Discoveries from New Zealand World Cinema

In the wake of the loss of his beloved wife, a rural community rallies around a farmer to help him deal with his grief.

A series of escalating incidents around the world lead to greater and greater conflict, placing the superpowers at one another's throats. Armies march, bombs rain down, soldiers storm the beaches. One family is caught up in the ever-growing conflict. Can they survive as total war is declared and nuclear weapons are unleashed?

An injured man with an impenetrable briefcase and no memory is found on the shoreline of a remote island by the last remaining members of a once prosperous family dynasty.

A docu-drama covering one of the most famous cases in New Zealand history, the murder of Harvey and Jeanette Crewe in 1970.

Siggy (Jennifer Ward-Lealand) is a teenage "bad girl" who lives and works in a red-light district of Auckland, New Zealand. Just like her fellow streetwalkers, Siggy constantly dreams of leaving "the life" behind. When she learns one day that her pimp is planning a big drug score, Siggy decides to seize the day -- and her future -- by grabbing the loot.

This docudrama follows an imaginary news reporter who travels back in time to cover the days leading up to the Treaty of Waitangi's signing on 6 February 1840. Dropping the usual solemnity surrounding Aotearoa's founding document, it uses humour and asides to camera to evoke the chaos and motives behind the treaty. This clip features a confrontation between Hone Heke and representatives of the Crown.

Same But Different: A True New Zealand Love Story follows Rachel, a single working Grey Lynn mum, who breaks a three-year spell of singledom to pursue her escalating feelings for Nikki, whom she meets at a Māori film festival.

300 years in the future, a forensic accountant reviews the video stream from one mercenary's drop-pod which has been damaged during the initial stages of a colonial invasion.

Five Kiwis take on a paragliding adventure in Tanzania, with the ultimate aim to fly from the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro.

Ozzie is a young koala living in Australia. He is kidnapped by two goons (Buzz and Tank) who work for Max Happy, president of Happy Toys. Legend says that Ozzie speaks English and Max wants to clone Ozzie into hundreds of koalas and sell them for a fortune as talking pets! Buzz and Tank "lose" Ozzie on the plane-ride home by accident to Justin Morton, an 8 year old who is celebrating his birthday with his mom, Beth with a trip to Austrailia. Ozzie winds up in Justin's backpack. When Max finds out the koala is missing, a screwball comedy chase begins and ends in a surprise that knocks Max off her throne!

A late-night radio DJ with a program where people call to tell her real horror stories, soon will find out how far an obsessed fan is willing to go.

A young solo mother loves her son and his needs are formost, but she still has room in her heart for her very broken brother, even as her fundamentalist mother rejects her. But when the brother is responsible for a woman's broken neck, during his burglary of her house, families are changed as crisis amplifies and at times the young mother seems to be the only adult.

A young novice at an isolated convent is confronted with the sudden desire to explore her sexual self in the wake of meeting a blue-tongued lizard. DANIEL is a religious erotic drama set in rural New Zealand.

A man's son becomes involved in drug use and criminal activity in rural New Zealand. The man embarks on a journey to seek assistance from others in an effort to get his son back before it's too late.

The true story of Jean Batten is of a daughter determined to live up to a powerful mother, desperate to leave a mark on the world – and prepared to go to the ends of the earth to do so. This is the story of JEAN.

Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand, 1979. During a fortnight with his world-weary father, Angus is drawn to the underground post-punk music scene. With the support of his friend Kirsten, Angus navigates self doubt, derision and a family tragedy to take the stage for the first time.

New Zealand chronicle of the life of noted writer and teacher, Sylvia Ashton-Warner. An interesting look at the unusual teaching methods she used while working with the children from the indigenous Maon.

Two girls from nuclear towns in Israel and Iran spill their countries most valuable secrets on Facebook while trying to prevent a nuclear crisis.

