Lopdell Film Festival 2025

The annual Lopdell Film Festival is back for its 9th year! Join us for four days of world-class cinema in the historic Lopdell Theatre from 25th to 28th June.

Opening the festival on Wednesday night is British heart warmer, The Penguin Lessons at 8pm, starring Steve Coogan and a very good penguin, with pre-show entertainment from Mango Beach Band at 7pm. The band will be performing exciting Latin rhythms, tropical fusion and fresh grooves to set the scene for our opening film; a true story about a disillusioned Englishman who went to work in a school in Argentina in 1976.

The festival continues Thursday evening with a fascinating documentary, Merchant Ivory at 6pm, that intimately details the partnership, both professional and personal, of director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant. At 8pm, three women ignite the flames of curiosity and adventure which lay dormant within so many of us, through a voyage across the North Atlantic Ocean in Women & the Wind.

There’s something for everyone on Friday! Welsh drama Save the Cinema is on at 10.30am, a real-life tale of community spirit and the power of grassroots activism. Then, bring the kids along for the afterschool screening of musical adventure, Noah’s Ark at 4pm, about two mice who, with the help of an ingenious cockroach and fate's good luck, sneak their way onto Noah’s Ark.

Irish drama Tarrac kicks off the Friday evening programme at 6pm, and is laced with humour, heartbreak and exciting action set against the stunning landscapes and seas of the Kerry Gaeltacht. At 8pm, Boléro graces the big screen. Set against the decadent, industrialised Paris of the 1920s, renowned composer Maurice Ravel, who is haunted by self-doubt and melancholy, must redeem his raw genius, or risk being consumed by it completely.

Fancy a late-night doco? Becoming Led Zeppelin on at 10.15pm, is a hybrid docu-concert film that explores the origins of the iconic group and their meteoric rise in just one year against all odds.

Local filmmaker Robin Kewell has spent the last 14 years showing other people's films at Flicks Cinema. Now here's a chance to see some of his at this special presentation, Every Picture Tells a Story, on Saturday at 10.30am. Having worked on over 400 films during his 45 years as a cameraman, Robin shares some special moments from his travels around the globe and tells his fascinating story from behind the lens. Docos, dramas, action sports adverts, music, theatre and near-death experiences, all revealed at this morning of storytelling and film.

At 1pm, we have a family screening of the Latvian animated adventure, Flow, that takes the audience on a wondrous journey through realms natural and mystical. At 3pm is a moving coming-of-age story, Holy Cow; a "verité" look at the hardscrabble life of French agriculture and above all, an ode to the love of cheese.

Saturday evening takes a strange turn with the darkly hilarious French film Lucky Winners at 6pm. This rollercoaster of a black comedy explores themes of sudden fortune and its unexpected consequences.

To close the 2025 Lopdell Film Festival, we present the new release arthouse film, La Cocina, at 8pm. Shot entirely in black and white, this is a masterpiece of cinematography where personal stories collide, and secrets are revealed in a bustling Times Square kitchen. This film is unashamedly heavy on the seasoning but a feast, nonetheless. The real flavour is found is in the secondary characters; cooks of all nationalities whose stories reflect the pain, melancholy and sorrow of migrant life in America.

Lopdell Film Festival 2025 is brought to you by Lopdell Trust, Waitākere Ranges Local Board and Flicks @ Lopdell

Tickets to the family film screenings are $5. All others are $12. Tickets are available at Eventfinda and Titirangi Pharmacy.