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".
Forgotten Silver (1996)
7.6/10
Director: Costa Botes, Peter Jackson
Starring: Peter Jackson, Sam Neill, Costa Botes, Leonard Maltin, Harvey Weinstein, Colin M...
When local Wellington filmmaker Peter Jackson discovers a cache of ancient nitrate in a neighbour's shed, he uncovers the work of Colin McKenzie, earl... Read more
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
8.7/10
Director: Peter Jackson
Starring: Sean Astin, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Miran...
With the Fellowship of the Ring splintered, the war for Middle Earth continues in the second Tolkien tale from Peter Jackson. As warriors Aragorn (Vig... Read more
White Lies (2013)
6.7/10
Director: Dana Rotberg
Starring: Antonia Prebble, Rachel House, Whirimako Black
"White Lies" is about the nature of identity: those who deny it and those who strive to protect it. Paraiti (Whirimako Black) is a medicine woman. She... Read more
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
7.9/10
Director: Peter Jackson
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Elijah Wood, Hugo Weaving, Ian Holm, Ian McKell...
The first in a trilogy of films based on the enduring masterpiece The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey follows title charac... Read more
Fantail (2013)
7.2/10
Director: Curtis Vowell
Starring: Stephen Lovatt, Tammy Davis, Jarod Rawiri, Sophie Henderson, Vinnie Bennett
Tania thinks she is Maori. She works the graveyard shift at a petrol station to save money to take her brother Pi to Surfers Paradise. When Pi goes aw... Read more
When a City Falls (2012)
8.7/10
Director: Gerald Smyth
The Canterbury earthquakes, shot in the streets of Christchurch. What happens to half a million New Zealanders the year their lives change forever. 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
Scarfies (1999)
6.5/10
Director: Robert Sarkies
Starring: Willa O'Neill, Neill Rea, Ashleigh Seagar
When five Otago University students (Scarfies) start squatting in an old abandoned house they discover a locked room with a large quantity of "weed".... Read more
Tickled (2016)
7.6/10
Director: David Farrier, Dylan Reeve
Starring: David Farrier
After stumbling upon a bizarre "competitive endurance tickling" video online, wherein young men are paid to be tied up and tickled, reporter David Far... Read more
River Queen (2005)
6/10
Director: Vincent Ward
Starring: Kiefer Sutherland, Samantha Morton, Stephen Rea, Temuera Morrison, Cliff Curtis,...
Set during the New Zealand land wars of the 1850s, Vincent Ward's embattled film focuses on Sarah (Samantha Morton), the daughter of an Irish settler,... Read more