Whānau Mārama festival showcases body horror, documentaries and more
The New Zealand International Film Festival features reviews of films including a body horror exploring weight-loss culture and documentaries on concrete and polar bears.
The Whānau Mārama New Zealand International Film Festival is underway with critics highlighting several standout films. A body horror film called Saccharine examines toxic weight-loss culture through the story of a medical student who takes a mysterious pill with dark consequences. A documentary about concrete serves as a feature-length expansion of a filmmaker's video essay style. A nature documentary set in Canada explores the complex relationship between polar bears and humans amid climate change and colonisation.
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Otago Daily Times
Must-see films at the festival
It’s time to feast on film as the Whānau Mārama New Zealand International Film Festival beckons. Our cinephiles apply their highlighters to the programme.
The Spinoff
What we saw at Whānau Mārama New Zealand International Film Festival 2026
Body horror, concrete and a deceptively devastating nature doc – reviewed. Saccharine With the Ozempic era in full force and celebrities wasting away before our very eyes, I was hugely excited about Saccharine, a new body horror taking aim at…