Discoveries from New Zealand World Cinema

Andy has asked Evelyn out - will she say yes, or no?

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.

A short documentary on bipolar disorder, Taurewarewa explores the highs and lows of tides and emotions in a sequence of insightful kōrero framed against a backdrop of Aotearoa's turbulent oceans.

Phil ‘Wildman’ Game returns to speedway after 16 years. Will he be good enough to recapture the glory of his youth, or will his comeback end in disappointment…?

A unique journey and insight through the history of the New Zealand Air Force, from World War II pilots reliving their experiences, to new recruits discussing their introductory process.

Follows two artists' creation of the ultimate work of art for an art competition. Told as an oscillation between two worlds, we discover that what it takes to win an art award, often involves deception.

E Lele Le Toloa is a visual Talanoa and exploration of faasinomaga (identity). At the center is Tui Meki, a son of the Pacific, on a journey of self-discovery and finding his grounding in spaces that he moves through.

In the face of rising anti-trans hate trans actress and singer Brady Peeti embarks on journey of discovery to chart the future by learning lessons from the past. In this eight part series Brady spends time with trans New Zealanders, ranging in age from their 70's to their 20's, to uncover how each generation built something beautiful and valuable for the next.

An artist sculpts clay in their studio while telling stories about their predecessors. The work affirms the artistic process as a circular gesture, one that starts with gifting the earth.

When Harry Knuckles, a big time player in the underground art of finger dancing sustains a gory injury in a battle against G Nail, the future ain't looking bright. Knuckles drowns his sorrows till his mentor inspires him to pull on his training glove.

A guilty youth leader meets a mysterious cow on her train ride home from bible camp.

Two friends are making their own documentary about the disappearances in Yellowbrook, however it seems the mystery is more real than they think...

Set during the time of the Dawn Raids, The Voyagers Legacy follows the three youngest children of a Samoan family, as they reimagine their bustling Ponsonby home as a magical, whimsical fairytale world of swords and sorcery.

High school student Kevin confronts his classmate Quinn about an unexpected encounter after P.E class.

In this animated tale of awakening, a woman explores the anxious landscape of sexuality and desire. With the help of her mischievous alter ego, she searches for the animal within. Over three years in the making, its mutable clay characters negotiate an eerie Australasian landscape (created with multi-plane paint-on-glass sets), inhabited only by strange birds and roving creatures of the night. Feline investigates the possibilities for changing oneself in a world where physicality and identity are fluid. It is a tale of denial, sexual awakening, and self acceptance.

A cinepoem by New Zealand filmmaker Joanna Margaret Paul.

The film describes the processes involved in Lak funeral or mortuary rituals. The various stages of the rites are presented in combination with an overview of the political and social setting against which the rites are usually performed. As a background to the ritual processes described in the first half of the film, Rubber details his aspirations for his own ritual. He describes how he came to be one of the leading practitioners within the secret men's society and a man of political and social importance. The second half of the film shows the complete ritual process as it was performed "by Rubber for Rubber" in January 2005.

Gooey follows the battles of a young man, trying to overcome his feelings of jealousy and envy as he finds out his ex has moved on.

This documentary is about courage and survival and having the will and perseverance to succeed despite considerable obstacles. The story of Mitchell Pham's remarkable journey is told through the evocative use of stop-frame animation, created from a Vietnamese traditional folded paper craft, mixed with live action to show an innovative account of his harrowing but ultimately inspirational journey from Vietnamese prison camp, to a life in New Zealand after the Vietnam war.

These age old symbols of the Moko Kauae, the Fijian Veiqia, the Papuan Tep Tok and the Samoan Malu were made to celebrate the significance of the female role, but many were also created by female tatau artists. 'Marks of Mana' explores the female history of tatau in our cultures, and the meaning behind these patterns linked like a necklace around the Moana.

Life on the streets of New Zealand for two homeless men: John, the older man, seems to like this life and to be at home here. Elvis, the Marquesan, dreams of returning to his island. Good relations and understanding v. confrontation, separation and mutual aid…

Set during the time of the Dawn Raids, The Voyagers Legacy follows the three youngest children of a Samoan family, as they reimagine their bustling Ponsonby home as a magical, whimsical fairytale world of swords and sorcery.

High school student Kevin confronts his classmate Quinn about an unexpected encounter after P.E class.

These age old symbols of the Moko Kauae, the Fijian Veiqia, the Papuan Tep Tok and the Samoan Malu were made to celebrate the significance of the female role, but many were also created by female tatau artists. 'Marks of Mana' explores the female history of tatau in our cultures, and the meaning behind these patterns linked like a necklace around the Moana.

Ziarah takes to the sea in search of the remains of Tupaia, a nobleman indispensable in liaising between the Māori and James Cook’s ship in 1769. On an uninhabited Indonesian island where Tupaia is believed to be buried, Bridget Reweti telescopes then and now, relating history to contemporary ecological problems. (CIRCUIT)

The Aro Valley Digital film movement is examined through interviews with the various filmmakers and extensive clips of their work.

A local occasion filmed at Rapahoe Beach on the West Coast of the South Island.

Wake compares colonial paintings of New Zealand intended to encourage migration to the colonies in the 1850s, with filmed images of the same country 100 years later, shot by the filmmaker's father. This experimental film compares the vision of a "promised land" with the lived memory of migration and explores too, the misrepresentation of indigenous people during both these eras. The half-hour experimental film is a response to the death of the filmmaker's father, an event that ultimately led to her return to New Zealand after a decade in America.

