18 April, 2026
Cycling shorts collection back on Takapuna screens
Cycling enthusiasts can get on their bikes and head to the movies when the Big Bike Film Night returns to the North Shore this month.
Festival founder Brett Cotter tours a programme of cycling short films around the country each year and says the 2026 offering includes some inspiring footage from New Zealand, alongside international items.
The programme of eight shorts includes the story of two women cyclists from Christchurch who set out to ride each of the skifields around New Zealand.
Another locally shot film is Queen of the Mountain, which features Annie Ford, an Australian based in Queenstown who sets out to break a 24-hour Guinness World Record in downhill mountain-biking to raise funds for a planting project in the Queenstown foothills. International offerings include footage shot in spectacular landscapes in Norway, Canada and up punishing Mont Ventoux in the south of France.
Takapuna Beachside Cinemas owners Shaun and Helen Hayward say after the night sold out last year, they have scheduled extra sessions on Wednesday 29 April, including an afternoon matinee. The Forrest Hill couple have got back on bikes themselves in recent years, due to their children’s involvement in cycling for their schools, Westlake Boys High and Takapuna Grammar.
“We’ve got this lovely community of cyclists that we’ve got to know, because of the kids,” says Helen. This helped them promote the Bike Night but also gave an opportunity for people with common interests to get together. “Once people know you do it, they look out for it.”
Helen says the popularity of cycling in the area is apparent with the number of bike shops on Barrys Pt Rd.
Cotter, who is based in Taupo, has North Shore links through his grandmother who lived in Devonport. He says Bike Night’s focus on story telling means it will appeal not just to cyclists, but film fans generally.
Book at the cinema, or for more information see bigbikefilmnight.nz
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