Miriama Smith

On the 7th of May 2009, Senior Constables Len Snee, Grant Diver and Bruce Miller arrived at 41 Chaucer Rd in Napier to serve a search warrant on Jan Molenaar for the growing of cannabis. This was just a routine warrant, something they had done countless times. What was meant to be an ordinary procedure turned into three of New Zealand’s darkest days and ended with one police officer dead, two officers critically injured and a member of the public fighting for his life. In some fifty hours Jan Molenaar made a permanent and devastating imprint upon the national psyche of New Zealand as he changed the lives of individuals, families, a police community, and a city. The siege was one of the worst and unexpected cases of violence both Napier and New Zealand had witnessed and it was all the more shocking because of its ordinary suburban backdrop.

Turei, a talented young musician, dreams of his band winning the audition to be the support act for Bob Marley’s 1979 concert in Auckland. Part of a Māori family of contract potato pickers in Pukekohe, Turei’s desperate ambition clashes with his whanau’s traditional values, leading to an emotional showdown and powerful change.

A Kafkaesque docudrama of an actual case involving a Christchurch small businessman and the New Zealand Inland Revenue Department. Most people can relate to running up against a bureaucrat (especially the tax man), who knows he can cause you trouble if you say something he doesn't like and then proceeds to use his power to hurt you. In this case, the businessman, Dave Henderson refuses to give in and, for the most part, kept his sense of humour.

John H. Groberg, a middle class kid from Idaho Falls, crosses the Pacific to become a Mormon missionary in the remote and exotic Tongan island kingdom during the 1950's. He leaves behind a loving family and the true love of his life, Jean. Through letters and musings across the miles, John shares his humbling and sometimes hilarious adventures with "the girl back home", and her letters buoy up his spirits in difficult times. John must struggle to overcome language barriers, physical hardship and deep-rooted suspicion to earn the trust and love of the Tongan people he has come to serve. Throughout his adventure-filled three years on the islands, he discovers friends and wisdom in the most unlikely places. John H. Groberg's Tongan odyssey will change his life forever.

Spooked is a contemporary conspiracy thriller arising from the mysterious death of Kevin Jones, who thought he was just buying second-hand computers, until he looked at the data left on the discs. Was kevin murdered or did he simply get drunk and crash his car? Investigating journalist Mort Whitman says he will find out, even if it kills him. The film is based on material from the book 'The Paradise Conspiracy' by Ian Wishart.

Stan is a hard working Kiwi bloke who is always on the move. When he comes into the small town 'Netherwood' he finds himself wound up in a web of Murder, Love, Lies, and betrayal.

Missionary John H. Groberg returns to Tonga in the 1960s with his wife and their five young daughters. When their sixth child is born with a serious illness, the Grobergs face their ultimate test of faith, only to find themselves surrounded by the love and prayers of thousands of Tongans. Barriers of inter religious strife are soon broken down as all unite in hopes of a miracle that will save the baby's life, as well as the life of a Tongan minister's son.

Seven years since the Monsterpocalypse began, Joel Dawson has been living underground in order to survive. But after reconnecting over radio with his high school girlfriend Aimee, Joel decides to venture out to reunite with her, despite all the dangerous monsters that stand in his way.

Based on a true story, STOLEN is an emotional thriller about every parent's greatest fear. Kahu Durie - the adopted baby daughter of Maori High Court Judge, Justice Eddie Durie and prominent lawyer, Donna Hall - is snatched at gunpoint as Donna pushes the pram in the street. Nine tense days follow and the nation is gripped by brave television appeals for the baby's safe return. Following Donna Hall's emotional public plea, a letter arrives, demanding the highest ransom in New Zealand's history. The police work tirelessly and the net closes on a secluded house...Terence Traynor became intent on committing a perfect crime, motivated by greed and inspired by American TV.

Drama set in the sleepy town of Tokerangi, New Zealand in which three laid-back orchard workers accidentally grow a strong strain of marijuana.

Separated as children, three cousins with an unshakable bond confront their painful pasts and embark on an emotional journey to find each other.

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.

Those who have always fancied their fifteen minutes of fame will soon get their chance as we begin the quest to find New Zealand’s most remarkable performers.

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.

Mercy Peak was a New Zealand television series that ran for three seasons on local network TV One, between 2001 and 2004. The series rated well in New Zealand and won multiple awards for its cast. Though an ensemble show, Mercy Peak centres on a doctor who leaves the city to work at a hospital in the small town of Bassett. She works alongside stuffy but caring doctor William Kingsley. The series was produced by Auckland company South Pacific Pictures; a number of those who worked on the show would have a big hand in South Pacific Pictures hit Outrageous Fortune, including co-creator Rachel Lang, directors Mark Beesley and Simon Bennett, and producer John Laing.

A team of teenagers with attitude are recruited to save Angel Grove from the evil witch, Rita Repulsa, and later, Lord Zedd, Emperor of all he sees, and their horde of monsters.

Follow the odyssey of three men: their quest to get inside the head of the modern woman, and find out where they went wrong.

A team of teenagers with attitude are recruited to save Angel Grove from the evil witch, Rita Repulsa, and later, Lord Zedd, Emperor of all he sees, and their horde of monsters.

The adventures of woodsman Richard Cypher, who discovers that he was born to fulfill a prophecy of becoming a guardian hero to oppressed people. With the help of a mysterious woman named Kahlan and a wise old wizard named Zedd, he must stop a ruthless and bloodthirsty tyrant from unleashing an ancient evil and enslaving the world.

Three illegitimate children discover they each have a claim to the fortune of one of NZ's wealthiest men, John Truebridge. With so much money on the line, John's legitimate family will do anything to stop these new, unexpected heirs!

When a dark secret from this past threatens to be exposed, unorthodox and brilliant medical examiner, Doctor Daniel Harrow, must use all his forensic skills to keep it buried forever.

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.

A business owner is thrust into New Zealand's dark underbelly after a million-dollar drug deal goes wrong on a blood-stained night, setting off a chain of events between dangerous factions.

Kaitangata Twitch is a children's adventure/fantasy series that aired on Maori TV in New Zealand in 2010. Based on the children's book of the same name, written by renouned New Zealand children's author, Margaret Mahy, it follows the adventures of thirteen year old Meredith, who can hear voices calling to her from a nearby island, Kaitangata, in the bay of her small hometown. A legend of pre-European New Zealand, the frequent rumblings of small earthquakes and the disappearance of a young Pakeha girl, fifty years earlier, all shroud the mystery surrounding the island.

Frank and Sarah two strangers with cerebral palsy become entrenched in each other's dysfunctional lives after witnessing their able bodied friends in an awkward situation at a bar.