A sequel to the Yoobee classic, by directors Lucas Allan and Jude Dixon.

A first-of-its-kind film that tells the true Moriori narrative, giving voice to a people whose story has been misrepresented and forgotten.

An alcoholic detective must withstand himself to expose the universe's unknown victim.

A grandmother recounts her childhood experiences living in wartime London.

Andrew Finch relives a dinner with the Fargo’s, as his fragile memories make it challenging to uncover the truth about that night.

In rural Texas, 12-year-old Lou Kene navigates life in a fractured family under the harsh rules of her father Frank, as his desire for a son fuels his resentment towards his daughters.

Two friends conclude their final high journey by honouring a pact they made in Year nine. HVHS Productions latest effort.

All sorts of things happen in this movie

Two friends have one weekend to submit a film project, only to find their confidence unravel as the pressure of the task escalates.

Sonic The Hedgehog attempts to rekindle his career after struggling from a lifelong speed addiction.

A young man attempts to pick up another man in a Sydney railway station.

The Power that Flows Through Us explores the construction and political context around the Clyde Dam, the third-largest hydroelectric plant in Aotearoa and a legacy of Robert Muldoon’s 'Think Big' initiative. In this work, Matthew Galloway uses poetry as sonic interventions, large-scale projections of drone footage, and archival political cartoons blown up into sculptural form to locate the viewer within the narratives and perspectives swirling around the Clyde Dam since its inception. In its articulation of the monumental physicality of the dam, The Power that Flows Through Us invites us to consider not only the physical generation of electrical power but also the distribution and implementation of political power.

A young man finds a loose stray colt near Hamilton which is not advertised for. So after a year he enters the colt in a show at which the owner, a young lady who comes to the show with her father, claims it. They come to an arrangement about the horse, which is a descendant of the famous horse Carbine. Then the horse is stolen by a pair of villains when being trained. Lost Film

lost New Zeland drama

Australian-New Zealand lost film about an interracial romance between a white Australian man and a Māori girl

The story is set in the Waikato where two Māori tribes are at war, with the story of the love between the young chief Te Ponga and the beautiful Puhuhu, daughter of the rival chief, similar to the legend of Hinemoa and Tutanekai.

The documentary tells the story of three small remote atolls in the middle of the Pacific that overcame their isolation and dependence on diesel generators to become the first 100% solar-powered nation in the world, proving that it is possible to reduce the use of fossil fuels and emission of greenhouse gases to a minimum.

As a child, there is something fabled about your family’s stories of their youth. For photographer Derek Henderson, those epic tales always took place along the banks of the Waikato River in central New Zealand. In this short, serene film, Henderson physically and figuratively dives into the same waters his mother swam decades ago.

"Biobitumen—a greywacke love poem (2019), is a short film and site-responsive installation made in collaboration with Rachel O’Neill and Johanna Sanders for the CIRCUIT / AURA Festival in Newtown Te Whanganui-a-tara (2019).

What does New Zealand’s economic situation mean for you? Jack Tame and a panel of experts break down the last five years, where the hope is, and what’s ahead.

Jubilantly singing and brandishing various items—a staple gun, a paint roller, a can of fly spray, a disassembled fan—Wesley John Fourie dances across the screen. Filmed in the artist’s studio, Mason’s Ballad (2024) comprises three different videos from Fourie’s ongoing HYPERBALLAD series in one frame. Playfully engaging with expressions of identity, internet culture, and queer experience through performance, in Mason’s Ballad, they are both creator and star. — Kat Rowan, 'Dancing to Mason's Ballad,' CIRCUIT, 2025

Two people talk in the intersection between life and death. One is passing through, and the other is a guide for travellers.

A story about a boy and the ever lasting love he holds for his dog. When his dog dies unexpectedly the boy learns the hardest way possible about grief and what it means for him and the love he has for his childhood pet.

Mānawatia te Whenua, Mānawatia te Tangata: if the whenua and the surrounding environments flourish, so too will the people. E huri ō pūkanohi ki ō tūpareparehua, ki ō wai-kaukau, ki ō whenua tāngaengae hei oranga motuhenga mōu, mō ngā whakareanga ā-haere ake nei: turn your eyes to your mountains, your bathing waters, your land, as sources of sustenance.

A vibrant survey of a climbing gym, in the words of the staff and clientele who make up its community.

A group of Māori activists describe their mission, their tactics and their generational connection to the land they occupy.

Mayoral election (un)hopeful Pennywize opens up about his midlife choice to stop devouring children and start advocating for Wellington City's green spaces.

Fresh out of surgery, with a head full of painkillers and a jar full of wisdom teeth, a girl too stubborn to ask for help runs into trouble on her way home.

Single and approaching a mid-thirties birthday, Shamin, a first generation New Zealander, confronts the question she's long been avoiding: should she freeze her eggs?

This film is one that goes back in time, literally! two bullied boys come to a mysterious stranger to buy a time machine to fix their bully, what happens next?

Kowhai (2017) emerged from an exploration of the relationship – whakawhanaungatanga - between moving image, kapa haka and waiata. Kowhai (2017) parallels the immersive experience of my ongoing committment to learning Te Reo Maori, exemplifying the creation of Te Ao Maori – from nothing to something – passed down through generations via nga momo korero or oral storytelling.

'Untitled 3' creates an air of psychological tension as unresolved and elusive as the subject itself. The camera’s voyeuristic and predatory gaze is lent an added sense of unease through a slowly disintegrating soundtrack and the artist re-recording the original video off a screen.