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".
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
Taking the Waewae Express (2008)
6.6/10
Director: Andrea Bossshard, Shane Loader
Starring: Rangimoana Taylor, Matariki Whatarau, Evan Hussey, Isaac Heron, Jacob Renwick-Fa...
A group of young men in love with fast cars and the odd puff of forbidden substances (Waewae Express is the Maori equivalent of Shank's Pony!) is shat... Read more
Tangiwai (2011)
7.1/10
Director: Charlie Haskell
Starring: Rose McIver, Ryan O'Kane, Miranda Harcourt, Mick Rose, Taungaroa Emile, Dean O'G...
A dramatic story about a cricketer and his fiancée. Read more
Te Rua (1991)
8/10
Director: Barry Barclay
Starring: Donna Akersten, Stuart Devenie, Vanessa Rare, Wi Kuki Kaa, Gunter Meisner, Nissi...
A hundred years after the theft from New Zealand of three irreplaceable tribal carvings, two members of the Maori tribe decide it's time for ancient g... Read more
Terror Peak (2003)
4.6/10
Director: Dale G Bradley
Starring: Lynda Carter, Parker Stevenson, Emily Barclay, Antony Starr
Ever wanted to see TV's Wonder Woman battle a New Zealand volcano? Well, this film is as close as you'll get! The legendary Lynda Carter stars as an A... Read more