berlin party nights, there is always a reason for him to fully indulge in alcohol intoxication. When he tries to drive his car out of a no-parking zone in a drunken stupor one night, he is promptly checked and immediately loses his driver’s license. For Mark, this is reason enough to make a bet with his best friend Nadim: He wants to manage not to touch any alcohol until he has his driver’s licence again.