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 Strength of Water (2009)
6.6/10
Director: Armagan Ballantyne
Starring: Nancy Brunning, Jim Moriarty, Isaac Barber, Hato Paparoa, Melanie Mayall-Nahi
Living on a ramshackle chicken farm with their parents and various siblings, 10-year-old twins Kimi (Hato Paparoa) and Melody (Melanie Mayall-Nahi) ar... Read more
The Tattooist (2007)
5.1/10
Director: Peter Burger
Starring: Michael Hurst, Robbie Magasiva, Jason Behr, David Fane, Mia Blake, Nathaniel Lee...
Jake Sawyer (Jason Behr) is a tattoo artist who has been wandering the world in search of ethnic themes to exploit in his designs. After capturing hi... Read more
The Topp Twins and the APO (2011)
Starring: Jools Topp, Lynda Topp
Country meets the Classics in this very special concert, filmed live for television at the Auckland Town Hall. The Topp Twins make their orchestral de... Read more
The Topp Twins: Volume 2 (2005)
7.4/10
Starring: Jools Topp, Lynda Topp
Features six episodes of the Topp Twins (Jools and Lynda Topp) award-winning comedy TV series - Speedway, Pasifika, Netball, Otago, Food and Wine and... Read more
The Tribe: Series 1, Episodes 1-4 (1999)
7.1/10
Starring: Beth Allen, Caleb Ross, Meryl Cassie, Victoria Spence, Antonia Prebble, Michael...
In this kiwi-made, post-apocalyptic fantasy series a deadly virus has wiped out the adult population, leaving the children of the world to survive on... Read more
The Tribe: Series 1, Episodes 5-8 (1999)
7.1/10
Starring: Beth Allen, Caleb Ross, Meryl Cassie, Victoria Spence, Antonia Prebble, Michael...
The future is theirs to create... In this post-apocalyptic fantasy series a deadly virus has wiped out the adult population, leaving the children of t... Read more
The Truth About Demons (2000)
Director: Glenn Standring
Starring: Karl Urban, Katie Wolfe, Johnathon Hendry, Sally Stockwell
A.k.a. "The Truth About Demons". Harry Ballard, an anthropology lecturer specialising in debunking the occult, receives a threatening videotape from a... Read more
The Vintner's Luck (2009)
Director: Niki Caro
Starring: Vera Farmiga, Jeremie Renier, Gaspard Ulliel, Patrice Valota, Keisha Castle-Hugh...
The compelling tale of Sobran Jodeau (Jeremie Renier), an ambitious young peasant winemaker and the three loves of his life in 1808, France. His beaut... Read more
The Waimate Conspiracy (2006)
2.7/10
Director: Stefen Lewis
Starring: David McPhail, Mark Hadlow, Jim Moriarty, Helen Pearse-Otene, Janice Gray
Based on the director's comedic 1999 novel, 'The Waikikimukau Conspiracy', this grass-roots mockumentary focuses on a group of South Island Maori who... Read more
The Waiting Place (2001)
5.5/10
Director: Cristobal Araus Lobos
Starring: Dave Perrett, Dane Giraud, Vadim Ledogorov, Michelle Langstone
The unsetting story of two escaped convicts who hold up in a desolate psychiatric hospital while they await their ride to freedom. With nothing left t... Read more