Discoveries from New Zealand World Cinema

A dad is voted out of his family, and when he mounts a campaign for re-election, he finds out he's not the only one in the running.

Filmed over seven years during a three-day music and art festival, Splore, the film is a cinematic celebration of human connections and our need for play. For decades this festival has created a safe space for playfulness on land that is blessed by the local iwi.

Set against the brutal backdrop of the Sinai-Palestine campaigns in WWI, this powerful story reveals the unbreakable bond between soldiers and their horses, trusted companions that offered comfort, courage, and connection in the face of unrelenting war. Through stunning visuals, raw interviews, and immersive reenactments, the film brings to life the emotional journey of men who found strength in their steeds.

Mariana, a Portuguese woman who migrated to New Zealand, finds her life woven with Tui, her Maori neighbor. A film about leaving and living, and all the threads in between.

Two sisters kill their abusive stepfather, and must figure out how to deal with an overinquisitive priest.

Te Ao’s single-channel film what was or could be today (again) follows elite athlete Ngarama Milner-Olsen as she swims across Aotearoa’s largest body of water, Taupō-nui-a-tia (Lake Taupō). The film borrows its title from an inscription found on the reverse of the painting by Te Ao’s grandmother, depicting a small wetland reserve in the region surrounding Taupō-nui-a-tia that the artist’s family is closely tied to.

Drop is a hallucinatory night(mare) out with friends. Chased by shadowy figures, a man tries to outrun both his past and present

plasticine film animation about flying to space

Shot in 1900, the film is of Elizabeth Yates, a trailblazing woman elected Mayor of Onehunga in 1893 – just a few weeks after New Zealand women became the first in the world to win suffrage and the right to vote in a general election. Created by Enos Pegler for the Zealandia Living Picture Company, the film is a re-enactment – most likely of a speech Yates gave to the local council. Lacking sufficient lighting technology, many early films were filmed outdoors on a set made to look like it’s inside. This film is no exception – look closely and you will see the ‘walls’ are blowing in the breeze.

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

A poignant story of a dutiful eldest daughter within a Samoan household and her internal struggle of the weight of her responsibilities and expectations from her family, as well as, trying to maintain a grasp on her own aspirations in life.

Through a 30 year career, the late Ewen Gilmour perfected his comedy persona as a black-wearing, beer-slugging, head-banging West Aucklander — the quintessential 'Westie'. Gilmour's commitment to West Auckland saw him do two years as a Waitakere city councillor, and run for mayor of Auckland. In this special tribute, colleagues from comedy and politics reflect on the authenticity, focus and skill that lay behind his public image. There are also stand-up highlights from Gilmour’s many years on stage, ranging from raw early sets to a seemingly effortless final gig in October 2014, the night before he died.

While lost at sea, an outcast sailor discovers she's not alone.

Set in a small New Zealand beach town, it follows 20-year-old Noah, a young man plagued by constant discrimination after being publicly outed with HIV. During this film, we see him reconnect with Max, the boy who he once loved and who he acquired HIV from.

A short film.

Set in 1984 suburban Aotearoa New Zealand, Ave Marie is about adopted siblings Marie and Xavier who use dance as a way to escape the day-to-day reality of their mother’s religious rants and the neighbourhood bullies. While tough and unforgiving Xavier insists on putting himself front and centre of every dance routine and fighting the BMX gang for his right to wear lycra, Marie decides she wants to shine too. When their staunchly Catholic mother leaves the kids home alone for another funeral, Marie gets her chance.

Karanga is a dance and spoken word film exploring the intersectionality of descendants both Māori and Pākehā (European) centred around the late Tiahuia Te Puea Hērangi Ramihana Gray (Ngāi Tahu, Rangitāne, Tainui). The work is choreographed by her daughter Merenia Gray and was performed at Q Theatre in August 2021 in Aotearoa New Zealand. The work is a love letter to Tiahuia and a tribute to all mothers.

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.

