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".
Pork Pie (Blu-ray) (2017)
6.4/10
Director: Matt Murphy
Starring: Dean O'Gorman, James Rolleston, Ashleigh Cummings
'Pork Pie' tracks the escapades of a trio of accidental outlaws as they travel the length of New Zealand in a yellow MINI Cooper S, protesting conform... Read more
Predicament (2010)
5.4/10
Director: Jason Stutter
Starring: Heath Franklin, Jemaine Clement, Hayden Frost, Tim Finn
Naive teenager Cedric Williamson, conspires with two misfits to photograph and blackmail adulterous couples. When the scam goes wrong they end up with... Read more
Queen City Rocker (1986)
6.3/10
Director: Bruce Morrison
Starring: Matthew Hunter, Mark Pilisi, Peter Bland
In the turbulence of Auckland, Ska (Hunter) is a streetwise 19 year old, whose father is a drunkard and whose older sister works at a high-class massa... Read more
Quiet Night In (2006)
5.3/10
Director: Christopher Banks
Starring: Nicolette Kenny, Richard Lambeth, Lucy Gay, Brian McKay, Kittichon Helviphat
B-movie madness ensues when would-be novelist Jess Bartlett stages a 'quiet night in' to finish her new book, fuelled by endless glasses of red wine a... Read more
Race for the Yankee Zephyr (1981)
Director: David Hemmings
Starring: Ken Wahl, Lesley Ann Warren, Donald Pleasence, George Peppard, Bruno Lawrence, G...
A.k.a. "Treasure of the Yankee Zephyr". A big chase adventure using Queenstown as a Hollywood backlot. Action packed with some spectacular photography... Read more
Rain (2001)
7/10
Director: Christine Jeffs
Starring: Alicia Fulford-Wierzbicki, Sarah Peirse, Marton Csokas, Alistair Browning
This impressive feature debut by director Christine Jeffs, adapted from Kirsty Gunn's novella, is set in an idyllic beachside community in the summer... Read more
Rest for the Wicked (2011)
6.7/10
Director: Simon Pattison
Starring: Ian Mune, John Bach, Ken Blackburn, Tony Barry, Bruce Allpress, Irene Wood, Eliz...
In "Rest for the Wicked", Tony Barry is Murray, an ex-cop compelled to come out of retirement for one last case when he finds out his old nemesis, Fra... Read more
River Queen (2005)
6/10
Director: Vincent Ward
Starring: Kiefer Sutherland, Samantha Morton, Stephen Rea, Temuera Morrison, Cliff Curtis,...
Set during the New Zealand land wars of the 1850s, Vincent Ward's embattled film focuses on Sarah (Samantha Morton), the daughter of an Irish settler,... Read more
Rivers - with Craig Potton (2010)
Starring: Craig Potton
Internationally renowned photographer, conservationist and publisher Craig Potton has spent 40 years photographing New Zealand's wild landscapes. In t... Read more
Romeo and Juliet: A Love Song (2013)
5.6/10
Director: Tim van Dammen
Starring: Anton Tennet, Christopher Landon, Derya Parlak, Dan Veint, Sarah Houbolt, Todd E...
Sometimes, even when you know you shouldn't, you just fall in love. Set against the backdrop of high summer in Verona Campground, two hot kids from fe... Read more