Discoveries from New Zealand World Cinema

Secret data on a mysterious disc is passed from deadly assassin to deadly assassin in a never-ending game of cat, mouse and round-house kick to the face.

In the increasing public discourse on mental health, Leanne Pooley’s inspiring and fearless documentary tracks an extraordinary young woman’s journey from suicide survivor to advocate for those struggling. The fact it leaves you hopeful and with tangible advice makes it vital viewing.

From dusk til' dawn on K Road captures the woozy horror of a best-forgotten night out. The filmmakers roam the bars, takeaways and brothels, encountering several night-lifers, none of whom turns out to be what they first appear or pretend to be. The most fully explored character, an amiable young Sikh taxi driver, begins the film expressing his optimistic view of the opportunities New Zealand provides. He spends the rest of the night demonstrating just how wishful those views are...

Housewife Rosemary Edmonds leaves her family to take up residence in a remote cottage on the Otago coastline so that she can conduct a photographic essay on the yellow-eyed penguin. No sooner has she moved in than she becomes the victim of a series of increasingly more malevolent attacks from an unknown assailant.

One family. One weekend. One hell of a home video. Births, Deaths and Marriages is a slice of life kiwi comedy about life, death and everything in between.

Holding The Sun is the story of businessman Matthew Archview who is lost in an ocean of amnesia after a devastating car crash took the life of his son and erased all memories of his sons existence. The only clue he has to unravel his past and any hidden memories is a drawing that his son did of their last day together at the beach. Unable to find the spiritual tools in contemporary society to heal he decides to journey deep into Self to discover key clues that unlock the suppressed memories of his son that are buried deep within his subconscious. Coupled with chance meetings with old and new friends, guides, omens, and visions, Matthew must enter the cave he fears most in order to find the treasure he so dearly seeks.

Walter Burton's realistic photographs depicting poor treatment of Maori prisoners are rejected by late 19th century government officials. Walter is condemned to making a living from everyday studio work, the frustration of which is apparently quite sufficient to make him a drunk. His brother Alfred is happy to take the photos that the officials want and therefore gets the commissions. Alfred's photos are well received, but when Walter shows his own photos, toughs are sent around to smash up his plates.

When statistician John Wilkins is sucked out of a plane at 43,000 feet, he calculates that he has exactly 3 minutes and 48 seconds before he hits the ground.

Fourteen-year-old Matt takes his dad’s yellow Datsun for one last wild joyride with his best buddy and kid brother in tow.

In this musical set in a grotty Grey Lynn flat, each flatmate represents a pop genre: mainstream pop guy Matt, an intense metal head, and doe-eyed emo Steve (Brendon Morrow). When their wannabe Elvis landlord announces a rent rise, the trio looks for a new flatmate.

When best friends Alex and Sam are left at home for the night, they do what all teenage boys do: raid mum’s wardrobe, play dress ups, and create a fantasy world where they feel safe and accepted. Well, maybe that's just what some boys do. But little do they know, the parents are on to them. Is there a safe bubble about to burst?

A filmmaker documenting various methods of winemaking believes he has found the perfect subject when he meets a man who uses anything but conventional ways of crafting the perfect blend.

Our documentary crew takes a peek inside the top-secret Christchurch branch of a Kremlin funded internet agency.

The solitude and despair of a woman living in a dungeon hanging in the sky.

From Christchurch, a coach load of visitors tour the southern part of the South Island, visiting the Hermitage Hotel at Mount Cook, Queenstown and district, the Eglinton Valley, Milford Sound, and Dunedin. Also catalogued as 'South Island Coach Tour'.

'The Church of the Open Sky' is a luscious visual love poem that explores gratefully lived surfing journeys. It is a sea soaked celebration of the exquisite preciousness of being alive.

Ingeniously unfolding three tales in unison, Take 3 follows a trio of young asian-Kiwi actors on one horrifying day of auditions.

One morning, as kids are stealing apples from an old man’s orchard high above a seaside town, an earthquake hits. No one is hurt, and the townsfolk are non-plussed, but the old man is agitated: he alone is aware of the imminent tsunami and tries to warn the village. Based on a classic Japanese fable, The Orchard was made by one-man band Bob Stenhouse, who had been nominated for an Academy Award the previous decade for pioneer tale The Frog, The Dog and The Devil. Fans of the animator will recognise his lush, luminous hand-drawn style.

