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 Orator ( aka O Le Tulafale ) (2011)
7/10
Director: Tusi Tamasese
Set deep on the lush Samoan island of Upolu, this stunning feature by director Tusi Tamasese tells of a love woven by fate, parted by an unforgiving p... Read more
Eternity (2012)
7.4/10
Director: Alex Galvin
Starring: Elliot Travers, Amy Tsang, Liz Kirkman, Dean Knowsley
New Zealand/Hong Kong sci-fi mystery feature, written and directed by New Zealand filmmaker Alex Galvin. Set in the near future. Police detective, Ric... Read more
The Quiet Earth (1985)
6.8/10
Director: Geoff Murphy
Starring: Bruno Lawrence, Alison Routledge, Peter Smith
A brilliant kiwi sci-fi thriller with Bruno Lawrence believing he is the last person on earth - until he stumbles on two more survivors, one a young w... Read more
Ngati (1987)
7.5/10
Director: Barry Barclay
Starring: Wi Kuki Kaa, Judy McIntosh, Ross Girven
A young Australian man arrives in a small New Zealand seaside town which is the spiritual home of the local Ngati Tribe. He's to meet family friends w... Read more
Mahana (2016)
Director: Lee Tamahori
Starring: Nancy Brunning, Temuera Morrison, Jim Moriarty, Akuhata Keefe
In the 1960s on the east coast of New Zealand, two Maori sheep-shearing families the Mahanas and the Poatas are longstanding enemies and commercia... Read more
Christmas (2003)
7.2/10
Director: Gregory King
Starring: David Hornblow, Darien Takle, Helen Pearse-Otene, Tony Waerea
Broke, jobless and chronically depressed, eldest son Keri returns to the family home for Christmas, where he must face the emotional train-wreck that... Read more
The Dead Lands (2014)
6.3/10
Director: Toa Fraser
Starring: James Rolleston, Lawrence Makoare, Te Kohe Tuhaka, Xavier Horan, George Henare,...
Hongi (James Rolleston) - a Maori chieftain's teenage son - must avenge his father's murder in order to bring peace and honour to the souls of his lov... Read more
Fracture (2004)
6.9/10
Director: Larry Parr
Starring: Kate Elliott, Jared Turner, John Noble, Miranda Harcourt, Liddy Holloway, Jennif...
From the novel "Crime Story" by Maurice Gee comes a revealing, emotional drama which illustrates the traits that push us apart and pull us together as... Read more
Beyond Reasonable Doubt (1980)
6.5/10
Director: John Laing
Starring: David Hemmings, John Hargreaves, Grant Tilly
David Hemmings stars in this compelling story of a true-life double murder mystery that shattered the quiet of a small farming town. John Hargreaves... Read more
Cinema of Unease: A Personal Journey by Sam Neill (1995)
7.1/10
Director: Judy Rymer, Sam Neill
Starring: Sam Neill
Sam Neill looks at our national cinema using dozens of film clips to explore the dark undercurrent beneath the seemingly uneventful surface of New Zea... Read more