A hundred years after the theft from New Zealand of three irreplaceable tribal carvings, two members of a Māori tribe decide it's time for ancient grievances to be put right. Variously praised as a major step forward in indigenous cinema, attacked for overambition, and little screened, Te Rua marked Barry Barclay’s impassioned follow-up to his acclaimed debut feature Ngāti.

How the tragic death of one man triggered a David and Goliath battle between two Allies that echoed around the world and became the catalyst to end nuclear testing in the Pacific.

‘The Legend of Baron To’a’ tells the story of Fritz, a Tongan entrepreneur who returns to his old neighbourhood and inadvertently causes the theft of his late father’s valued pro wrestling title belt by some ruthless gangsters led by ‘man-mountain’ Tahu. When negotiation and diplomacy fail to get it back, he is forced to embrace his father’s legacy to reclaim the title.

A young nurse begins her shift at an old city hospital. After a strange apparition one of the oldest nurse tells her that a patient, Mr. Moore, entered the hospital a few years ago. His body was completely burned after a fire. Mr. Moore was operated urgently by the doctors. But no one wanted to assist him. The pain and drugs had driven him mad... One night one of the nurses went to his room but his bed was empty ... Nothing was heard from him anymore. A bell interrupts the story. The call comes from Mr. Moore´s room…

The shocking murder of 21-year-old British backpacker, Grace Millane, in New Zealand grabbed headlines around the world in 2018, as did the ensuing investigation and trial. This chilling true-crime documentary revisits the night of her tragic murder with previously unseen footage and expert analysis, exploring the alarming, regressive attitudes laid bare in the subsequent trial, and highlighting important, broader issues of violence against women in today’s society.

Four children on a remote sheep station in New Zealand hear of the escape of two convicts, and realise that the crooks are responsible for burgling their house.

A four-day journey turns into a fight for survival. This is a psychological thriller about Ian, who wants to get as far away from humanity as possible, into the New Zealand bush. Some other individuals get attached to him. And he has the feeling that they are being followed. Is that real though?

A bold reveal of a rose tattoo opens this 1980 documentary on tattooing in New Zealand. The potted history includes visits to tattoo parlours on K' Road and Hastings, and the studios of industry legends Steve Johnson and Roger Ingerton. Tattooists discuss public stigma, people's reasons for getting inked, and popular designs: sailors, serpents, swallows and tā moko. Made for documentary slot Contact, Skin Pics chronicles a time when "folk art has become high art".

On an isolated space station, when a man loses the will to live, his big hearted dog overcomes his own anxieties to save them both.

When 19 year old Heather Walsh accepts a job on a farm in the Mangatiti Valley, she has no idea paradise will become a nightmare. This true New Zealand story tells of Heather's horrific ordeal.

Two people meet as guinea pigs in a weekend drug trial. They soon discover their lives are in more danger than they imagined. The staff are peculiar. The drugs cause hallucinations. Or is the clinic really haunted? Struggling with their senses, they must team up to unravel a spooky mystery.

Toss lives on a sheep farm with her father in New Zealand. When Toss's father dies in an accident, Ethan, an itinerant hunter, wanders onto the family farm and is given a job by her grandfather. Toss's fairly innocent relationship with Ethan is severed when he forms a relationship with her mother.

The drama behind the scenes of the biggest Polynesian Dance festival in the world. Who has what it takes to stand in the front row, and who will win First Place?

In 1914 Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans Antarctic Expedition headed for the South Pole and disaster. Shackleton's Captain reveals the truth behind the spectacular survival of all the crew and shows how one man's extraordinary skill and unsung heroism made it possible: Frank Worsley, Captain of the expedition ship, Endurance.

When two friends are going to get sexual health checks, tensions flare over the ancient history of their one-off hook up. Anna’s work shows raw depictions of relatable feminine experiences.

Inner peace and self-fulfillment are possible for each of us. Two modern day monks set off on an international journey to film a diverse range of people making the choice for a better life through meditation. Stunning cinematography combined with the power of people sharing from a place of profound peace delivers a palpable and moving experience. Available to rent or buy in 11 languages - English, Spanish, Portugese, Norwegian, Mandarin, French, German, Finnish, Italian, Dutch, and Swedish. https://vimeo.com

In rural New Zealand, Harry and Eric are middle-aged men whose aged, tyrannical mother runs their lives. When she dies, serious questions come to the two men.

