A baby is washed up on a Pacific Island and is adopted by a childless woman. The tribal priest takes an instant dislike to the child, proclaiming him a demon. The child is deaf and mute and therefore excluded from hunting with the other young men. Out of loneliness, he befriends a white turtle. When a drought befalls the island, the priest blames the silent one. When the chief protects the boy, the priest plots the chiefs' downfall.
Timothy and his family is expecting a French-Canadian male exchange student, that turns out to be an attractive girl, to which Timothy proceeds to make a fool of himself, trying to impress. When Michelle becomes ill from drinking spiked punch at a party, Timothy notices a tattoo while helping her to bed. He foolishly tells a friend about the tattoo, who proceeds to tell the whole school, which does not go down well with Michelle.
On the east coast of New Zealand, the Whangara people believe their presence there dates back a thousand years or more to a single ancestor, Paikea, who escaped death when his canoe capsized by riding to shore on the back of a whale. From then on, Whangara chiefs, always the first-born, always male, have been considered Paikea's direct descendants. Pai, an 11-year-old girl in a patriarchal New Zealand tribe, believes she is destined to be the new chief. But her grandfather Koro is bound by tradition to pick a male leader. Pai loves Koro more than anyone in the world, but she must fight him and a thousand years of tradition to fulfill her destiny.
Family drama set in New Zealand about Geoff Crome, a young boy (Fulford) who immerses himself in his own private fantasy world where he meets Firpo (Papps), a strange being who dreams of being an Olympic athlete. Together, the two begin a close friendship as Geoff attempts to help Firpo realise his dream. However, it is not long until the adult world begins to impinge on his fantasy.
A bunch of friends are making a movie in an attempt to win the shortest film competition. But when people have to go to work, things get challenging. Can they finish the movie in time for the deadline?
On Christmas Eve, a nameless little girl reads 'The Monster's Christmas' storybook to her teddy bear, as something sneaks around in the trees outside her window. She hears a noise in the other room, and thinking that it's Father Christmas, she goes to investigate. She finds one of the monsters, who has come seeking help to defeat an evil witch that has stolen all the monsters' voices.
The Haunting of Barney Palmer is a fantasy film for children about a young boy who is haunted by his great uncle. Young Barney fears that he has inherited the Scholar family curse; a suite of 80s-era effects ramp up the supernatural suspense. The film was a co-production between PBS (United States) and Wellington's Gibson Group, which resulted in Ned Beatty (Deliverance, Network) being cast. It was written by Margaret Mahy, based on her Carnegie Award-winning novel The Haunting, and an early fruitful collaboration between her and director Yvonne Mackay.
A touching story about the relationship of an American pilot named Ray Walker with a boy and his family on a ranch in New Zealand. Bill, the grandfather of the family, knows that only Ray can teach flying to his grandson.
A man's son becomes involved in drug use and criminal activity in rural New Zealand. The man embarks on a journey to seek assistance from others in an effort to get his son back before it's too late.
Aroha wants to share her creativity with her neighbours. Her imaginations come to life for everyone to enjoy.
One-time Maori speed-chess champ, Genesis Potini, lives with a bi-polar disorder and must overcome prejudice and violence in the battle to save his struggling chess club, his family and ultimately, himself.
When a young fakaleiti falls in love at St Valentine’s Highschool, she must navigate her way through a world of intolerance and bigotry to find happiness - in an unexpected place.
Two people meet as guinea pigs in a weekend drug trial. They soon discover their lives are in more danger than they imagined. The staff are peculiar. The drugs cause hallucinations. Or is the clinic really haunted? Struggling with their senses, they must team up to unravel a spooky mystery.
A man wakes up in an endless white void, unable to remember how he got there, he soon encounters an A.I. who takes the man through old memories of himself until he realizes his tragic purpose in the white room.
Constance is a bored, movie-loving schoolteacher in post-WW2 New Zealand who begins to fantasize that she's a Hollywood star - with tragic consequences.
In the film "Goudvink," we meet Yaël and Idris, two non-binary people of color in their twenties, who in their turbulent and social lives surprise and overwhelm each other with the words "I love you".
The larger-than-life story of Kim Dotcom, the 'most wanted man online', is extraordinary enough, but the battle between Dotcom and the US Government and entertainment industry—being fought in New Zealand—is one that goes to the heart of ownership, privacy and piracy in the digital age.
Operation 8 examines the so-called 'anti-terror' raids that took place around New Zealand on October 15, 2007 - asking how and why they took place and at what cost to those targeted.
This Traveltalk series short visit to New Zealand starts in Auckland, a bustling, modern city. Next is Christchurch, home of Canterbury University, where rowing teams participate in a regatta. Nearby is Lake Wakatipu, which inspires artists to put their impressions on canvas. We then visit Rotorua, a city famous for its geysers, hot springs, bubbling mud pools, and other geothermal activity. At Ferry Springs there is lots of trout for fishing. Later, a group of natives performs a canoe dance.
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.