Turning Up the Heat

3 Apr

The best short films distill a story down to its essence. That’s exactly what the filmmakers behind these powerful and intense stories do. This collection offers a masterclass in quietly building tension and populating an intriguing world with layered characters. Be it on the squash court, the playground, or lying prone beneath a gas oven. There’s not a minute wasted.

Total length: 100 min
Rating: M Sex scenes & offensive language

Movies In This Session

Featured

The Sampler

Muscat

The Sampler

A 16-year-old Moroccan fisherman, Samir, discovers his attraction towards men when he meets a tourist traveling with his wife.

The Sampler

7 Minutes

The Sampler

A desolate train track seems the perfect spot to end it all, until someone else turns up with the same idea. Awkward.

The Sampler

Stella

The Sampler

Stella is out for a special date with her husband Stanley, whose mind is failing. She yearns for connection, capturing brief moments of lucidity before he slips away.

The Sampler

Las Visitantes

The Sampler

Three retired women travel on a bus on their way to Europe. They have been listening to people talking about the wonders of tourism all their lives and are dying to experience it firsthand.

The Sampler

Just Kidding I Actually Love You

The Sampler

A runaway fiancée breaks in to execute an ill-advised romantic gesture, and finds evidence her ex is happier without her.

The Sampler

The Life of Lester Wink

The Sampler

A door-to-door pet insurance salesman with a phobia of talking with strangers must make a sale by 5pm or get fired.

The Sampler

Ministry of Jingle

The Sampler

Melody is the new hire at a Government department in charge of creating public safety jingles about the nation's most pressing issues: bathmats, scam calls, littering.

The Sampler

Whānau Friendly 1

Swing to the Moon

Whānau Friendly 1

Living in the forest, little spider Temi dreams of catching the Moon. For that, she will do anything.

Whānau Friendly 1

The Lost Courier

Whānau Friendly 1

This film is inspired by the author's real experience of losing a courier parcel. Follow a package as it goes through some incredible things along its journey.

Whānau Friendly 1

The Polycees

Whānau Friendly 1

After a run-in with his slimy deputy, the Prime Minister's young daughter is shocked to find a magical creature living in Parliament under her Dad’s desk!

Whānau Friendly 1

Apocalypse Dog

Whānau Friendly 1

In a post-apocalyptic universe, Bob and his dog Pasha survive in a wasteland. They are hungry, thirsty and tired. When suddenly, they see a city in the distance!

Whānau Friendly 1

Harvey

Whānau Friendly 1

A poetic, luminous look at bereavement and coping with the loss of a parent, told through the eyes of an imaginative child.

Whānau Friendly 1

Malapan

Whānau Friendly 1

When two young children discover that their island is running out of the resource that keeps it afloat, they embark on a journey to collect more from the community.

Whānau Friendly 1

Fraiha

Whānau Friendly 1

Based on a true story about a 6-year-old girl who is helped to overcome her classroom literacy struggles by her loving mother.

Whānau Friendly 1

Corvine

Whānau Friendly 1

An eccentric boy has trouble fitting in at school due to his obsession with crows.

Whānau Friendly 1

Turning up the Heat

Bolero

Turning up the Heat

Fran is in his hometown to rest and visit his mother. This journey along the paths of memory and desire will lead him and the whole village to a joyfully chaotic climax.

Turning up the Heat

Regular Rabbit

Turning up the Heat

A Regular Rabbit battles a comically absurd onslaught of disinformation. The narrator is full of s#!t!! How is this so hard to believe?! Fake news!

Turning up the Heat

Lamb

Turning up the Heat

An ordinary day takes a sinister turn for a woman and her child when a stranger walks into their isolated rural home.

Turning up the Heat

The Last Sunday

Turning up the Heat

When a Samoan teenager realises the financial struggle in his household, an offer too convincing to decline will change his life forever.

Turning up the Heat

Big Bang

Turning up the Heat

Chico earns his living fixing ovens, in which he easily fits into thanks to his small size. Marginalised by a system that values him as a misfit, he begins to start resisting it.

Turning up the Heat

Hello Muscles

Turning up the Heat

A young girl develops muscles, but finds a different kind of strength.

Turning up the Heat

Crack Shot

Turning up the Heat

When a stranger offers a large sum to train with his son, a junior squash ex-champion must decide whether to release his repressed demons.

Turning up the Heat

Taboos and Temptation

Sweet Juices

Taboos and Temptation

Two genius cooks face eviction and incarceration. On a mission to clear their names, they leave a trail of saucy vomit, stolen bicycles, unhinged government officials, and squirting dumplings.

Taboos and Temptation

Offline

Taboos and Temptation

An advertising agency is meeting clients to agree on the final cut on a commercial promoting the company’s diverse profile. Problems begin when the client thinks two of the black actors look too much alike.

Taboos and Temptation

Horologist

Taboos and Temptation

Obsessed with time, Sand found a way to sell time itself. While his rich customers stay young, they never question Sand's discovery and the source of their youth.

Taboos and Temptation

Sibling

Taboos and Temptation

A 16-year-old girl goes on a family skiing holiday with her half-brother who she doesn't know well. Friendship blossoms into something more complicated between them.

Taboos and Temptation

Such a Lovely Day

Taboos and Temptation

A glorious, happy family gathering in a perfect English summer garden. There’ll be lunch under the mulberry tree and wine and games and dancing. And then there’ll be a surprise.

Taboos and Temptation

Yellow

Taboos and Temptation

In Taliban controlled Afghanistan, Laili walks into a store to buy her first full body veil from a Talib shopkeeper, and face a new future.

Taboos and Temptation

Our Males and Females

Taboos and Temptation

A father and mother are faced with the painful task of washing and shrouding their deceased transgender daughter, but no one will agree to help wash her.

Taboos and Temptation