Discoveries from New Zealand World Cinema

A documentary about Takahanga Marae in Kaikōura, New Zealand. Rangi Solomon said he wanted to “build the future of our people on the bones of our past”.

After 2 years, Kate meets her estranged mother Lynne, on the beach where their relationship fell apart. Faced with life-altering news, can the two find peace with each other, or are they bound to repeat the roles they've always played?

The City Food Commons shares the story of Roimata Food Commons, an urban permaculture food forest initiative driven by Ōtautahi Christchurch local Michael Reynolds. The aim of the project is to empower the community to co-create space in a public park, reviving the notion of the Commons, which was once so common in societies around the world.

This NFU film visits the remote Urewera to explore the world of the Tūhoe people. Their independence and identity have been challenged by historical tensions with Pākehā, and now modernity — as ‘children of the mist’ leave for education and jobs (at the mill, in the city). A tribal outpost in Auckland is visited, along with law student James Milroy. At a Ruatoki festival the debate is whether young people should manage tribal affairs.

Siblings Stellar (23) and Max (17) are living in their car and trying to get back on their feet. When Max makes a drunken mistake and puts their livelihood on the line, Stellar finds herself questioning how much longer she can support him.

A young woman writes home with stories about her exciting life and her normal boyfriend. In reality her life is strange, and her beau is from outer space.

A mockumentary following 'Big Bowls', a young lawn bowls team from Wainuiomata as they prepare to face Chadwick Bloomington Jr III - the most prestigious lawn bowls player in Aotearoa.

We follow Borus, a road line marker who treats asphalt like a sacred canvas, as he passionately explains the emotional and deep importance of straight lines, proper spacing, and precision. His manager and a rival crew who see the job as “just paint” are brought into the world of Borus, who always has a new way of sharing his passion of the job. His world is thrown into chaos when a reckless young teammate commits the ultimate workplace sin: unauthorized road doodling. As Borus spirals over compromised line integrity, In the ultimate irony, he is “punished” with the assignment of his dreams — the very stretch of road he’s been dreaming about for years. For Borus, it’s not discipline. It’s destiny.

When Grace's act of rebellion during a family function doesn't go according to plan, she is forced to go toe to toe with her recently divorced mother Anabella.

It's 1973 and young New Zealand couple Kim and Janeen have run away to Europe and joined the circus - The Continental Circus. They're part of a convoy of Grand Prix motorcycle riders travelling across Western and Eastern Europe competing for the World Championship Road Racing title.

Inside his studio, painter Philip Trusttum launches into a new work. He employs ordinary house paint to create a bold, large-scale painting, tells stories, and reflects on his career as an artist.

"Ultimus Exitus" follows Valerius, a war hero turned seeker, on a quest for divine purpose. In a fantastical realm with shadowy undertones, he confronts inner demons and grapples with existential questions, weaving a tale of self-discovery and reckoning with destiny.

A 66-year-old mother has an unusual ritual of returning to her old family home to care for stray cats.

Lanu Moana is the Warmest Colour follows Monū as they spend time with their community as they create costumes for the Miss Sāmoa Fa’fafine Pageant, share a drink and talk together, and explore their homelands in Sāmoa.

The traditional materials and methods used in Māori weaving. Rangimarie Hetet and her daughter, Rangituatahi Te Kanawa, of Ngāti Maniapoto, talk to Tilly Reedy and demonstrate their skills as they gather and prepare harakeke for work on piupiu korowai and tāniko border. Other women are instructed in the weaver's craft. Rangimarie and Rangituatahi discuss the innovations and changes which have influenced their art.

Into an empty movie theater comes a single spectator, a box of popcorn in hand. He tries various seats before settling down near the front. The movie starts. In comes a couple who sit down right next to the chap with the popcorn, even though every other seat in the theater is empty.

Brother gets evil revenge on his sister.

Two office co-workers are seen exchanging affection for each other over a course of time. The woman in the sitatution, Claire, feels strongly for the man, Sam. But he is faking it: him and his friends organised it as a workplace prank.

Beyond The Battalion tells the story of the 28th Māori Battalion. It revisits two earlier films, including one on the 1977 pilgrimage of the battalion back to their WW11 battle grounds.

Kura Forrester, Billy T Winner, Taskmaster alum, Shortland Street fave and local legend, is bringing back her critically acclaimed show Here If You Need for a one-off performance.

