Liam Maguren
@liammaguren.bsky.social
Writer for Flicks (NZ/AU/UK). Māori (Ngā Rauru) Pākeha (Irish) animation filmmaker for himself.
This film’s doing the rounds in select cinemas and galleries with discount tickets. Really good showcase of the art from Toi Tū Toi Ora for those like me who missed it. But also a quietly incredible story of resilience from both subject and filmmaker.
www.flicks.co.nz/features/toi...
www.flicks.co.nz/features/toi...
TOITŪ Visual Sovereignty: how a film about Māori art became a story of resilience
Chelsea Winstanley’s latest feature isn’t just a celebration of Māori art but also a compelling microcosm of contemporary colonialism at work.
www.flicks.co.nz
November 12, 2025 at 5:18 PM
This film’s doing the rounds in select cinemas and galleries with discount tickets. Really good showcase of the art from Toi Tū Toi Ora for those like me who missed it. But also a quietly incredible story of resilience from both subject and filmmaker.
www.flicks.co.nz/features/toi...
www.flicks.co.nz/features/toi...
You can now watch black comedy Kiwi gem Millie Lies Low for free on Whakaata Māori. And I implore you do. It's so damn good and we, as a nation, should be talking about it more. www.flicks.co.nz/movie/millie...
Millie Lies Low | Where to watch streaming and online in New Zealand | Flicks
How to watch online, stream, rent or buy Millie Lies Low in New Zealand + release dates, reviews and trailers. When a would-be intern misses her big flight to New York City, she lies low in her hometo...
www.flicks.co.nz
November 3, 2025 at 1:41 AM
You can now watch black comedy Kiwi gem Millie Lies Low for free on Whakaata Māori. And I implore you do. It's so damn good and we, as a nation, should be talking about it more. www.flicks.co.nz/movie/millie...
CHARM OF THE MAGPIES, the short I wrote and directed, is available watch online! This weekend only. For $12. Via Show Me Shorts On Demand. Our film's part of the My Kind section which includes the wickedly good The Sentry & My Kind of People. ondemand.showmeshorts.co.nz/film/my-kind/
My Kind | Show Me Shorts On Demand
Films about finding your people, fitting in and building your community.
ondemand.showmeshorts.co.nz
October 23, 2025 at 9:36 PM
CHARM OF THE MAGPIES, the short I wrote and directed, is available watch online! This weekend only. For $12. Via Show Me Shorts On Demand. Our film's part of the My Kind section which includes the wickedly good The Sentry & My Kind of People. ondemand.showmeshorts.co.nz/film/my-kind/
It’s been on my mind for a while. Now it’s a piece for Flicks.
Today’s scattered media environment makes it easy to bypass the suffering of children.
As @liammaguren.bsky.social, fresh from seeing #BlackPhone2 observes, today’s horror movies make sure you don’t.
As @liammaguren.bsky.social, fresh from seeing #BlackPhone2 observes, today’s horror movies make sure you don’t.
The kids aren’t alright: unpacking horror’s recent mercilessness towards children
With Black Phone 2 upping the child violence on its predecessor, we look a little deeper into horror’s newest trend.
go.weareflicks.co
October 21, 2025 at 3:50 PM
It’s been on my mind for a while. Now it’s a piece for Flicks.
Reposted by Liam Maguren
Today’s scattered media environment makes it easy to bypass the suffering of children.
As @liammaguren.bsky.social, fresh from seeing #BlackPhone2 observes, today’s horror movies make sure you don’t.
As @liammaguren.bsky.social, fresh from seeing #BlackPhone2 observes, today’s horror movies make sure you don’t.
The kids aren’t alright: unpacking horror’s recent mercilessness towards children
With Black Phone 2 upping the child violence on its predecessor, we look a little deeper into horror’s newest trend.
go.weareflicks.co
October 21, 2025 at 3:01 AM
Today’s scattered media environment makes it easy to bypass the suffering of children.
As @liammaguren.bsky.social, fresh from seeing #BlackPhone2 observes, today’s horror movies make sure you don’t.
As @liammaguren.bsky.social, fresh from seeing #BlackPhone2 observes, today’s horror movies make sure you don’t.
Did a lovely Q&A with Darren Bevan about our short film The Charm of the Magpies, kicking off this week as part of Show Me Shorts' My Kind collection. The last Q's a deep-cut reference to this orange guy. darrens-world-of-entertainment.blogspot.com/2025/10/show...
October 5, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Did a lovely Q&A with Darren Bevan about our short film The Charm of the Magpies, kicking off this week as part of Show Me Shorts' My Kind collection. The last Q's a deep-cut reference to this orange guy. darrens-world-of-entertainment.blogspot.com/2025/10/show...
Unbelievably, I've been nominated for Best Director for our short film The Charm of the Magpies.
