Contemporary voices from Australia and New Zealand will once again take center stage in Prague this week as the Aussie & Kiwi Film Festival returns for its 12th edition. Running from Nov. 14-21 across Kino Lucerna, Edison Filmhub, and Kino Ponrepo, the festival will showcase a broad mix of feature films, documentaries, and archival works that reflect the diverse storytelling traditions of the two countries.
This year’s program opens with Tinā, a New Zealand drama directed by Miki Magasiva, which follows a Samoan choirmaster struggling with grief and questions of identity after losing her daughter in the Christchurch earthquake. The film, which became New Zealand’s highest-grossing release of 2025, sets the tone for a lineup that blends powerful narratives with humor, social commentary, and bold experimentation.
According to festival director Martina Vacková, the event’s mission remains to bring Czech audiences closer to film cultures they rarely encounter on the big screen. “Australian and New Zealand movies can be playful, poetic, gritty and politically incorrect. Every year we screen movies that audiences don’t normally see here. We really want to surprise and inspire audiences,” she said.
Diverse lineup from horror to queer animation
The 2025 lineup spans multiple genres, from horror and historical drama to comedy and animation. One of the most anticipated titles is Dangerous Animals, a dark survival horror by Sean Byrne, which premiered at Cannes earlier this year as a tribute to Jaws on its 50th anniversary. The film combines psychological tension with oceanic terror, reinforcing Byrne’s reputation for crafting unsettling, character-driven genre films.
The historical drama In the Fire of War (Ka Whawhai Tonu, pictured at top), directed by Mike Jonathan, explores New Zealand’s colonial past through the story of Māori resistance and endurance, while the workplace comedy Workmates offers a lighter look at camaraderie and class through humor that resonates across cultures.
On Nov. 17, Czechia’s Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day, the festival will mark the occasion with a special screening of Lesbian Space Princess, a bold queer animated feature for adults that uses outrageous humor to explore identity and self-acceptance in a futuristic setting. The festival closes with the dark comedy Spit, directed by Jonathan Teplitzky, which brings a satirical edge to human relationships and everyday absurdities.
Czech archival treasures broaden the scope
Beyond the main lineup, this year’s festival expands its educational and historical components. A collaborative series with the National Film Archive revisits a set of Czechoslovak documentaries from the mid-20th century. The trio of short films collectively portray Australia as a land of opportunity, exotic landscapes, and athletic achievement, while reflecting on postwar Czechoslovakia’s fascination with life abroad.
The 1967 short Koala is a Sparta Fan, narrated by Jiřina Bohdalová, Josef Bek, and footballer Andrej Kvašňák, humorously follows Sparta Prague players on their travels through Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Cambodia. Meanwhile, Australian Weekend captures leisurely moments of coastal life, and Thirty Days in Melbourne documents the 1956 Olympic Games, where Czechoslovak athletes earned six medals.
The festival also continues its outreach to young audiences. School screenings will feature the environmental documentary Blue, which addresses the growing crisis of ocean pollution, and The Mountain, a family adventure film designed for younger children.
“This year, we have also included school screenings for primary school children because we believe it’s important to develop a connection to movies and topics such as protecting the environment and the search for identity from childhood,” said education coordinator Zuzana Stiborková.
More details about this year’s Aussie & Kiwi Film Festival can be found at the official festival website.