VAKA is a short documentary about the energy and resilience of the Tokelauan people as they weave their customary-wisdom regarding the environment with modern eco-technologies to respond to climate change.

Celebrated Chinese couturier Guo Pei is perhaps best known for designing the brilliant gold gown Rihanna wore to the Met Ball in 2015. But Guo’s quest to be recognized by the gatekeepers of Paris haute couture goes beyond the red carpet and taps into global power dynamics and the perpetual tension between art and commerce.

'Amiri & Aroha' began as a Maori version of Romeo & Juliet and evolved into a poignant love story, set against a background of gang rivalry and tribal hostility, filmed on the beautiful East Cape of New Zealand. Aroha, the daughter of a notorious gang leader, finds her life dominated by a childhood ceremony which pledged her to her cousin Hunapo. This union was arranged by her whanau (family) to heal a deep gangland feud. When Aroha subsequently meets her true soul mate, Amiri, the gang threaten reprisals if she marries Amiri, accusing her of bigamy. The film is Aroha's right of passage as she struggles to make sense of her past and its impact on her future.

From 1964 to 1966 Chants R&B were a fixture of the Christchurch music scene, and local bar The Stage Door. The band’s near mythic status is highlighted in this hour-long documentary featuring band and audience members, plus their former peers. Musicians Ray Columbus and Midge Marsden rave about the group, while music experts Nick Bollinger and Tony Mitchell speculate as to why they were so compelling. Mixed in is archive 60s footage shot by Fred Goldring, capturing raucous scenes in the dank underground bar in central Christchurch. Rumble & Bang was directed by Simon Ogston (Skeptics - Sheen of Gold) and Jeff Smith.

One year after the release of their debut album, rising rock band In-Famous only have one day left in the studio to come up with their newest hit single.

Filmed during the recent nationwide tour, international guests Wilson Dixon, Wil Anderson, Jarlath Regan, Zoe Lyons and Jarred Christmas join host Brendhan Lovegrove and a gaggle of Kiwi comedians for this two-hour showcase of hilarity.

This is not the story of one, but of many. In Aotearoa’s North Island, the Māori community of Tautoro turns to sacred springs for healing — waters now under threat from climate change. As the land shifts, so too does their future, urging us all to act.

Every time Ray does stand-up comedy and people laugh he gets a little bit stronger. Soon he will be the most powerful man in the universe.

The hero, proficient in martial arts, goes to the Pyramid where the Evil Computer is hidden.

Welcome to the days of mind your own business and don’t comment on others business. Not their gender, sexuality, body, hair, education or career. Also, welcome to the days of total oversharing on social media, but STILL, mind your own business. We want to talk about things and want everyone to know IT’S PERSONAL! This is a show about keeping your cards close to your chest but walking around naked. Can we have it all? Yes, but also bloody no but also it’s none of your business because IT’S PERSONAL.

A Berlinale award nominated short feature.

A father struggles to answer his daughter's questions.

Four mates get their kicks 'chumping'— jumping over children, adults, prams and sometimes, entire families in broad daylight.

As the nation plunges into pandemic, Gwen Isaac’s observational documentary delves into the trenches with Siouxsie Wiles, the fuchsia-haired microbiologist who emerged as a national hero and a satanic witch in the minds of a divided New Zealand.

Maori face tattooing is a tradition that almost died out through colonization. Bernard and Sapphire show their passion to see Maori communities heal by receiving face tattoos of their own.

“Sonic artist” Chris Cree Brown discusses composing with new media and how he orchestrates particular sounds into formal compositional structures. Some sounds are made instrumentally, while others are recorded from his environment. In 1980 few classically-trained musicians in New Zealand experimented with synthesized sound and the gloriously large and sturdy equipment Brown uses to create his music will be of sure anthropological interest to many musos. The documentary was recorded with no script to capture the true art of creation.

A text-based video work that reflects on the intangible possibilities of what happens to the spirit after death. Is the spirit able to more easily navigate the difficulties of a mixed Māori and Pākehā identity? Does it intrinsically know what direction to take between heaven and Hawaiki?

Tik-Tok-obsessed and pilates-attending Mads goes to retrieve a Facebook marketplace purchase from someone who is definitely not in a cult. Mads just hopes she'll let her stay for dinner...

