Mr. Taioma
It's desperate times for a small rural home kills and butchery service, as big business begins to threaten their livelihood the owners fall into offering a new service - killing people, to make ends meet.
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.
When estranged son, Tai, is called home to Aotearoa to his father Putty's deathbed, he is forced to confront a painful past after years of avoiding it. Once inseparable, Tai and Putty would spend hours together fishing and joking around. However, after a family secret is revealed, their relationship falls apart.
Older Hamuera
Separated as children, three cousins with an unshakable bond confront their painful pasts and embark on an emotional journey to find each other.
Malcolm Rewa
In Dark Places is the gripping story of an innocent man, imprisoned for two decades for a crime he did not commit, and an ex-cop's heroic battle to win him his freedom.
Joe
Minka is a teenage Polynesian boy living in the heart of the city. With his P-addicted mother well on the way to going completely off the rails, three people enter his life - each with a promise - each with the power to destroy.
Uncle Toa
The Pa Boys is an energetic, uplifting road movie capturing the best of New Zealand's culture, beauty, talent and music, whilst exploring themes of identity, friendship and discovering your roots.
Maka
On a trip to find his birth mother, 18-year-old Aaron is forced to hitch a ride with a rough- looking stranger, Maka. Out of fear, Aaron rejects Maka’s friendship, but when the reunion with his mother doesn’t go quite as planned, he discovers that the stranger may just be the man to help him after all.
Nene
This docudrama follows an imaginary news reporter who travels back in time to cover the days leading up to the Treaty of Waitangi’s 6 February 1840 signing. The production drops the usual solemnity surrounding Aotearoa’s founding document, and uses humour and asides to camera to evoke the chaos and motives behind its signing. Written by Gavin Strawhan, with Witi Ihimaera, What Really Happened screened on TVNZ for Waitangi Day 2011. Peter Burger won Best Director - Drama/Comedy at the 2011 Aotearoa TV Awards for his work. (from nzonscreen.com)
Kawariki
A psychological drama of a family in crisis. Kawa, a successful Māori businessman in Auckland, New Zealand, is forced to reveal his lifelong secret - that he is gay.
Joe Warbrick
This short follows Joe Warbrick (Calvin Tuteao), captain of the New Zealand Natives rugby team, as he tries to rouse his battle-weary players to head unto the breach once more, for a test against England. It’s midwinter during the trailblazing 1888-89 tour (17 months and a staggering 107 matches) that left a black jersey and silver fern legacy. In a changing room that resembles a casualty ward, Warbrick draws breath and leads a stirring haka. Made by brothers Pere and Meihana Durie, Warbrick inspired the All Blacks the day before a 33-6 demolition of Australia in 2009.
Pakaru
After the death of his uncle, a young man remembers back to a game his uncle taught him.
Zac
Martin Clunes stars as a straight-laced museum curator who finds himself travelling to New Zealand to settle a dispute with a Maori community about an ancient carving - with unexpected consequences.
Hiriwanu Tapu
This remarkable film traces the final impact which both races had on the indigenous Moriori of the Chatham Islands. Moriori were a peaceful people who vowed never to take up arms against another human being. They were capable of defeating the invaders, but chose not to. Drawing inspiration from Michael King's seminal book Moriori, The Feathers of Peace brings the truth about what happened on the Chathams to an even wider audience. To do that, the film uses modern television news techniques and dramatized documentary.
Taka
A drama about a Maori family living in Auckland, New Zealand. Lee Tamahori tells the story of Beth Heke’s strong will to keep her family together during times of unemployment and abuse from her violent and alcoholic husband.