Doc Edge and Wanaka’s Cinema Paradiso have teamed up to bring a selection of critically acclaimed documentaries to Wanaka audiences. 

Over the next two weekends (October 31 to November 1 and November 7-8) thirteen of the best documentaries from New Zealand and around the world will be available to watch at the local theatre as part of Doc Edge Festival on Tour. 

Cinema Paradiso owner Calum MacLeod said he was excited to bring the Doc Edge Festival to Wanaka for the first time, after many requests from members of the community over the years.

For lovers of films with themes about politics, war, corruption, whistle-blowers, scandals and investigative journalism, there’s ‘Influence’ (the rise and fall of the world’s most dangerous PR company), ‘How to Steal a Country’ and ‘This is Not a Movie’ (about one of the world’s most famous war correspondents and a light in the furore of fake news).

Arts and culture junkies will love ‘Stevenson Lost & Found’, about New Yorker magazine’s most prolific and ‘infamous’ cartoonist; and ‘Richard Leplastrier – Framing The View’, which follows the revered architect as he searches for beauty in his career. 

‘Elementa’, by local filmmaker Richard Sidey, is a black-and-white meditation on the majesty of nature. It has already scooped multiple awards.

Perhaps the most timely film and the one a Doc Edge representative says “everyone is talking about” is ‘#UNFIT - The Psychology of Donald Trump’, which asks whether or not he is fit to be president. 

There’s also ‘Elementa’, winner of best NZ feature and best NZ cinematography and an Oscar qualifier, made by Wanaka filmmaker Richard Sidey, which is described as a black-and-white meditation on the majesty of nature. It will run along with ‘Pluck’, a short film which is also New Zealand made and an Oscar qualifier. 

“Doc Edge really know their stuff - there’s all sorts on offer and some of it will appeal to younger audiences too,” Calum said.

Youth viewers will appreciate the Doc Edge Originals, which are three exciting new stories from Kiwi filmmakers covering contemporary issues and made especially for young adults. The films are ‘A Broken Earth’, ‘Rise’ and ‘We Rock!’

Learn more about these films - and the others featured - at the Doc Edge website here and find session times at the Cinema Paradiso website here.

Doc Edge is a not-for-profit films/arts organisation founded in 2004 in Auckland.

PHOTOS: Supplied