In Not my autobiography? personal and collective markers of identity are fragmented, rearranged and made incoherent. The collages are made from lifestyle/fashion magazines. The 'autobiography' could be seen as the Frankenstein child of House & Garden and Vogue Living. Aspirational white culture comes under playful critique, and yet the title Not my autobiography? features a question mark. And while a pyromaniac memoir does sound like something you might want to evade and disassociate from, as much as you might want to denounce a House & Garden parent, the ‘fiery temperament’ of Rachel O’s so-called autobiography is a nod to the underground fires that occurred in the area where the artist grew up in the Waikato, an ongoing legacy of colonisation that is discussed in more detail in the video.

A mutant hero, a virtual bank heist. A digital action thriller. A three fingered virus is let loose on a computer system with the express purpose of erasing a student loan.

Edith Gibson shares her suburban home with 3000 dolls, a collection she has dedicated her life to maintaining - but caring for these unusual flatmates is often more involved than just brushing hair.

Follow Pete as he explores the struggles of an overwhelming new environment and finds comfort in the small things that remind him of home.

Caught between relentless expectations of perfection and her artistic desires, a young virtuoso pianist must choose to either uphold or shatter her family’s formidable musical legacy.

A young up-and-coming crook is forced by a mob boss to infiltrate a powerful opposing criminal family, lead by a cutthroat matriarch known as Mother Goose.

Colin Hodson is an axiom of Aro Valley no-budget cinema. The male half of the "Uncomfortable Comfortable" couple, and director/star of "Shifter", now adds a third closely observed portrait to his gallery of passive aggressives.

With a beautiful vineyard and tons of wine at their disposal, friends try to cheer up their heartbroken buddy after he's dumped just days before his wedding.

Hidden in the darkest back streets of major cities, you may find an urban phenomena - the Trick Meter. Skate by one late at night and you could find yourself locked into a do or die trick session.

Luit Bieringa’s richly archived documentary examines the legacy of Gordon Tovey and the post-war education programmes that put art, artists, and Māori arts in particular, into the New Zealand classroom.

In a clearing amongst a forest of pines lives a reclusive old man who struggles to keep himself warm in an unrelenting winter, though help comes from an unexpected friend.

Whetū Mārama is the story of Sir Hekenukumai Ngaiwi Puhipi and his significance for Māori in rekindling their wayfinding DNA, reclaiming our place as traditional star voyages on the world map.

"Prosperity or Emptiness is an experience and metaphor of urban life. It uses a series of abstract and fragmented 3D visual animations to discuss the genealogy and relationship between the body, digital technology, and urban space." - Artist's Statement

A young women is tasked to tap into her childhood trauma. When she is faced by her younger self, will she be able to embrace the pain of the past or will she continue to run away from it?

On the eve of becoming a father, children’s author Benji Peterson reconnects with his younger brother in the wake of their father’s death.

Gay comedians Chris Parker and Eli Matthewson are on a crusade to get the country talking about pornography. Join Chris Parker and Eli Matthewson as they launch a campaign to shake the stigma from porn, helped by experts, creators and consumers across the country. But as they get deeper into their quest, will it even be possible to sum up the complex world of porn into one snappy slogan?

The incredible story of how degraded gorse-infested farmland has been regenerated back into beautiful New Zealand native forest over the course of 30 years. Fools & Dreamers: Regenerating a Native Forest is a 30-minute documentary about Hinewai Nature Reserve, on New Zealand’s Banks Peninsula, and its kaitiaki/manager of 30 years, botanist Hugh Wilson. When, in 1987, Hugh let the local community know of his plans to allow the introduced ‘weed’ gorse to grow as a nurse canopy to regenerate farmland into native forest, people were not only skeptical but outright angry – the plan was the sort to be expected only of “fools and dreamers”. Now considered a hero locally and across the country, Hugh oversees 1500 hectares resplendent in native forest, where birds and other wildlife are abundant and 47 known waterfalls are in permanent flow. He has proven without a doubt that nature knows best – and that he is no fool.

A young Māori woman is given her estranged birth mother’s ashes and has to figure out what to do with them.

In 1971, a mysterious man named Dan Cooper boards a commercial 727 airliner, carrying with him nothing but a briefcase and a small handwritten note.

The Times of London cited barrister Rob Moodie for the most outrageous behaviour by a lawyer in 2006 after he represented himself in the New Zealand High Court dressed as Alice in Wonderland. He’s a straight bloke who likes to wear dresses. To some, he seems a freak, to others he’s a hero. Rob Moodie is an enigma to most. Until now.

Two female politicians leading rival parties await election results. To pass the time, they reflect on their competitiveness, sacrifices made, and backlash they faced leading up to the day.