How Far Is Heaven

Isolated from the rest of the world since the time of the dinosaurs, New Zealand’s magnificent wildlife has been left to its own devices for 80 million years, with surprising consequences. This series reveals New Zealand’s rich and intriguing wildlife stories, from the bustling communities of penguins hiding away in giant daisy forests to the kakapo – Earth’s only species of flightless nocturnal parrots. New Zealand was also the last place to be discovered and settled by people who brought with them new animals, like merino sheep and new predators like the stoat. Finally the series meets the pioneering conservation heroes who are fighting to save some of its most endangered species.

New Zealand is one of the most remote countries in the world. Owing to the great distance from continents and, as a result of intense volcanic activity, unique flora and fauna as well as extraordinary landscapes have developed in this island country. The settlement of humans over the centuries has naturally also had an influence on the landscape. This film is an invitation to travel across the diverse landscapes of New Zealand.

The story of lyrical genius, Martin Phillipps and his band, The Chills, is a cautionary tale, a triumph over tragedy, and a statement about the meaning of music in our lives.

'Ink and Gold: An Artist's Journey to Olympic Glory' is a short form documentary that follows the journey of New Zealand artist and athlete, Zakea Page, winning the Lausanne 2020 Youth Olympic Games medal design competition and fulfilling a lifelong dream to perform at the opening ceremonies. The film was shot over the course of one week in Lausanne, Switzerland, at the 2020 Youth Olympic Games and weaved together with self-taped footage of Zakea's younger years as an athlete and artist. Accompanied with interviews of his family, 'Ink and Gold' highlights the connection between art and sport in bringing together peoples of diverse cultures and backgrounds to bridge barriers of language and foster connections, mutual understanding, and respect for one another.

The life and times of sailor and adventurer Sir Peter Blake, one of New Zealand's favourite sons.

Waiuku Vistas is observational documentary exploring the feeling and mana of Waiuku, New Zealand. Follow two filmmakers as they shoot, capture and document the beauty of the land in the space of a day.

A place of biological superlatives with a flora and fauna that have only just begun to be researched: Lord Howe Island, between Australia and New Zealand. This is the first documentary on what may be the most isolated nature reserve on the planet.

"The Silent Alps" explores a forgotten massacre that is widely unknown in the modern era, the history of Kea culling in New Zealand

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.

It's 1892 and Kate Sheppard tells the story of the suffrage campaign - a pursuit that will continue until September 1893.

James Nesbitt moved to New Zealand in 2011 when he landed the role of Bofur in Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy, but he says the country remains largely unknown to him. Travelling more than 1,000 miles from the tip of the North Island down to the South, the actor finds out more about the place he has called home, visiting areas of natural beauty and learning about the nation's history and traditions. Along the way, he meets former All Blacks player the late great Jonah Lomu, takes a trip around film star Sam Neill's vineyards in Queenstown, catches up with Peter Jackson and goes Base-jumping from the tallest building in Auckland.

Take an epic voyage over the remote island nation of New Zealand, the last habitable landmass to be discovered on the planet. No bigger than the state of Colorado, this small country offers an incredibly diverse landscape view that changes dramatically with each mile. From snow-capped mountains to sandy beaches, and from the glacier-carved Fiordland National Park to the crater lake of Mount Ruapehu, New Zealand is a land of extremes. It's a place where fire clashes with ice and people are always pushing the limits.

On 28 November 1979, an Air New Zealand jet with 257 passengers went missing during a sightseeing tour over Antarctica. Within hours 11 ordinary police officers were called to duty to face the formidable Mount Erebus. As the police recovered the victims, an investigation team tried to uncover the mystery of how a jet could fly into a mountain in broad daylight. Did the airline have a secret it wanted to bury? This film tells the story of four New Zealand police officers who went to Antarctica as part of the police operation to recover the victims of the crash. Set in the beautiful yet hostile environment of Antarctica, this is the emotional and compelling true story of an extraordinary police operation.

On December 9, 2019, New Zealand's most active volcano erupted, engulfing 47 day trippers in a toxic ash cloud. 21 lost their lives that day and in the following weeks. Whakaari: A Heroes' Story paints a picture of the chaos and the bravery, and the complex rescue mission to save those stranded on the island.

See You At The Bottom – The New Zealand Snow Movie is a 20 minute film that has one simple goal in mind: To leave you lusting to get to the mountains. We unveil the unique big mountain experiences on offer in each of New Zealand’s distinctly different ski regions.

The story of unemployment in New Zealand and In A Land of Plenty is an exploration of just that; it takes as its starting point the consensus from The Depression onwards that Godzone economic policy should focus on achieving full employment, and explores how this was radically shifted by the 1984 Labour government. Director Alister Barry's perspective is clear, as he trains a humanist lens on ‘Rogernomics' to argue for the policy's negative effects on society, as a new poverty-stricken underclass developed.

Quest for the Ring

Dealing heavily with perceptions of time, Aeon documents the urban cityscape as Wellington transforms through a zen-influenced eternal cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth within a 24-hour period.

Spontaneous Combustion embraces the holistic vision of one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most provocative artists and thinkers: the unity of the natural environment and the human imagination, the energy, rhythm and textures of the physical world expressed in clay, words, and music. The film celebrates the legacy of Barry Brickell (1935-2016) and the realisation of his extraordinary dream, Driving Creek Railway: a productive pottery with numerous kilns, a bush railway, a native bird and bush sanctuary and a lively creative hub drawing artists from around the globe.

Max Gimblett: Original Mind documents the life and process of eccentric, creative genius Max Gimblett. One of New Zealand’s most successful and internationally prominent living painters, Gimblett has been working in America since 1962. The filmmakers spent a week in Gimblett’s Soho loft where he and his devoted studio assistants generously revealed the techniques and philosophy behind his beautiful art.