Show Me Shorts 2025 award nominees – and where to see them
“As a jury we were struck by the richness and diversity of the films presented this year.”
www.flicks.co.nz
September 30, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Unbelievably, I've been nominated for Best Director for our short film The Charm of the Magpies.
This is my masterwork.
As @liammaguren.bsky.social knows, "many will disagree with the choices below. Some may even write to my editor. I will then channel the spirit of Aotearoa’s #Taskmaster Jeremy Wells and his assistant Paul Williams and meet all criticisms with palpable indifference"
The best moments from every Taskmaster NZ contestant ever
Everyone gets their dues, whether they like it or not, in our list of Taskmaster NZ’s Greatest Hits.
go.weareflicks.co
September 23, 2025 at 2:37 AM
This is my masterwork.
Reposted by Liam Maguren
October brings the pain with #TheSmashingMachine, the horror with #TheBlackPhone2, the chuckles with #GoodFortune, the heartache with #EleanorTheGreat, and the... well... whatever you wanna say about #Bugonia
Get a taste for next month's cinema releases with this vid by @liammaguren.bsky.social
Get a taste for next month's cinema releases with this vid by @liammaguren.bsky.social
The BIG films hitting cinemas this October | Australia & NZ cinema release dates | Flicks
YouTube video by Flicks
www.youtube.com
September 19, 2025 at 2:50 AM
October brings the pain with #TheSmashingMachine, the horror with #TheBlackPhone2, the chuckles with #GoodFortune, the heartache with #EleanorTheGreat, and the... well... whatever you wanna say about #Bugonia
Get a taste for next month's cinema releases with this vid by @liammaguren.bsky.social
Get a taste for next month's cinema releases with this vid by @liammaguren.bsky.social
Toitū te reo ✊
Embrace the national taonga that is te reo Māori just a little tighter this te wiki o te reo Māori with some great local screen content.
@liammaguren.bsky.social is here with a selection of recent reo-revelling films and shows released in the past year available right now for you to stream.
@liammaguren.bsky.social is here with a selection of recent reo-revelling films and shows released in the past year available right now for you to stream.
Viewing guide for te wiki o te reo Māori 2025
There’s an absolute bounty of new films and shows to watch this Māori Language Week.
www.flicks.co.nz
September 15, 2025 at 8:37 AM
Toitū te reo ✊
Big and true.
Show Me Shorts schedule is out, and big congrats to GUT INSTINCT's animator @liammaguren.bsky.social whose new film THE CHARM OF THE MAGPIES premieres in the "My Kind" section.
(Gutting there's only a Friday arvo screening in Welly tho.)
www.showmeshorts.co.nz/attend/2025-...
(Gutting there's only a Friday arvo screening in Welly tho.)
www.showmeshorts.co.nz/attend/2025-...
My Kind — Show Me Shorts
Who are my people? Where do I fit in? The short films in this collection explore pressing questions of selfhood and belonging. If who we think we are is taken away, what are we left with? We can choos...
www.showmeshorts.co.nz
September 15, 2025 at 12:32 AM
Big and true.
I’ve been waiting for a good time to revive my piece from 2019 about the first three Toy Story movies.
Now 30 years young, what exactly makes #ToyStory a cinema miracle?
As @liammaguren.bsky.social details, they aren’t just films for kids - they’re films you grow up with.
As @liammaguren.bsky.social details, they aren’t just films for kids - they’re films you grow up with.
More than kids movies, the Toy Story trilogy grew with kids
Pixar’s ground-breaking turns 30. As Liam Maguren explores, the original three films went beyond being kids films by growing with their audience.
go.weareflicks.co
September 13, 2025 at 4:52 PM
I’ve been waiting for a good time to revive my piece from 2019 about the first three Toy Story movies.
Reposted by Liam Maguren
Now 30 years young, what exactly makes #ToyStory a cinema miracle?
As @liammaguren.bsky.social details, they aren’t just films for kids - they’re films you grow up with.
As @liammaguren.bsky.social details, they aren’t just films for kids - they’re films you grow up with.
More than kids movies, the Toy Story trilogy grew with kids
Pixar’s ground-breaking turns 30. As Liam Maguren explores, the original three films went beyond being kids films by growing with their audience.
go.weareflicks.co
September 12, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Now 30 years young, what exactly makes #ToyStory a cinema miracle?
As @liammaguren.bsky.social details, they aren’t just films for kids - they’re films you grow up with.
As @liammaguren.bsky.social details, they aren’t just films for kids - they’re films you grow up with.
New from me about small release Sketch, which we should all be thankful it’s found its way into NZ cinemas. www.flicks.co.nz//features/th...
