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 Tattooist (2007)
5.1/10
Director: Peter Burger
Starring: Michael Hurst, Robbie Magasiva, Jason Behr, David Fane, Mia Blake, Nathaniel Lee...
Jake Sawyer (Jason Behr) is a tattoo artist who has been wandering the world in search of ethnic themes to exploit in his designs. After capturing hi... Read more
Carry Me Back (1982)
6.1/10
Director: John Reid
Starring: Kelly Johnson, Dorothy McKegg, Grant Tilly, Derek Hardwick, Joanne Mildenhall, J...
An instant sucess when released in 1983. Like 'Goodbye Pork Pie' its bizarre but familiar and distinctly kiwi brand of comedy quickly struck a cord wi... Read more
Seven Periods with Mr Gormsby: Series 1 (2004)
8.9/10
Director: Danny Mulheron
Starring: Geraldine Brophy, Jason Hoyte, David McPhail, Tandi Wright
David McPhail plays the eponymous old crock of a secondary teacher who takes a relieving job at the highly dysfunctional Te Papawai Boys High. The inc... Read more
Shopping (2013)
6.7/10
Director: Mark Albiston, Louis Sutherland
Starring: Alistair Browning, Matthias Luafutu, Kevin Paulo, Julian Dennison, Jacek Koman,...
New Zealand, 1981: muscle cars, racial tensions and a thieving bird all inform the small town life of brothers Willie and Solomon. After a chance enco... Read more
Broken Hallelujah (2014)
7.6/10
Director: Alastair Riddell
Starring: Ben Mitchell, Vanessa Riddell, Greg Smith
This is not a love story but a story about love. Kirsty Preston leads a comfortable life. All of this changes when she discovers how her husband, Gary... Read more
The Rehearsal (2016)
5.8/10
Director: Alison Maclean
Starring: Kerry Fox, James Rolleston, Alice Englert
Unpacking the dramas that energise a class of budding young actors, The Rehearsal mounts an enticing inquisition of performance, identity and moral an... Read more
Shaker Run (1985)
5.5/10
Director: Bruce Morrison
Starring: Cliff Robertson, Leif Garrett, Lisa Harrow
A seasoned stunt-car driver and his mechanic are finding things at low ebb in Dunedin. In return for needed cash they agree to provide transport to Cl... 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
Xena Warrior Princess: Season 1 - Part 1 (1995)
6.7/10
Starring: Lucy Lawless, Renee O'Connor, Kevin Smith, Hudson Leick, Ted Raimi
In a time of ancient gods, ruthless warlords and capricious kings, a land in turmoil cried out for a hero. She was Xena, a mighty Warrior Princess for... Read more
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies ( Blu-ray ) (2014)
7.4/10
Director: Peter Jackson
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Ian Holm, Ian McKellen, James Nes...
"The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" brings to an epic conclusion the adventures of Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield and the Company of Dwarve... Read more