After prospector Albert Hunt (Ron Burt) registers a gold claim near Ōkārito, he finds himself accompanied by hundreds of fellow miners — who refuse to let Hunt out of their sights, as he returns to the site via water-logged forests and beaches. The darkly poetic tale of what men can do after they smell gold was partly shot on location on the West Coast. The opening features Sam Neill and Close to Home veteran Tony Curran, among Hunt's fireside colleagues.

A suburban woman's life changes on the day she discovers her husband is having an affair.

Adrian is a classic outsider. His playful, dreamy imagination distracts him from everyday life, for the reality he lives in could not be more different. Neither his chronically depressed uncle nor his overworked grandmother understand the ten-year-old’s games. His mother abandoned him when he was very young and he is bullied at school. Just as news arrives that three children are missing, a new family moves in next door. Adrian develops a close relationship to their tomboyish, ten-year-old daughter Nicole and believes he is getting close to solving the mys- tery of the missing children. New Zealand forms the backdrop for this universal story for adults and those who have never wanted to grow up. It is a story about friendship and loneliness, emotions which Adrian already feels so poignantly as a child. The Danish first-time director’s expressive visual language dramatically merges water and air, reality and a hint of fantasy.

Timothy and his family is expecting a French-Canadian male exchange student, that turns out to be an attractive girl, to which Timothy proceeds to make a fool of himself, trying to impress. When Michelle becomes ill from drinking spiked punch at a party, Timothy notices a tattoo while helping her to bed. He foolishly tells a friend about the tattoo, who proceeds to tell the whole school, which does not go down well with Michelle.

A struggling preacher is tricked into starting a church in a nightclub by its unscrupulous owner, who sees it as a way to repay his gambling debts to an underworld boss. Things go from bad to worse when the underworld boss sends his number one hit-man to clean up the situation

A documentary on the mechanics of visual humour.

After recovering from a near-fatal wound, a cop develops the ability to see crime scenes through psychic flashes.

Princess Adalina falls in love with a humble soldier, Livia. But when her father, the King, discovers their forbidden romance, the two young women are forced to fight for their lives, love, and freedom.

A little girl and her dog impersonate a crocodile at the edge of a muddy bog and then go on a chaotic rampage through the suburbs of Wellington.

While out on a bachelor's party, three mid-twenties college buddies come across a crime scene and three cases of premium grade heroin. Their stories are interwoven and told in flashback as they are interviewed by Narcotics Detective Mark Harrison and his officers. Each interrogation unknowingly pushes them deeper and deeper into a world they clearly know nothing about.

Gerry hires a car in Kaitaia with a stolen licence and travels to Invercargill with John, whose wife has just left him. The ultimate New Zealand road trip adventure.

Who says being an undead creature of the night is easy? With that in mind, three ancient friends—centuries-old vampires Vulvus, the romantic and temperamental Lord Byron wannabe; Viago, the flamboyant 19th-century dandy; and Deacon, the rebellious 107-year-old youngster—invite a documentary crew to shed light on a vampire’s daily life. Starting from the fateful day of their eternal transformation, these modern-day blood-suckers don’t shy away from answering deeply personal questions about their quirky flatmate situation—after all, this is an interview, not just an excuse for a quick bite.Will we ever truly find out what vampires do in the shadows?

Depression era drama set in Alberta finds a farmer's wife who swears that her inability to have a child is a punishment from God. In fact, it is slowly revealed that her inability to have a child stems from an illicit relationship that she had with a local priest and a subsequent operation forced on her in a cover-up by the church and her family which left her infertile

In a town called Hope on the edge of Britain's empire, desperations clash: the beautiful Dorothea Brook is desperate to free her pregnant sister Rose from the clutches of Fraser, a fortune hunter. A local politician, William Poyner, is desperate for cash and thinks marriage to Dorothea will save him. Dorothea hires Lawrence Hayes, a rough but handsome Argonaut, to bribe Fraser with jewels and to marry Rose; Hayes desperately loves Dorothea and may marry Rose to stay close to her. But Dorothea has a lover, the ravishing Anne Cooper, who encourages the match with Poyser to give the lovers cover. Are these remedies, each desperate in its turn, going to make anyone happy?