A young girl finds comfort in play and slowly reconnects with her distant father after her mother walks out on the family.

A meditative atour of three different, fascinating and distinctive Japanese listening cafés that offer an immersive, musical sanctuary amidst the chaotic streets of Tokyo.

Hibiscus (Suivai Pilisipi Autagavaia, from short film Manurewa) and the take no nonsense Ruth (Anna-Maree Thomas) have been friends since school. But now Hibiscus is in her final year of university, and her domineering mother doesn't want any boyfriends getting in the way; so Hibiscus enlists Ruth's help, to handle the temptations of a line of potential suitors.

Take a ground-level view of 2024's Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti, one of the largest movements of people in Aotearoa’s recent history; reflecting on identity, unity, and the enduring significance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi for Māori today.

In the summer of 2011, while attempting to seek internet fame, a rowdy group of young friends unexpectedly witnessed something that changed their lives forever.

A Māori warrior, an Italian deserter and a scrawny rooster are trapped behind enemy lines. What could possibly go wrong?

A man wakes up in an endless white void, unable to remember how he got there, he soon encounters an A.I. who takes the man through old memories of himself until he realizes his tragic purpose in the white room.

A hazy night in Wellington is lit up with the pulsating colors and sounds of party people exploring their youth and freedom.

In 1979, a group of young Māori and Pasifika activists sought to stop Pākehā students at the University of Auckland performing a parody of haka each capping week. Unfortunately, the consequences for those activists were severe – many were convicted of crimes. Director Katie Wolfe uncovers this largely forgotten event in New Zealand's history with interviews from both in this resonant and thought-provoking documentary.

A love story featuring two young Maoris. A story about growing up and an unusual relationship that is simple, moving and tragic. A boy, a girl… and a step too far into a personal abyss of violence and pain. Survival may not bring a happy ending.

Sport and politics most definitely do mix in this gripping look back at a brutal and turbulent time for New Zealand rugby, told from the point of view of the players themselves including David Kirk and Buck Shelford.

Follow comedians (and siblings!) Guy and Maria Williams as Guy sceptically undergoes an ADHD assessment; and they both hear about the experiences of Kiwis living with ADHD, including Maria.

In May 2022, a commercial fishing vessel sunk off the coast of southern New Zealand. NZSAR continued to search for Noah Higgs for a further two weeks until the search was called off.

A strained family dynamic unravels on a road trip to an unknown destination. On this tense journey, Hokia weaves a poignant narrative of understanding, and the complexity of familial bonds.

‘Myths and Maidens’ is a love letter to fafine Moana, looking at some of our trauma, challenges and inequities across Pasifika, and how in the face of this, the celebration of ourselves is an act of colonial resistance.

A romantic comedy about not judging a book by its cover. As Sarah navigates the world of online dating, she ends up with more than what she bargained for.

A paper boy is invited in for a glass of milk by an elderly man. An alluring young woman enters the room. The paper boy leaves the room to take a shower... This early short by New Zealand film director Florian Habicht was shot on a windup Bolex 16mm camera. Dialogue and sound were recorded and added later, enhancing the surreal tone of this tale of quirky suburban desire. Habicht rejects traditional narrative in favour of juxtaposition and dark humour.

Road safety instructional film using child actors and amusing animals.

A Sweded version of Martin Scorsese's film Goodfellas

A young schoolboy finds his day plunging into nightmare, when he gets called in for a session with the school dental nurse. The nurse seems to take pleasure in other people's pain.

Documentary about the degraded rivers of Canterbury, New Zealand.

Expat Kiwi Rewi Alley became one of the best known foreigners in 20th Century China and advocate for the Communist Revolution. When China was under siege from Japan in the late 1930s, Alley instigated an industrial co-op movement he termed ‘gung ho' (work together). Its success led to the phrase entering the global idiom. For this documentary a Geoff Steven-led crew travelled 15,000km in China in 1979, filming Alley as he gave his account of an engrossing, complex life story. Co-writer Geoff Chapple later wrote a biography of Alley.

