Hongi, a Maori chieftain’s teenage son, must avenge his father’s murder in order to bring peace and honour to the souls of his loved ones after his tribe is slaughtered through an act of treachery. Vastly outnumbered by a band of villains led by Wirepa, Hongi’s only hope is to pass through the feared and forbidden “Dead Lands” and forge an uneasy alliance with a mysterious warrior, a ruthless fighter who has ruled the area for years.
Inspired by actual events, MURU is the story of a local Police Sergeant ‘Taffy’ Tāwharau, who must choose between duty to his badge or his people, when the Government invoke antiterrorism powers to launch an armed raid on Taffy’s remote Urewera community, on a school day. This gripping action drama is not a re-creation, but a response to the 2007 Tūhoe raids. MURU is a Māori concept for 'forgiveness’.
In a sweeping tale that spans 1000 years and multiple generations – from the distant past to the 19th century, the present day and a strange, dystopian future – this landmark collection traces the collective histories of Indigenous peoples across Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. Diverse in perspective, content and form, traversing the terrain of grief, love and dispossession, they each bear witness to these cultures’ ongoing struggles against patriarchy, colonialism and racism.
Two young teenagers are forced to take control of their own destiny amid the chaos of a pivotal battle in New Zealand’s first land wars in 1864.
Six Māori Battalion soldiers camped in Italian ruins wait for night to fall. In the silence, the bros-in-arms distract themselves with jokes. A tohu (sign) brings them back to reality, and they gather to say a karakia before returning to the fray. Director Taika Waititi describes the soldiers as young men with "a special bond, strengthened by their character, their culture and each other." Shot in the rubble of the old Wellington Hospital, Tama Tū won international acclaim. Invited to over 40 international festivals, its many awards included honourable mentions at Sundance and Berlin.
On the day she gets her first menses, Hinekura is initiated into adulthood with ceremony and blessings. She's taken to a wananga where her role within the tribe is revealed to her.
The spirit of a person killed in a motorway accident runs through forest and beaches on its journey to Te Rerenga Wairua (Cape Rēinga). En route it meets tourist buses and other spirits, before reaching the gnarly pohutukawa and making the leap towards Hawaiki-Nui.
A young girl finds comfort in play and slowly reconnects with her distant father after her mother walks out on the family.
Whetū Mārama is the story of Sir Hekenukumai Ngaiwi Puhipi and his significance for Māori in rekindling their wayfinding DNA, reclaiming our place as traditional star voyages on the world map.
The film told the Māori legend of Hinemoa and Tutanekai. It is the first dramatic feature film produced in New Zealand.
In this poetic short film, writer/director/songwriter Kararaina Rangihau tells a story of great significance to the Tūhoe people. Unfolding entirely in te reo Māori, the narrative follows a child (played by Te Ratauhina Tumarae) learning the origins to the waiata 'Taku Rākau E', from her great-grandmother (Menu Ripia). Flicking between the present day and 1873, the great-grandmother tells how Mihikitekapua, a blind women of Tūhoe (also played by Ripia), first sang this important waiata. Rangihau was mentored by prominent filmmaker Merata Mita, who produced the film with co-producer Chelsea Winstanley.
A son returns home to help is mother get her affairs in order.
Hands tap, tracing patterns on rocks. These mineral-rich instruments are collaborators for a sonic performance, the landscape in Aotearoa listens.
A modern day take on the classic bard tale - with Silver as a movie producer.
In pre-colonial Aotearoa a young Māori girl witnesses the best and worst of a rapidly changing world when she encounters a dying man and his horse.
An Inuit child wanders away from his village, fascinated by a wild bird. His father follow his trail, determined to find him before he gets lost on the ice floe...
This performance-based film could potentially be filed under 'Pasifika tribal fusion'. Cinematographer Waka Attewell captures the talents of percussion group Strike (including then long-haired composer Gareth Farr) and choreographer/dancer Mika.
In a Maori settlement, Ngati Toa leader Te Rauparaha composes the famous chant "Ka Mate", also known as the haka, after evading enemy capture by hiding in a kumara pit.
Roimata, a young Maori woman from the East Coast, travels to the city to meet her half-sister Girlie. Introduced to gang members, the scene is set for a major confrontation when Kevin, a young Salvation Army Officer, arrives. Part of the E Tipu Te Rea series.
The lives and loves of the residents of Ferndale.
