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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 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

The Weight of Elephants (2013)

6.5/10
Director: Daniel Joseph Borgman
Starring: Catherine Wilkin, Matthew Sunderland, Demos Murphy, Angelina Cottrell, Finn Hold...

Sensitive 11-year-old Adrian (Demos Murphy) is struggling with his fears and anxieties since the disappearance of three kids in his small town. Then o... Read more

The World's Fastest Indian (2005)

7.8/10
Director: Roger Donaldson
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Diane Ladd, Paul Rodriguez, Annie Whittle, Aaron Murphy, Walton...

In 1967, at the age of 68, Invercargill-born Burt Munro broke the land speed record on the salt flats of Utah, fulfilling a life-long dream and settin... Read more

The World's Fastest Indian ( Blu-ray ) (2005)

7.8/10
Director: Roger Donaldson
Starring: Annie Whittle, Anthony Hopkins, Bruce Greenwood, Diane Ladd, Walton Goggins, Pau...

In 1967, at the age of 68, Invercargill-born Burt Munro broke the land speed record on the salt flats of Utah, fulfilling a life-long dream and settin... Read more

This Giant Papier-Mâché Boulder Is Actually Really Heavy (2016)

7.6/10
Director: Christian Nicolson
Starring: Christian Nicolson, Sez Niederer, Lewis Roscoe, Daniel Pujol, Joseph Wycoff

Three ordinary guys are thrust into a parallel world of an old Sci-Fi movie. Trapped in a low budget universe they must somehow fight their way home b... Read more

This Is New Zealand (1970)

Director: Hugh Macdonald

Directed by Hugh Macdonald, "This Is New Zealand" was made to promote the country at Expo '70 in Osaka, Japan. An ambitious concept saw iconic NZ imag... Read more

This is Not a Love Story (2002)

5.9/10
Director: Keith Hill
Starring: Sarah Smuts-Kennedy, Stephen Lovatt, Peta Rutter, Beryl Te Wiata, Peter Elliott

A love triangle in which a romantic young woman decides she needs more life experiences - and the troubled couple across the street are just the peopl... Read more