This goofy family-friendly gem is also an uncompromising film about grief
Don’t let that googly-eyed blue thing fool you: Sketch is a very observant film about how we process loss.
www.flicks.co.nz
September 11, 2025 at 1:19 AM
New from me about small release Sketch, which we should all be thankful it’s found its way into NZ cinemas. www.flicks.co.nz//features/th...
If you're in my neck of the woods, here's your chance to see Doug's wildly original GUT INSTINCT at Takapuna Beachside Cinemas + a couple of my animated short films.
Auckland! Takapuna to be precise! GUT INSTINCT is coming for an encore interactive screening - complete with intro and Q&A by me and a preshow featuring the films of my beloved collaborator, animator @liammaguren.bsky.social. Come say hi!
ticketing.oz.veezi.com/purchase/163...
ticketing.oz.veezi.com/purchase/163...
Gut Instinct - Mon 15 Sep 6:00 PM - Takapuna Beachside Cinemas
Buy tickets to Gut Instinct at Takapuna Beachside Cinemas on Monday, September 15, 2025 6:00 PM
ticketing.oz.veezi.com
August 27, 2025 at 11:53 PM
If you're in my neck of the woods, here's your chance to see Doug's wildly original GUT INSTINCT at Takapuna Beachside Cinemas + a couple of my animated short films.
I wrote this piece all fingers crossed that no other outlet realised it's been 28 years since Princess Mononoke.
Forget #Barbeheimer - which captured imagination as the films were polar opposites.
#PrincessMononoke and #28YearsLater, on the other hand, pair like a bow and arrow, says @liammaguren.bsky.social
#PrincessMononoke and #28YearsLater, on the other hand, pair like a bow and arrow, says @liammaguren.bsky.social
Princess Mononoke and 28 Years Later might be 2025’s best double feature
As Princess Mononoke makes its way back into cinemas, Liam Maguren writes on the themes and allegories it shares with Danny Boyle’s recent big-screen release.
go.weareflicks.co
August 21, 2025 at 1:09 AM
I wrote this piece all fingers crossed that no other outlet realised it's been 28 years since Princess Mononoke.
Reposted by Liam Maguren
Forget #Barbeheimer - which captured imagination as the films were polar opposites.
#PrincessMononoke and #28YearsLater, on the other hand, pair like a bow and arrow, says @liammaguren.bsky.social
#PrincessMononoke and #28YearsLater, on the other hand, pair like a bow and arrow, says @liammaguren.bsky.social
Princess Mononoke and 28 Years Later might be 2025’s best double feature
As Princess Mononoke makes its way back into cinemas, Liam Maguren writes on the themes and allegories it shares with Danny Boyle’s recent big-screen release.
go.weareflicks.co
August 21, 2025 at 12:42 AM
Forget #Barbeheimer - which captured imagination as the films were polar opposites.
#PrincessMononoke and #28YearsLater, on the other hand, pair like a bow and arrow, says @liammaguren.bsky.social
#PrincessMononoke and #28YearsLater, on the other hand, pair like a bow and arrow, says @liammaguren.bsky.social
Reposted by Liam Maguren
Cinema's not a contest, sure, but we ranked our 20 faves of the fest anyway.
The best of NZIFF, as selected by Rachel Ashby, Matthew Crawley, @adamfresco.bsky.social, @liammaguren.bsky.social, @stevenewall.bsky.social, @itskatie.bsky.social, @danielrutledge.bsky.social, @ssarahthomsonn.bsky.social
The best of NZIFF, as selected by Rachel Ashby, Matthew Crawley, @adamfresco.bsky.social, @liammaguren.bsky.social, @stevenewall.bsky.social, @itskatie.bsky.social, @danielrutledge.bsky.social, @ssarahthomsonn.bsky.social
Counting down our favourite films of NZ International Film Festival 2025
Get your watchlists ready – there’s plenty we can recommend from our NZIFF viewing this year.
www.flicks.co.nz
August 20, 2025 at 5:38 AM
Cinema's not a contest, sure, but we ranked our 20 faves of the fest anyway.
The best of NZIFF, as selected by Rachel Ashby, Matthew Crawley, @adamfresco.bsky.social, @liammaguren.bsky.social, @stevenewall.bsky.social, @itskatie.bsky.social, @danielrutledge.bsky.social, @ssarahthomsonn.bsky.social
The best of NZIFF, as selected by Rachel Ashby, Matthew Crawley, @adamfresco.bsky.social, @liammaguren.bsky.social, @stevenewall.bsky.social, @itskatie.bsky.social, @danielrutledge.bsky.social, @ssarahthomsonn.bsky.social
And it's the filthiest goddamn thing I've written in quite some time.
Stomach the juvenile humour of #Fixed, and you’ll see Genndy Tartakovsky’s Netflix comedy lean towards its strongest assets: animation and character design.
@liammaguren.bsky.social draws comparisons with REN & STIMPY, THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE and FRITZ THE CAT.
