Film festival programmer Vicci Ho explains why a career watching movies is harder than it seems and how she picks films to reflect a culture.

Vicci Ho kind of fell into film festival programming but has since arranged the line ups for festivals all around the world, from Toronto to Zurich.

Now she's based in Wellington and a key part of the New Zealand International Film Festival which launches later this month.

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Trailer: When a City Rises, showing at the 2021 NZIFF

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Vicci Ho was born in Hong Kong but brought up in Australia after her family moved there in the early 1990s.

As a child all she wanted to do was direct movies, but she quickly discovered the reality didn't live up to the dream.

"I set foot on one film set and I was so stressed I never went back," she said.

After completing a degree in film theory and history she returned to Hong Kong and fell into festival programming.

"I did not think that was something someone could do," said Ho, "A friend was just like, Can you help out? And then next thing I know she said; 'So here's the Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, can you just take over because I have to move to Taiwan?' and I was like; 'OK'."

Midnight is a Korean thriller showing in the 2021 New Zealand International Film Festival

Film festival programming has taken her around the world but it's a job that's hard to describe. Ho said people are often amazed she gets paid to sit around and watch movies.

"I have to try and explain to them I watch maybe four or five hundred movies sometimes a year. Then they're like; 'Oh, OK, so it's not just eating popcorn and watching like Star Wars'."

Programming films from Hong Kong this year, has also felt more important than ever for Ho.

"I truly don't know how much people know about how bad it's gotten," she said, "I'm not sure people knew about the crackdown on trade unions, student unions. Censorship in film has been brought in."

"It's important to support the arts and the filmmakers while they are able to make films. We truly don't know how much longer this will be allowed."

When a City Rises is a documentary about the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong

Ho said a recent trailer she watched ended by saying the film would not be shown in Hong Kong…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details