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"Pelorus is a personal story that I have grown up with. I’ve been friends with the Sigglekow family since the mid 1980’s, when Chris Sigglekow was at the height of his bungy jumping development. Now he is my father-in-law. To tell...

Even stray dogs remain elusive to Little Man, a nine-year-old boy who seeks to understand the remote world around him.  He finds refuge with Kid, his younger, autistic sister who provides Little Man with a brief glimpse of another world. When Kid is...

Ralph Hotere is hailed as one of New Zealand's greatest artists, having exhibited throughout Europe, the USA, Canada, Japan, Brazil, England and Australia.  In New Zealand he has executed a number of large public works, designed theatre sets,...

When Freddy loses his job delivering pizza, he and his best buddy Marvin find work with a small-time crook Spiggs. After they botch a straightforward job, Spiggs sends them on a fool’s errand - to kill gangster Donny Kong who's been sleeping...

DIRECTOR’S NOTES - Ainsley Gardiner & Catherine Fitzgerald “There are a few moments in childhood that have a lasting impact. Not because they change the course of your life, or because they arrive with any great fanfare, in fact...

Intricately handmade from paper and cardboard, this stop-motion animated tragicomedy follows Danny, a university Geography tutor, as he and his students stray from the syllabus in order to break new academic ground. After managing only to break some...

Will Bastion (Temuera Morrison) returns from 20 years service in the New Zealand Army to Raukura, his hometown, to face the biggest challenge of his life. His father has died, leaving a sacred greenstone patu, the symbol of leadership, to him. He doesn...

6 months’ pregnant Rose celebrates her son Jaden’s 6th birthday. Amongst the new presents is a strange clickity-clack wooden toy - Vaspy. While cleaning up the next day, Rose unknowingly gets “stung” by it, and starts to crave...

Amaia is a young girl living with her depressed mother in an inner-city apartment. With no family or friends close by, she desperately seeks out her absent father. Believing that a mysterious woman can reconnect them, Amaia goes to extreme lengths to win...

D I R E C T O R ’ S N O T E S “The stronger the wind, the stronger the trees” -J. Williard Marriott “When I began writing the little things I knew from the outset that I wanted it to be a story that whispered and didn’t...

Part of the British Film Institute’s Century of Cinema series in which some of the world’s most respected directors investigate their national cinema. Cinema of Unease examines the cultural and historic context from which the New Zealand...

Solo, a young Samoan interpreter for a Native Court in Colonial, New Zealand Samoa, does what he thinks is best for his people and at times lies as he translates. However, High Chief Nua who's charged with trespass, understands and speaks English....

Lynn discovers her 16-year-old son, Shaun, is having a secret relationship with a woman, Amanda, fifteen years his senior. Although Lynn subjects Shaun to a disciplinary lifestyle, he remains hell-bent on being with Amanda and intends to live with her...

Por likes to daydream. He dreams about all the cool things he and Sonny do, Swimming and climbing trees. When Sonny gets a hiding Por makes the decision to help his older brother with his chores as well.

In 2032, a pandemic has killed most of the world’s population. Zealandia is the last territory to remain virus free. Everything arriving from the outside world is submitted to intensive biosecurity checking, including humans. Refugees flock to...

Te Puhi prepares herself for the toughest day of her life. Her father, Tui prepares a boil up for his girl. The two share a traditional meal when the harsh reality of her father's dementia forces Te Puhi to face the painful truth that she must let go...

Some stags get all the birds. But not Lone Stag. He lacks a certain something on the antlers front: antlers.  And without them he has little chance of getting any birds to help him make music for the spring jam. So far Lone Stag has recruited one...

Frank is 11, and he's a stuntman. At least in his imagination. He's decided to pull off a death-defying leap, and he can probably do it. The trouble is, his little sister has been following him around all day, and she's determined to keep up...

DIRECTOR’S NOTES I intend this film to challenge audiences – the story is tense from the get go, the meeting of the characters is fraught with emotional strain, but Martin and Renee, while not always sympathetic, have charm. They are both...

Do No Harm explores the first corruption of a woman’s moral code. It is the short film prequel to a feature film project, Black Lotus. The strand pulled under pressure in Do No Harm leads to a more dangerous unravelling of humanity in the larger...

Everything in the universe is in a state of constant change; dynamic and infinite. Time, the seasons, nature itself; all are part of an eternal cycle. This is the basis of the ancient Chinese teachings of the Five Elements or “Wu Xing”; a...

Wayne is the near improbable true story of 1987 World Motorcycle Champion Wayne Gardner’s triumphant journey from riding a $5 dirt bike to the summit of his global sport. At its heart Wayne is also a love story, with girlfriend, Donna-Lee...

Toa Fraser's second English-set film (following 2008's quirky drama Dean Spanley) dramatises a real life siege at the Iranian Embassy in London, when gunmen held 26 people hostage in April 1980. Fraser and Dead Lands writer Glenn...

It’s hard enough being a teenager, working in the family falafel truck with her mother, who’s in the ninth year of grieving the loss of her husband, but fifteen-year-old Nofar Azrian sells falafel to soldiers perpetually ready for war,...

A Canadian/New Zealand co-production, Turbo Kid is the world’s first post-apocalyptic coming-of-age splatter actioner with a dash of romance. A bloody but sweet-natured love letter to 80s nostalgia and the tale of an orphaned outcast...

The story centres on 17 year old Jay who has travelled from Scotland to Colorado to be reunited with the woman with whom he is infatuated. He is quickly confronted by the dangers of the frontier and so teams up with a mysterious traveller named Silas (...

The Vintner’s Luck is a story of love, wine and angels; recounting the life of Sobran Jodeau, a peasant winemaker and his life-long ambition to produce a great wine - a wine that has never before been tasted. Set in Burgundy in the years spanning...

Released in Kiwi cinemas in August 2009 - after winning praise at festivals in Berlin and Rotterdam - The Strength of Water marks the big-screen debut of Māori playwright Briar Grace-Smith, and Pākehā director Armagan Ballantyne. The film centres on a 10...

The Ferryman, a classic horror film set in the South Pacific, commenced principal photography on March 31 and wrapped on May 13, 2006. Filming took place on Auckland's Waitemata Harbour, Waiheke Island, Birkenhead Point and Kelly Park in Wainui north...

Perfect Creature is a highly original retelling of the vampire myth, set in an alternate version of the 1960’s. Science fiction and horror coalesce in a suspenseful, elegant, action film about race, serial killings and the capacity of human beings...

A co-production between New Zealand, Canada and the UK, Nemesis Game began as an idea by director Jesse Warn to write a screenplay around the idea that riddles are a metaphor for life. Warn and his producing partner Matthew Metcalfe teamed up with...