Tahu Mackenzie and Oscar Kightley. Photo by Gregor Richardson.
Ms Mackenzie said she was ''very excited'' to be celebrating ''the creativity and beauty'' of the festival's nearly 70 events over 11 days from today, the most events presented in its history.
Mr Kightley said the festival was ''incredible'' and he asked people to support it by attending shows in the city he loved.
''Dunedin rocks.''
The 19 acts in the showcase last night included Dunedin-raised comedian Jeremy Elwood, British comic Mary Bourke and Dunedin musician Francisca Griffin for the international multimedia collaboration Anything Could Happen.
