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 Adventures of Massey Ferguson: Volume 1 (2005)
On a farm near the small New Zealand town of Kumara Cove lives a lively little red tractor called Massey Ferguson. Every day, Massey and his mates exp... Read more
The Amazing Extraordinary Friends: Series 1 (2007)
Starring: Carl Dixon, Patrick Morrison, David McPhail, Hannah Marshall, Stuart Devenie, Ty...
When ordinary kiwi teen, Ben Wilson, finds a mysterious metal insignia on a school outing, he is miraculously transformed into Captain Extraordinary (... Read more
The Bad Seed (2019)
7.5/10
Starring: Matt Minto, Dean O'Gorman, Jodie Hillock, Xavier Horan, Chelsie Preston Crayford...
The Bad Seed tells the story of two brothers from a dysfunctional family who have raised themselves up from the desperate days of their early childhoo... Read more
The Best of Country Calendar 2006 (2007)
From the wilds of the East Coast, the remoteness of the Uruweras, the solitude of a fishing trawler, to the sophistication of a Hawkes Bay property, N... Read more
The Breaker Upperers (2018)
6.7/10
Director: Madeleine Sami, Jackie van Beek
Starring: Jemaine Clement, Oscar Kightley, Madeleine Sami, Jaquie Brown, James Rolleston,...
Two women cynical in love, set up an agency to break couples up as a way to avoid letting go and moving on with their lives. Read more
The Breaker Upperers (Blu-ray) (2018)
6.7/10
Director: Madeleine Sami, Jackie van Beek
Starring: Jemaine Clement, Oscar Kightley, Madeleine Sami, Jaquie Brown, James Rolleston,...
Two women cynical in love, set up an agency to break couples up as a way to avoid letting go and moving on with their lives. Read more
The Brokenwood Mysteries: Series 1 (2014)
7.7/10
Starring: Neill Rea, Fern Sutherland
"The Brokenwood Mysteries" comprises four murder mystery stories set in a seemingly quiet country town where the town's newest resident, Detective Ins... Read more
The Brokenwood Mysteries: Series 2 (2015)
7.7/10
Starring: Neill Rea, Fern Sutherland
Brokenwood: Population 5000 and declining - slowly - one by one or, two by two depending on the murder rate that week. In Brokenwood, an early mornin... Read more
The Catch (2016)
7.2/10
Director: Simon Mark-Brown
Starring: Ruth Wynne, Laura Hill, David Capstick, Nicol Munro, Tainui Tukiwaho
A Scotsman, a Maori and an Englishman enter a fishing contest... How far will they go to win? Two mates Kiwi Scotsman Brian and Maori man Wiremu... Read more
The Changeover (2017)
5.4/10
Director: Stuart McKenzie, Miranda Harcourt
Starring: Melanie Lynskey, Timothy Spall, Lucy Lawless, Nicholas Galitzine
Based on the Carnegie Medal winning novel by Margeret Mahy. Sixteen year-old Laura Chant lives with her mother and four-year-old brother Jacko in a po... Read more