New Zealand continues its string of international award nominations, with the latest being three nominations in the in the 39th Annual Annie Awards, commonly known as the animation “Oscars”…

The findings of an online New Zealand "cinema census" run by local website www.flicks.co.nz confirms fears about the level of illegal file downloading in NZ.

51% of the participants confirmed that they download movies. While it's not as popular as watching movies on DVD, it seems that watching downloaded movies is more popular than watching movies on TV…

Comedians Bret McKenzie (Flight of the Concords) and Hamish Blake (Hamish and Andy) are confirmed to star in the comedy TWO LITTLE BOYS, which will begin filming in Southland in January 2011. The film will be directed by Robert Sarkies (Out of the Blue, Scarfies) and is based on the novel of the same name by Duncan Sarkies.

The 27th Sundance Film Festival has announced its line-up selection and included are two New Zealand short films: Ebony Society, Outrageous Fortune star Tammy Davis’ debut as a writer/director; and Redemption, which is director and co-writer Katie Wolfe’s second short film to be invited to the fest.

Shooting will start later this month on The Most Fun You Can Have Dying, a rebellious drama written and directed by debut feature filmmaker Kirstin Marcon. Adapted from the novel Seraphim Blues by Steven Gannaway, The Most Fun You Can Have Dying will be shot in Europe and New Zealand. Marcon says “I am really thrilled to be making this film after six years of planning – we’re shooting in London, Paris, Berlin – and Hamilton – and we’ll be taking the cast, the crew, and eventually the audience on an amazing ride.”

NZ Film, the sales and marketing arm of the Film Commission, will look to set itself apart next month at the Cannes Film Festival.
It’ll be the first Cannes that Kathleen Drumm’s successor, James Thompson, will attend as NZ Film’s chief, and he says “We’re taking a slightly different approach this year.