New Zealand skateboard video/DVD

Auckland / Tāmaki Makaurau is New Zealand's largest city and the main commercial hub of the country. Auckland has always been regarded as "different"; it has always been a contested place, a crossroads. In 2009, just before Auckland was to become the Super City, we asked some of the city's best informed and outspoken residents to help us tell the story of the place. The result is a rich and at times contradictory composite of views which yet add up to something deeply informative and memorable.

A poisoned sentient biscuit attempts to convince the various despicable guests at a dinner party to eat it.

Created by leading contemporary artist Jess Johnson and director Simon Ward in partnership with Tūhura Otago Museum, XYZZY is an immersive art-based planetarium screening like no other. Developed through a decade of creative work, Johnson’s hand-drawn compositions are transformed by Ward into an animated web of flesh mandalas, self-replicating architecture, undulating worms, hallucinogenic patterns, and messianic alien deities. The dynamic visual atmosphere is charged with 90s-inspired electronic synthesiser tracks from musicians Andrew Clarke, Luke Rowell, Stef Animal and Lachlan Anderson. Sound design by Lachlan Anderson and mixed by immersive sound artist and film score engineer, Graham Kennedy. Jess Johnson and Simon Ward are internationally known and have exhibited in Hong Kong, Edinburgh, Montreal, Tokyo, and New York.

As contemporary discourse positions artificial intelligence as a potential universal problem-solving tool, Asunder takes up this challenge by responding to the surge in AI applications for pressing environmental issues.

Weaving kōrero and waiata together in an intimate setting, Stan shares his journey in honour and celebration of the first ever Matariki public holiday. Made with the support of NZ On Air and Te Māngai Pāho.

A smug detective introduces his clueless sidekick to the ropes of the trade, but is made to confront the reason he became a private eye in the first place – an elusive dream girl and her mysterious disappearance.

Filmed in May 2021 to a sold-out audience at the fully refurbished Christchurch Town Hall, Tiki's self-directed and produced film has captured an emotional and explosive performance with Christchurch Symphony Orchestra.

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

A lonely old widower spends his evenings making odd noises which draw the suspicion of his nosey neighbours - but all is not what it seems.

In the future, ageing 'millennial' parents get schooled in outrageous new technology by their jaded son.

A visual interpretation of alagaupu (proverbs) used within Samoan funeral chants and speeches, utilizing imagery from the artist’s personal photographic archive.

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.

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…

Co-produced by Big Girls Blouse Productions and Pink Health Ōtautahi over 2006 to 2008, the film asks the question of the people who were there: How did the Queer culture survive and thrive in Christchurch city over five decades from the 1950s onwards? In pursuit of this unique Queer history, two Rainbow filmmakers embark on a riveting social documentary that candidly explores the growth of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender identity in Christchurch in a compelling portrait of cultural metamorphosis and the right to create one’s place in the world. Hard hitting, deeply honest, embracing and at times hysterical, we glimpse the scope of the human struggle and celebration that encapsulates how a community is defined and ultimately defines itself.

Some time ago, New-Zealand-born musician/filmmaker Broad Oak had a particularly vivid and disturbing dream. "I was dead and buried in the ground, yet somehow conscious," he says. "Lying there in complete darkness, I could feel worms and insects devouring my flesh and crawling through my eye sockets." The next day he was inspired by the experience to record a piece of music but only finished it in 2021 while recovering from covid in Berlin. "Although I didn't have a severe case, it led to me contemplating my own mortality so it felt appropriate to come back to this piece and finally finish it." The mesmerising animated video is a collaboration with an AI called WZRD and represents the cyclic and transformative nature of life and matter from cells to galaxies.

At the beginning of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, much of Spanish territory was under anarchist rule for some time. This forgotten historical event is remembered through 3D animations of scans of demolished villages and moving photographs of anarchist supporters, which were “brought to life” with the help of the Deep Nostalgia™ tool.

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

Commissioned as a response to an untitled poem by artist Joanna Margaret Paul, Nova Paul's Still Light is a reflection on the domestic and intimate.

Shot in a mirror in half-light, Jillian Dressing captures the practiced rituals of preparing oneself for the world.

When his homophobic father dies, a hopeless broke gay artist journeys home to fight his estranged sister for the inheritance.

