The 31st Hamilton International Film Festival kicks off officially on Thursday the 14th of August with an opening night featuring wine, nibbles and sage words of wisdom from the doyen of Hamilton cinematic scholarship, Sam Edwards.

This will be the last time Rialto cinema will play host to the event and the film, “Man on Wire”, looks to be an intriguing one, so attendance is a must. If you get there early enough - 7:30 is advised - it is well possible to drink yourself into profit as the grog is complementary.

“Man on Wire” is the tale of a French dare devil who in 1974 attempted a tight rope work across New York’s infamous twin towers. His antics are more edifying than Osama’s blunt, 21st statement against US imperialism and certainly more dramatically satisfying than when the venue provided the backdrop for the first remake of King Kong.

Speaking of Kong, his miniature namesake features in one of the Festival’s most anticipated screenings. “The King of Kong” is about a seminal 1980s video game and competitions arising out of its playing. The family man vs corporate wanker set up sounds funny and potentially touching.

The rest of the offerings in the ‘Incredibly Strange’ festival-within-the-Festival all look equally enticing. Fans of the cult Japanese director Takashi Miike will salivate over “Sukiyaki Western Django”, his spin on America’s indigenous art form. Two Spanish films, “Timecrimes”, and “[Rec]“, are imaginative takes on established subgenres. And “Teeth”, an account of a woman whose vagina has fangs, would seem like the perfect date movie for straight edged virgins seeking to remain true to pledges of celibacy (the term ‘losing it’ assumes a whole new meaning).

“A Complete History of My Sexual Failures”, a documentary whose maker tracks down his old girl friends to better explain his romantic failings, should have the broadest possible appeal. Well, it certainly speaks to my experience.

“Be Kind Rewind” is the latest combination of wacky humour and low tech special effects from “Science of Sleep” and “Eternal Sunshine” director Michel Gondry. It is set in a contemporary video store, one that refuses to stock DVDs, a premise amusing enough to overcome even the casting of the terminally unfunny Jack Black.

“Persepolis” is an animated feature from an Iranian woman adapting her own autobiography, a darkly comic account of childhood under the Shah, adolescence under Khomeini and adulthood in Europe.

Amongst the Festival’s many award recipients is the Oscar-winning “The Counterfeiters”, a concentration camp drama made by the Germans themselves. “Elite Squad”, which took out the top prize at the Berlin Festival, is another take on poverty and drug trafficking in that nation of Carnival and corruption, Brazil.

There are 78 features in total screening over 18 days and some short compilations besides. This brief synopsis has not even scratched the surface. I would advise acquiring the programme, making your selections, and revelling in it all one last time at Rialto.

nzff.co.nz