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".
The Devil Dared Me To (2007)
5.6/10
Director: Chris Stapp
Starring: Chris Stapp, Matt Heath, Phil Brough, Dominic Bowden
The boys from 'Back of the Y Masterpiece Television' hit the big screen with this joyously low-brow, expletive-loaded stunt-fest, with the story of ho... Read more
The Devil's Rock & Fresh Meat (2011)
7.9/10
Director: Danny Mulheron
Starring: Temuera Morrison, Kate Elliott, Nicola Kawana, Hanna Tevita, Craig Hall, Matthew...
The Devil's Rock: Set in the Channel Islands on the eve of D Day,two Kiwi commandos, sent to destroy German gun emplacements to distract Hitler's forc... Read more
The Ferryman (2007)
4.7/10
Director: Chris Graham
Starring: John Rhys-Davies, Kerry Fox, Tamer Hassan, Amber Sainsbury, Craig Hall
Produced by the New Zealand Film Commission, this is the second feature by Chris Graham after 'Sione's Wedding' and a hugely successful career in musi... Read more
The Fred Dagg All-Purpose DVD (2007)
Starring: John Clarke
This authorised 'Daggography' (the most important document ever discovered in New Zealand), celebrates a golden age in our nation's history beginning... Read more
The Free Man (2017)
6.3/10
Director: Toa Fraser
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 lev... Read more
The Frighteners (1996)
7.1/10
Director: Peter Jackson
Starring: Michael J Fox, Trini Alvarado, Peter Dobson
Peter Jackson's wild horror-comedy principally filmed in Lyttelton, and starring Michael J. Fox as a psychic con-artist who uses a trio of ghosts he's... Read more
The Frighteners (Blu-ray) (1996)
7.1/10
Director: Peter Jackson
Starring: Michael J Fox, Peter Dobson, Trini Alvarado
Peter Jackson's wild horror-comedy principally filmed in Lyttelton, and starring Michael J. Fox as a psychic con-artist who uses a trio of ghosts he's... Read more
The Golden Hour (2012)
8.1/10
Director: Justin Pemberton
"The Golden Hour" is a documentary-drama which recounts the inspirational and true story of New Zealand's greatest-ever day at the Olympics, when thre... Read more
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
7.9/10
Director: Peter Jackson
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Elijah Wood, Hugo Weaving, Ian Holm, Ian McKell...
The first in a trilogy of films based on the enduring masterpiece The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey follows title charac... Read more
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey ( Blu-ray ) (2012)
7.9/10
Director: Peter Jackson
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Elijah Wood, Hugo Weaving, Ian Holm, Ian McKell...
The first in a trilogy of films based on the enduring masterpiece The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey follows title charac... Read more