The movie, based on the novel of the same name by New Zealand author Lloyd Jones, was filmed partly in the Oamaru Victorian Precinct in August last year.
Oamaru Whitestone Civic Trust heritage co-ordinator Faye Ormandy said it had been ''fantastic'' to see the town transformed into an imagined version of Victorian London for a dream sequence in the movie.
''You could tell even just the way they portrayed this area just how amazing it was going to be.''
She said the movie, starring English actor Hugh Laurie, would be shown at the Limelight Cinema on Thursday, starting at 8.30pm. It would be a chance for residents to see how the town's historic buildings looked on the big screen.
''I'm really looking forward to it. I know some people have seen it and it's pretty amazing. It's a very, very good film, but it is a hard story.''
The movie, which tells the tale of a girl caught up in civil war on the island of Bougainville during the early 1990s, received its world premiere screening in Auckland last month.
However, Mrs Ormandy said it was hard to tell if the publicity from the movie would have a flow-on effect on tourism, the movie would further build on recent publicity the town had received on New Zealand television, she said.
