New Zealand Film
Welcome to the New Zealand Film archive. Most New Zealand films have been made by small independent film-makers, often on a low budget and sometimes with sponsorship from the private sector or the NZ Film Commission. Only recently have international film companies used the New Zealand film industry as a source of feature films. However, the independent tradition of filmmaking in New Zealand dates back to the end of the 19th century, when film was first shot in New Zealand. The first feature film made in Godzone was "Hinemoa". It premiered on August 1, 1914 at the Lyric Theatre, Auckland.
The documentary film Cinema of Unease, by Sam Neill, presents an accessible history of film in New Zealand.
Most films are able to be accessed below, however some Films have been seperated into sub-categories, ie "New Zealand Documentaries", "Short Films" and "Peter Jackson Directs". The mother-lode can be prospected below.
Right: An artists rendition of Geoff Murphy's "Goodbye Pork Pie".
Sons for the Return Home (1978)
4.7/10
Director: Paul Maunder
Starring: Fiona Lindsay, Uelese Petaia, Moira Walker
From the book by Albert Wendt comes this moving portrayal of love across the racial divide. Sione (Uelese Petaia) from a traditional Samoan family and... Read more
South (Marcus Lush) (2009)
8.7/10
Starring: Marcus Lush
Another offering from broadcaster Marcus Lush sees him on a heartfelt journey into the rugged and beautiful south of New Zealand. While work introduce... Read more
Spooked (2004)
5.1/10
Director: Geoff Murphy
Starring: Cliff Curtis, Christopher Hobbs, John Leigh, Miriama Smith
Investigative journalist Mort Whitman (Cliff Curtis) is onto the story of his lifetime, the most important story in the nation. A big pay-off from a m... Read more
Spookers (2017)
6.1/10
Director: Florian Habicht
Starring: Huia Apiata, Barbara Armstrong
As night falls at Spookers, dozens of seemingly ordinary people become freaks, zombies and chainsaw-wielding clowns. Every weekend come rain, hail or... Read more
Staines Down the Drains: The Best of (2007)
Beneath us all lies the weird and wonderful world of Drainland, inhabited by odd and sometimes dangerous critters, but few people know it exists. Sta... Read more
Starlight Hotel (1989)
7/10
Director: Sam Pillsbury
Starring: Greer Robson, Marshall Napier, Peter Phelps
A superbly cinematographed and set in rural Otago during the 1930's. It centers on a young and determined Kate (Robson) who runs away from her aunt an... Read more
Stickmen (2000)
6.8/10
Director: Hamish Rothwell
Starring: Robbie Magasiva, Scott Wills, Simone Kessell, Anne Nordhaus, Paolo Rotondo
Tells the tale of three mates who like nothing more than to have a beer and play pub pool. Desperate to get out of debt, the publican enters them into... Read more
Stray (2018)
7.2/10
Director: Dustin Feneley
Starring: Arta Dobroshi, Luciane Buchanan, Kieran Charnock
In a cold and remote landscape, two strangers struggle to repair their broken pasts. A young man is on parole after serving time for attempting to mur... Read more
Stringer (2007)
4.5/10
Director: Steve Morrison
Starring: Matthew Sunderland, Paul Glover, Josephine Davison, Danielle Cormack
Jake Stringer (Matthew Sunderland) is a journalist researching cases of organ trafficking when he is attacked. He wakes to find he has a huge scar on... Read more
Sylvia (1985)
6.6/10
Director: Michael Firth
Starring: Eleanor David, Mary Regan, Nigel Terry, Tom Wilkinson
Absorbing story of author-educator Sylvia Ashton-Warner, who brought new educational techniques to the teaching of the Maori students in 1940's New Ze... Read more