Daniel is stuck in limbo. He's not good enough for heaven, nor is he bad enough for hell. When he meets with the Entity known as St. Peter, Daniel must become involved in a battle of wits in order to be reunited with his lover.

Documentary Hautoa Mā! The Rise of Māori Cinema reveals the remarkable impact Māori have made on New Zealand cinema.

On a trip to find his birth mother, 18-year-old Aaron is forced to hitch a ride with a rough- looking stranger, Maka. Out of fear, Aaron rejects Maka’s friendship, but when the reunion with his mother doesn’t go quite as planned, he discovers that the stranger may just be the man to help him after all.

Gravity & Grace may be writer and critic Chris Kraus’ final and exuberant attempt at an artists’ career. Kraus is best known for her novels, (I Love Dick, Aliens & Anorexia, Torpor and most recently Summer of Hate), her art criticism (Video Green, Where Art Belongs), and her work in publishing subjective narratives through Semiotext(e)'s Native Agents Series, which she founded. Prior to writing, Kraus was an artist, actress and filmmaker. She made short, experimental, low-budget films, and one feature, Gravity & Grace; its failure on the market is chronicled in detail in her book Aliens & Anorexia.

An entertaining look at life in Wellington, New Zealand in the 1960s, giving a colourful impression of Wellington city: hills, winding streets, busy people and strong winds.

Live performances from Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand (29th February 1996) & The Square, Palmerston North, New Zealand (5th March 2006). 1996 Setlist 1. Get Up 2. Just Like Everybody Else 3. The Call 4. Envy 5. For What You Burn 6. Jam 7. Bitter 8. Country Jam 9. Bone Orchard 10. You Again 11. Screwtop 12. Gimme Gimme 13. Stations 14. Derail 2006 Setlist 1. Run 2. None Of The Above 3. Alive 4. Comfort Me 5. Dark Times 6. My Mind's Sedate Encore: Day Will Come

A single girl in an isolated, closed community yearns for marriage and motherhood.

In pre-colonial Aotearoa a young Māori girl witnesses the best and worst of a rapidly changing world when she encounters a dying man and his horse.

A boy secludes himself in the countryside to avoid confronting his progressing terminal illness when he becomes haunted by the memory of his dead brother

A boy from an abusive family wants to escape, but doesn't want to desert his younger siblings.

When a man, quietly lost, suddenly finds himself caring for his best mate’s three-year-old son, a week of wandering, play and unexpected connection begins to unsettle the heaviness he carries.

Delegates and workers discuss the issues that effect the Timberworkers’ Union, the reasons for the formation of the Combined Council of Timber Workers Delegates (CCD) and their industrial action.

A survivor in a ruined landscape finds hope in a polluted puddle. When he tries to purify and drink the water, solvent-induced intoxication blurs his perception—then Terminal Lake appears on the horizon.

Account of the royal tour of New Zealand taken by the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh. Includes film of various visits and ceremonies attended during the state visit.

This promotion for the Edmonds Baking Powder Company features beloved radio personality Aunt Daisy (Maud Ruby Basham). Its narrative is entrenched with the gender stereotypes of 1950s suburbia.

A young boy being bullied at school and with an abusive father at home encounters a mysterious creature when playing alone in the woods that will soon change his life forever.

A young man tries to figure out which of his flatmates keeps stealing his soup.

Actor Miranda Harcourt directs an ode to her broadcaster father Peter in this short documentary. The film emerges from vocal chords (via an endoscope) and uses the tools of her father’s trade as a starting point for a free-ranging meditation on repression, shell shock and family ghosts. Peter’s wartime job involved vetting messages home from the troops to check that the soldier hadn’t been killed. Post-war, Peter was dumb-struck for a year, at a time when people didn’t “talk about their deeper feelings”.

The Brown Boys spend their weekends drinking, partying and chasing girls. Peter the Player, Kiligi the Bad Influence, Magele the Tough Guy, Luka the Drunken Master, Siaki the Weird Guy and Mickey the Baby - they are family by blood and by choice. When one of the boys expresses a desire to settle down, it causes reactions among the group that could rupture their bonds of friendship and family forever.

Nineteen-year old Ina inherits a sauna and decides to build a new future for the girls working there, but first she needs to confront her father's dangerous past.