In a seemingly quiet country town the newest resident, Detective Inspector Mike Shepherd, finds that murder lurks in even the most homely location.
Eleven-year-old Kevin's passion for history is put to the test when he joins a ragtag group of time-traveling thieves on a high-stakes and hilarious adventure.
The Tribe is a New Zealand/British post-apocalyptic fictional TV series primarily aimed at teenagers. It is set in a near-future in which all adults have been wiped out by a deadly virus, leaving the children of the world to fend for themselves. The show's focus is on an unnamed city inhabited by tribes of children and teenagers. It was primarily filmed in and around Wellington, New Zealand. The series was created by Raymond Thompson and Harry Duffin and was developed and produced by the Cloud 9 Screen Entertainment Group in conjunction with the UK's Channel 5. It has aired on over 40 broadcast networks around the world.
Investigator Alexa Crowe, cannot help fighting the good fight – whether it is solving murders or combatting the small frustrations of everyday life. Fearless and unapologetic, Alexa's unique skills and insights into the darker quirks of human nature, allows her to provoke, comfort and push the right buttons as she unravels the truth behind the most baffling of crimes.
After her husband is incarcerated, matriarch Cheryl decides that her career criminal family should go straight and abide by the law.
Follow a teenage girl and a trio of fallen gods on a perilous journey as they attempt to bring an end to a demonic reign of chaos and restore balance to their world. Inspired by the 16th Century Chinese fable “Journey to the West.”
By day, Joe is a cleaner at the police station. But by night, he has another line of work - he's a serial killer who's been dubbed The Christchurch Carver. When another woman is murdered, the police suspect The Carver, but Joe knows it wasn't him.
Jeremy Wells and his loyal assistant Paul Williams torment some of Aotearoa's best, brightest, and most available comedians. Who will earn the Taskmaster's respect and a gold statue of his head?
In the near future, creatures from ancient Aboriginal mythology endowed with extraordinary physical traits have emerged and must coexist with humans. Known as 'Hairypeople' they battle for survival in a world that wants to exploit and destroy them. One young man – The Cleverman – struggles with his own power and the responsibility to unite this divided world, but he must first overcome a deep estrangement from his older brother.
In this compelling, access-all-areas documentary series, viewers get an intimate look at just what it takes to run one of the world’s most famous and magnificent zoos.
Creamerie is set in a post-apocalyptic future where a viral plague has wiped out 99% of men, and Earth has become a planet run by and for women. There’ll be plenty to laugh at when three Kiwi-Asian women running a dairy farm encounter – shock, horror – a man!
New Zealand's capital is a hotbed of supernatural activity... so Officers Minogue and O'Leary, who featured in the vampire documentary What We Do In The Shadows, take to the streets to investigate all manner of paranormal phenomena.
Drag queen contestants compete in an elimination-style contest and strut their stuff in a variety of challenges - all to prove that they’ve got what it takes to be Down Under's next Drag Queen Superstar!
A recently widowed father, quits his job as a popular 800 word columnist for a top selling Sydney newspaper. Over the internet he buys a house on an impulse in a remote New Zealand seaside town. He then has to break the news to his two teenage kids who just lost their mum, and now face an even more uncertain future. But the colourful and inquisitive locals ensure his dream of a fresh start does not go to plan.
7 Days is a New Zealand comedy gameshow similar in some ways to the British program Mock the Week, hosted by Jeremy Corbett and created by The Down Low Concept. Paul Ego and Dai Henwood usually appear on each episode, along with other comedians, who form teams and answer questions about news stories from the last week.
Two very different sisters inherit a funeral home - and its eccentric employees - from their koro. While Ellie is determined to uphold her grandfather's legacy, Gwen can't wait to get to Bali and become a DJ. Can they figure out their lives while staring death in the face?
The three-part documentary series, compiled from over 60 hours of unseen footage, captures the warmth, camaraderie, and creative genius that defined the legacy of music's most iconic foursome. The series also includes – for the first time in its entirety – The Beatles' final performance at London's Savile Row.
Comedian Guy Montgomery hosts a spelling competition with a mixture of simple and unconventional rounds.
It follows Theo Richter, an Irish detective who teams with Kiwi cop Diana Huia to find a young Irish couple vanish from an infamous rural North Island New Zealand town. Amidst the search and a race against time, the pair have to contend with a community’s growing disquiet that the disappearances may be linked to a series of historical murders.
