REVIEW | ISSUE NINE | WHAKAKATA / HUMOUR Written by Liam Hansen (they/them) | @liamhanse.n | Associate Editor It’s taken Paolo Bertolin, the New Zealand International Film Festival’s artistic director, a couple of years to find his footing away from the prestige of his homeland of Italy to the bonkers reality of New Zealand’s film industry. While the government struggles to comprehend the value of anything less than the millions generated by Peter Jackson and Taika Waititi as

SATIRE | ISSUE NINE | WHAKAKATA / HUMOUR Written by Nate & Nancy et al., 2026 | Contributing Scientists Ever since I discovered the concept of sexism at age 16, I have been trying to find ways to do my part to decrease its prevalence. My studies led me to a lot of places – queer theory, postpostmodern sixth-wave feminism, intersectional speciesism, and radical bioessentialist egalitarianism. Ultimately, I found out that the world is far too complex for one person to meaningfu

HOROSCOPE | ISSUE NINE | WHAKAKATA / HUMOUR Written by László Reynolds (he/him) | @laszloreynolds | Contributing Columnist Aries There’s a higher risk of the house catching fire for this period, so it could be a good idea to avoid deep frying things in the kitchen. Accept gifts from your lover or business partner if you have one. I can’t remember if I wrote this last time, but sex drive will be increasing. Don’t be afraid to get verbal (or even better: verbose) in the bedroom

NEWS | ISSUE NINE | WHAKAKATA / HUMOUR By AUT Ventures University students have a perhaps slightly unhealthy habit of turning stress into humour. Whether it's joking about surviving on three hours of sleep, living off five coffees a day, or laughing in the face of looming deadlines, humour often becomes a way of coping with the realities of student life. At AUT's School of Art & Design, that same spirit once took physical form in something affectionately known as the "crying

REVIEW | ISSUE NINE | WHAKAKATA / HUMOUR Written by Trevor Pronoso | Letterboxd: @CleverGurl | Instagram: @trev.pro | Contributing Writer Out of the Blue (2006) dir. Robert Sarkies Aotearoa New Zealand, 103 mins During the post-screening Q&A, actor Matthew Sunderland shares something remarkably revealing when asked about the process of getting into the character of David Grey: that it was relatively easy to understand the psyche of David because most of what he needed to kno

FEATURE | ISSUE NINE | WHAKAKATA / HUMOUR Translated by Madita Petersen (she/her) | @maditaapetersen | Contributing Writer Original by Friedhelm Kändler One letter is missin. Lanuae becomes different. I think it is possible to live with what is missin. I think we can certainly do without one of the elements we use to communicate. Even so, despite this omission, we are still able to convey our thouhts and ideas. Ladies and entlemen, how important is the completeness of our wor

NEWS | ISSUE NINE | WHAKAKATA / HUMOUR Written by Liam Hansen (they/them) | @liamhanse.n | Associate Editor The Student Representative Committee is the governing body of the Auckland University of Technology Students Association, consisting of student representatives across faculties, campuses, and cultural groups that help shape the direction of AUTSA in 2027 and beyond. Ballots for the 2027 election opened last week, on the 3rd of August, and remain open until next Monday,

Last week, I was in Shanghai, sitting beside an open window. I had nothing urgent to do. No assignments. No volunteering. No part-time shift. No gym. My phone had somehow ended up on the other side of the room. The closest things to me were half an iced watermelon. Cicadas buzzed outside as if the afternoon had nowhere else to be. It had been raining all afternoon. The rain stopped. Then started again. Then stopped again. Normally, I hate weather that can't make up its mind.

PROMOTIONAL | ISSUE NINE | WHAKAKATA / HUMOUR Tashi Donnelly in conversation with Grace Augustine | @tashi_rd | Editor Dr. Thomas Stockmann is the medical officer of his small-town’s new eco-spa. An upstanding member of their close-knit community, when Thomas discovers the town’s water has been contaminated, he raises the alarm. But his truth comes at a price, when those in power - including his own brother - try not only to discredit him, but to crush him. Flyleaf Theatre Co

BREAD & CIRCUSES | ISSUE EIGHT | SCREENS Written by Luke Fisher (he/him) | @lukefish7 | Sports Columnist Annotated by Tashi Donnelly (she/her) | @tashi_rd | Editor Statistically, women’s sports aren’t as good as men’s. * *Starting strong with what is arguably the worst opening sentence we've ever published. The ball hits the back of the net with less ferocity. The runaway tries are scored at a less-than-blistering pace. The sixes sail over a boundary rope dragged closer to