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".
Daffodils (2019)
7.5/10
Director: David Stubbs
Starring: Rose McIver, George Mason
A bittersweet love story told through enchanting re-imaginings of popular and iconic New Zealand songs. Read more
Dangerous Orphans (1987)
4.4/10
Director: John Laing
Starring: Peter Stevens, Michael Hurst, Jennifer Ward Lealand
Three orphans plot to avenge the death of their father, but first they must penetrate the ranks of hitmen and minders that surround their targets. Sta... Read more
Dean Spanley (2008)
7.2/10
Director: Toa Fraser
Starring: Jeremy Northam, Sam Neill, Bryan Brown, Peter O'Toole, Art Malik, Judy Parfitt,...
A whimsical and hypnotic tale, set in Edwardian England, and starring Peter O'Toole as the cantankerous father of an exasperated Jeremy Northam. Their... Read more
Death on the Amazon (2003)
Director: Simon Atkins
Starring: Sir Peter Blake
Featuring two short documentaries, the first, 'Sir Peter Blake: The Man' outlines a staggering career in sailing and a personal portrait of a New Zeal... Read more
Death Warmed Up (1983)
Director: David Blyth
Starring: Bruno Lawrence, David Letch, Margaret Umbers, Michael Hurst
Michael Tucker is programmed into killing his parents by genetic surgeon Dr Archer Howell and is incarcerated in a psychiatric institution for the cri... Read more
Deathgasm (2015)
6.3/10
Director: Jason Lei Howden
Starring: Milo Cawthorne, James Blake, Kimberley Crossman
Brodie is the new kid in town. With a crack-addicted mum and an obsession with all things metal, he doesn't fit in to his white-bread neighbourhood or... Read more
Desperate Remedies (1993)
6.9/10
Director: Peter Wells, Stewart Main
Starring: Jennifer Ward Lealand, Kevin Smith, Lisa Chappell
An excessive, hilarious romp through glorious sets and heated passions as Dorothea thinks she has found a man who will free her from the clutches of a... Read more
Diagnosis: Death (2009)
4.9/10
Director: Jason Stutter
Starring: Raybon Kan, Jessica Grace Smith, Suze Tye, Bret McKenzie, Rhys Darby, Jemaine Cl...
Raybon Kan is an unethical high school teacher who has fallen for one of his students in this horror spoof. As fate would have it, both of them are di... Read more
Down By The Riverside (2007)
5.4/10
Director: Brad Davison, Marama Killen
Set in the Waikato, two historians begin investigating a series of unsolved murders perpetrated some 20 years earlier in a home for unwed pregnant gir... Read more
Eagle vs Shark (2007)
6.8/10
Director: Taika Waititi
Starring: Jemaine Clement, Loren Horsley, Joel Tobeck, Craig Hall, Rachel House, David Fan...
A quirky kiwi rom-com with Jemaine Clement of "Flight of the Conchords" fame as uber-geek Jarrod, an unlikely romantic foil to shy 'Meaty Boy' cashier... Read more