Examines the practical philosophy, the achievements and frustrations of one of New Zealand's most lively and innovative architects, Ian Athfield. The film provides a portrait of the architect and his work both in New Zealand and his project to design housing for 140,000 squatters from the Tondo area of Manila in the Philippines, for which Athfield won an international competition in 1975.

Clive de Roo scientist discovers a new source of seismic activity beneath the Gulf of Waitemata. Provides that a new volcanic eruption could occur within the next few days. But it's hard to convince skeptical colleagues, undertook efforts to minimize the effects of this disaster. When the talks on the radio about the threat, we all think he's a harmless lunatic. An ambitious wife of Clive fears, however, that the discovery of her husband may deter investors, which would win for the company, in which he works.

The girls and gorillas at a singing telegram company are overworked because it is Valentine's Day. A series of sub-plots - a sexist disc jockey loses his dog and the girls fine it; one of the girls fights for custody of her child; an aspiring opera singer gets her chance to audition; and evil developer demolishes the telegram company's offices, etc, which all adds up to a large dose of confusion.

Beautifully filmed by New Zealand nature photographer Richard Sidey over the past decade around the polar regions, Speechless: The Polar Realm is a visual meditation of light, life, loss and wonder at the ends of the globe. This is the second film in Sidey’s non-verbal trilogy which is comprised of: - Landscapes at the World’s Ends (2010) - Speechless: The Polar Realm (2015) - Elementa (2020)

A geo-political thriller where Gerry Anderson finds that sometimes, everybody really is out to get you. Gerry's daughter, Mattie, accidentally prints out a DNA code that in the wrong hands can end the human race. The chase is on - the Russians, whose DNA code it is that Mattie has in her backpack, and a group of terrorists compete to get the code from the person they all assume has it, Gerry. With all this going on, Gerry's estranged wife Margaret is worried for her daughter's safety and finds herself another target in the race to find the code.

A Maori warrior comes upon the aftermath of a battle to find that the only survivor is a wounded enemy soldier. His wishes to avenge his fallen countrymen by finishing off this helpless enemy but the gods won't allow it (as conveyed to him through a spirit bird). Anguished that he must instead treat the soldier's wounds, he's further repelled by the soldier's incessant homosexual advances. Slowly and surprisingly, a change comes over the warrior to accept the soldier's advances, but the war all too soon intrudes upon them.

Two best friends must navigate the tough streets of South Auckland to buy a bottle of milk.

A young boy is tormented by his mother's conviction that he is the new Messiah, and after leaving home, he tries to limit all human contact and adopt a completely boring, normal lifestyle. This resolution is tested when he meets an exceedingly attractive young woman at work just as he is named employee of the month: an occasion which allows his crazed mother to locate him.

Naïve teenager Cedric Williamson, conspires with two misfits to photograph and blackmail adulterous couples. When the scam goes wrong they end up with blood on their hands.

A contagious virus is turning everyone into zombies, and the only hope for survival lies in the hands of three couch potatoes.

Freedom is defined as the power of self-determination attributed to the will; the quality of being independent of fate or necessity. To reach that level of liberty is a physical and mental endeavor that many will risk their life to obtain. Is life worth risking for the feeling of conquering fear and becoming free? Olympic Freestyle skier, Jossi Wells, meets extreme sports performing artists, The Flying Frenchies, to find out what it really means to be free and what drives individuals to chase such a powerful right. Directed by Toa Fraser, this is the story of men who push themselves to the point of no return. There is no going back when death is at your door and you realize that this is the most important moment of your life because it could be your very last.