A spoof about people trying to cash in on "The Lord of the Rings".

Located in rural Aotearoa New Zealand, a full-scale concrete adaptation of Stonehenge is an active observatory and portal to other worlds. Shot on Super 8mm, this end-of-time silent film navigates science fiction tropes through spatial circularity and cosmic rhythms.

'Real Housewife of Auckland' Julia Sloane takes us on an adventure through the world of Kiwi sexuality in this documentary from Lisa Burd. Her journey takes us inside a dungeon, onto a pole-dancing stage, behind the scenes at a sex-toy shop, and inside the very real world of VR sex. We meet a gigolo, brothel owners and sex workers. Insights from Tantric and other sex therapists power Julia’s journey through sexual satisfaction towards a conclusion: that if we talk about it more, and are more positive about its role and our participation in it, life will be better — both in and beyond the bedroom.

The War Zoo is the original title of this animated cartoon by the renowned Australian caricaturist Harry Julius. The miserable fez-wearing turkey represents the battered Turkish forces. The ferocious German eagle is approached by the dove of peace and the British lion still the king of all. Cartoons like this one, screened about 1915, were a direct and light-hearted form of war news and propaganda for the public at home.

A girl is texting her boyfriend as she becomes fearful that someone is in the house.

A young woman grows up in the country and inherits an estate from her wealthy grandfather. Her grandfather's servant attempts to defraud her but his attempts are frustrated by the grandfather's lawyer and the girl's friend, a naval lieutenant.

Depression among farmers and the effects of 'Groundhog Day' have taken a grip on rural families all over New Zealand. The Monkeys On Our Backs provides an insight into the lives of rural Kiwis and seeks to explore how mental health issues have affected Kiwi farmers and their families.

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.

A New Zealand man discovers the health benefits of a plant-based diet after he suffers a heart attack.

Two daughters reflect on their lives and relationship with their father.

A TV with a mind of its own and a man determined to stop it. Nothing is at it seems as the plasticine starts to fly - just don't get too close to the screen. A fantastical clay animation treat. The jazzy score and trench-coat wearing protagonist in this claymation short promise film noir. But it soon becomes apparent that the room for rent has something more sinister lurking in it to explain its availability and lack of furnishing. When the supernatural being attacks the man and his oversized revolver, he has more to worry about than his brain rotting from too much TV.

Harmony is a young girl living on a cold and desolate Earth, alone and longing for friendship. While trying to tune into a station on her home radio one night, she picks up a melody that leads her to the moon.

Apparatus weaves the development of gender and identity within the indigenous culture in Aotearoa, the Māori name for New Zealand. Samoan artist Tanu Gago juxtaposes mesmerising footage of boys in their varied development of selfhood and actualisation with imagery of sculpted men from a different time and space, tracing the colonial influence on the expression of masculinity.

TAKE (te reo Maori: issue, promise, challenge) weaves mana wahine (female knowledge), dance and archival materials to retell the story of the removal of the ancestral Maori meetinghouse, Hinemihi o te Ao Tawhito, from Aotearoa, New Zealand to England in 1892. It is a call to return Hinemihi, embodied by Australian born Maori dancer and performance artist, Victoria Hunt. Set in the liminal spaces between history and emotion TAKE unfolds a story of origins, of traumatic events and colonial violence.

The rural love story of young English migrant David Bryne and Hazel Carlisle, who manages a Hawke's Bay sheep farm with her brother.

“To understand life is to know that much of it is lived in the dark - there is very little daylight in our understanding or comprehension. To find truth, we need to reach out for it, but most often when we pull our hands back to examine what we have found, our hands are empty…” Surrounded by jungle, a woman stands alone in a garden, as a wandering spirit enters her home.

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

A glimpse into the morning routine of a morose recluse, following all the excitement of getting up, making toast, and looking out the window.

Abby regales a distracted Karen with the true tale of her very short career in door-to-door sales.

A short-film of two sisters and their estranged father.

Nespresso Talents is a celebration of creative filmmaking. Now in its fourth year, this unique competition empowers filmmakers to tell a story through the format of vertical video. More than 380 videos were submitted from over 40 countries.