@liammaguren.bsky.social draws comparisons with REN & STIMPY, THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE and FRITZ THE CAT.
R-rated Netflix comedy Fixed disrupts the doggo discourse
This crude animated comedy might just be Genndy Tartakovsky’s most challenging project yet.
go.weareflicks.co
August 18, 2025 at 3:33 AM
And it's the filthiest goddamn thing I've written in quite some time.
Reposted by Liam Maguren
Stomach the juvenile humour of #Fixed, and you’ll see Genndy Tartakovsky’s Netflix comedy lean towards its strongest assets: animation and character design.
@liammaguren.bsky.social draws comparisons with REN & STIMPY, THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE and FRITZ THE CAT.
@liammaguren.bsky.social draws comparisons with REN & STIMPY, THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE and FRITZ THE CAT.
R-rated Netflix comedy Fixed disrupts the doggo discourse
This crude animated comedy might just be Genndy Tartakovsky’s most challenging project yet.
go.weareflicks.co
August 18, 2025 at 2:54 AM
Stomach the juvenile humour of #Fixed, and you’ll see Genndy Tartakovsky’s Netflix comedy lean towards its strongest assets: animation and character design.
@liammaguren.bsky.social draws comparisons with REN & STIMPY, THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE and FRITZ THE CAT.
@liammaguren.bsky.social draws comparisons with REN & STIMPY, THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE and FRITZ THE CAT.
Reposted by Liam Maguren
After taking #GutInstinct (one of 2024's strangest, boldest Aotearoa features) international, @dillamonster.bsky.social's faux public service announcement/audiovisual purification programme is available to watch at home via New Zealand streaming service AroVision - and at an encore cinema screening
It legitimately caused an anxiety attack—now sci-fi flick Gut Instinct invades your home
One of the strangest, boldest Aotearoa features from last year has now found a home with a New Zealand streaming provider.
www.flicks.co.nz
August 18, 2025 at 1:24 AM
After taking #GutInstinct (one of 2024's strangest, boldest Aotearoa features) international, @dillamonster.bsky.social's faux public service announcement/audiovisual purification programme is available to watch at home via New Zealand streaming service AroVision - and at an encore cinema screening
Reposted by Liam Maguren
Never a better time to celebrate one of the all-time greats.
Some people’s contributions to institutions fade over time - Bill’s absence from NZIFF and Aotearoa just becomes clearer and clearer.
Some people’s contributions to institutions fade over time - Bill’s absence from NZIFF and Aotearoa just becomes clearer and clearer.
Here's something from our sale to read between festival films! 50% off + free NZ shipping means it's only $25 for this beautiful illustrated hardback.
teherengawakapress.co.nz/products/the...
teherengawakapress.co.nz/products/the...
August 17, 2025 at 3:47 AM
Never a better time to celebrate one of the all-time greats.
Some people’s contributions to institutions fade over time - Bill’s absence from NZIFF and Aotearoa just becomes clearer and clearer.
Some people’s contributions to institutions fade over time - Bill’s absence from NZIFF and Aotearoa just becomes clearer and clearer.
So proud to have my name fused to this very cool, esoteric feature.
"You've never seen anything like it - but you should." - Graeme Tuckett
"A one-of-a-kind, epic, eye-popping experiment." - Terror-Fi Film Festival
"A true labour of archival love." - Ant Timpson
"I should NOT have had the edible before this." - David (Letterboxd user)
GUT INSTINCT. Out now.
"A one-of-a-kind, epic, eye-popping experiment." - Terror-Fi Film Festival
"A true labour of archival love." - Ant Timpson
"I should NOT have had the edible before this." - David (Letterboxd user)
GUT INSTINCT. Out now.
AroVision: Gut Instinct
A unique dystopian sci-fi mockumentary from NZ filmmaker Doug Dillaman, cleverly assembled from repurposed archive materials.
ondemand.arovideo.co.nz
August 15, 2025 at 4:23 AM
So proud to have my name fused to this very cool, esoteric feature.
Made mini pencil posters of all my #nziff films. Fun way to reflect on what I saw + fill the voids of time in between screenings. Resurrection, Twinless & Sorry, Baby were three of my biggest highlights.
August 10, 2025 at 11:27 PM
Made mini pencil posters of all my #nziff films. Fun way to reflect on what I saw + fill the voids of time in between screenings. Resurrection, Twinless & Sorry, Baby were three of my biggest highlights.
Reposted by Liam Maguren
Initially stylistically unadventurous, DEAF (SORDA) expands to something truly memorable for @liammaguren.bsky.social
August 9, 2025 at 12:49 AM
Initially stylistically unadventurous, DEAF (SORDA) expands to something truly memorable for @liammaguren.bsky.social