Female sheep shearers, Celia Lashlie and an Australian dog rehabilitation centre are the subjects of three Kiwi documentaries which will make their debut at this year's New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF).

Celia, a documentary tribute to Celia Lashlie by former current affairs journalist Amanda Millar, and She Shears, the debut documentary by Jack Nicol about women competing for world titles in the male-dominated industry of sheep shearing, were confirmed on Tuesday as having their world premieres at NZIFF.

Director Eryn Wilson's Dog's Best Friend will screen at the Auckland and Wellington legs of the festival.



"The staunchest, inspirational and most vocal of prison reform advocates Celia Lashlie left us far too soon in 2015," said NZIFF director Bill Gosden. "Thankfully her friend Amanda was there to capture her final interview which forms the heart of the documentary about Lashlie and her legacy. Further inspirational women can be found in She Shears, Jack Nicol's observational look at the world of competitive sheep shearing, where women compete alongside men to be the best in their profession. Meanwhile, Eryn Wilson's documentary, set at an Australian animal rehabilitation centre, proves you can actually watch a bad dog turn good."

A documentary about Celia Lashlie will have its world premiere at this year's NZ International Film Festival.

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This latest trio joins a selection of New Zealand movies already announced for the festival, which include Tim van Dammen's Thames-set time-travel thriller Mega Time Squad, a documentary on Centrepoint survivor Angie Meiklejohn (Angie), an offbeat look at the sport of "medieval combat" (Bludgeon) and a look at the Royal New Zealand Ballet's production of The Piano (The Heart Dances).

Festival audiences will also get a chance to see New Zealand director Pietra Brettkelly's latest documentary Yellow is Forbidden and rising Kiwi star Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie in US indie drama Leave No Trace.

Rebecca McMillan She Shears will have its world premiere at this year's New Zealand International Film Festival.

The NZIFF will start in Auckland on July 19 and in Wellington on July 27, before heading to Christchurch, Dunedin, Gore, Hamilton, Hawke's Bay, Masterton, Nelson, New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Tauranga and Timaru. For more information, see nziff.co.nz