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".
Slow West (Blu-ray) (2015)
6.9/10
Director: John Maclean
Starring: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Michael Fassbender, Ben Mendelsohn, Madeleine Sami, Brooke Wil...
Set at the end of the 19th Century, 'Slow West' is an American western filtered through the eyes of European filmmaking. The story centres on 16-year-... Read more
Far North (2023)
6.1/10
Starring: Robyn Malcolm, Temuera Morrison
The series is based on events in New Zealand from 2016, in which the largest ever drug bust in New Zealand, worth up to $150 million if sold in 1kg lo... Read more
The Tribe: Series 1, Episodes 5-8 (1999)
7.1/10
Starring: Beth Allen, Caleb Ross, Meryl Cassie, Victoria Spence, Antonia Prebble, Michael...
The future is theirs to create... In this post-apocalyptic fantasy series a deadly virus has wiped out the adult population, leaving the children of t... Read more
The Devil's Rock & Fresh Meat (2011)
7.9/10
Director: Danny Mulheron
Starring: Temuera Morrison, Kate Elliott, Nicola Kawana, Hanna Tevita, Craig Hall, Matthew...
The Devil's Rock: Set in the Channel Islands on the eve of D Day,two Kiwi commandos, sent to destroy German gun emplacements to distract Hitler's forc... Read more
Two Little Boys (Blu-ray) (2012)
7.6/10
Director: Robert Sarkies
Starring: Bret McKenzie, Hamish Blake, Maaka Pohatu, Filip Berg
"Two Little Boys" is a cheeky comedy which follows Nige (Bret McKenzie) and his best mate Deano's (Hamish Blake) riotous misadventures as they struggl... Read more
Pork Pie (Blu-ray) (2017)
6.4/10
Director: Matt Murphy
Starring: Dean O'Gorman, James Rolleston, Ashleigh Cummings
'Pork Pie' tracks the escapades of a trio of accidental outlaws as they travel the length of New Zealand in a yellow MINI Cooper S, protesting conform... Read more
Deathgasm (Blu-ray) (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
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey ( Blu-ray ) (3D) (2012)
7.8/10
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
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug ( Blu-ray ) (3D) (2013)
7.8/10
Director: Peter Jackson
Starring: Ian McKellen, James Nesbitt, Ken Stott, Orlando Bloom, Martin Freeman, Benedict...
Having survived the beginning of their unexpected journey, the Company travels East, encountering along the way the skin-changer Beorn and a swarm of... Read more
Tangiwai (2011)
7.1/10
Director: Charlie Haskell
Starring: Rose McIver, Ryan O'Kane, Miranda Harcourt, Mick Rose, Taungaroa Emile, Dean O'G...
A dramatic story about a cricketer and his fiancée. Read more