List of New Zealand films

This film, television or video-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it with reliably sourced additions.

This is a list of feature films and feature-length telemovies produced or filmed in New Zealand, ordered by year of release:

Key

• * = Funded in part by the New Zealand Film Commission.
• † = Year given is date of principal photography rather than release.

1910s

Title	Director	Genre	Notes
1913
Hinemoa	Gaston Méliès		First NZ feature film [1]
Loved by a Maori Chieftess	Gaston Méliès		[1]
How Chief Te Ponga Won His Bride	Gaston Méliès		[1]
The River Wanganui	Gaston Méliès	Documentary
1914
Hinemoa	George Tarr	Romance	First feature film with a NZ producer and director.[2]
1916
The Mutiny of the Bounty

1920s

Title	Director	Genre	Notes
1921
Beyond	William Desmond Taylor
The Betrayer	Beaumont Smith
The Bloke from Freemans Bay	Rudall Hayward
1922
My Lady of the Cave	Rudall Hayward
The Birth of New Zealand	Harrington Reynolds
Ten Thousand Miles in the Southern Cross	George Tarr	Documentary/travelogue
1923
The Romance of Sleepy Hollow	Henry J. Makepeace
1924
Venus of the South Seas	James R. Sullivan
Rewi's Last Stand	Rudall Hayward
1925
The Adventures of Algy	Beaumont Smith
1927
The Romance of Hine-moa	Gustav Pauli		[3]
Carbine's Heritage	Edwin Coubray (Ted)
The Te Kooti Trail	Rudall Hayward
Under the Southern Cross	Gustav Pauli
1928
The Bush Cinderella	Rudall Hayward
1929
Under the Southern Cross	Lew Collins		a.k.a. The Devil's Pit or Taranga

1930s

Title	Director	Genre	Notes
1930
The Romance Of Maoriland
1935
Down on the Farm			First New Zealand talkie film.
Hei Tiki			a.k.a. Primitive Passions
New Zealand's Charm: A Romantic Outpost of Empire	Cyril James Morton	Scenic	[4]
Magic Playgrounds in New Zealand's Geyserland		Scenic	[4]
1936
Phar Lap's Son
The Wagon and the Star			Second New Zealand talkie film.
On the Friendly Road	Rudall Hayward
1937
New Zealand Review no.1, Holiday Sounds		Scenic	[4]
1938
New Zealand Review No.5, Mountain Holiday		Scenic	[4]

1940s

Title	Director	Genre	Notes
1940
Rewi's Last Stand	Rudall Hayward		[5]
One Hundred Crowded Years		Official Centennial film
1949
Sands of Iwo Jima	Allan Dwan	War	Location shooting for Hollywood film.[5]

1950s

Title	Director	Genre	Notes
1952
Broken Barrier	John O'Shea	Drama	[5]
1954
The Seekers	Ken Annakin	Adventure	Location shooting for British film with NZ setting.[5]
1955
Battle Cry	Raoul Walsh	War	Leon Uris novel set in NZ, starring Van Heflin, James Whitmore and Tab Hunter[5]
1957
Until They Sail	Robert Wise	Wartime Romance	Location shooting at Sumner for Hollywood film set in NZ[5]

1960s

Title	Director	Genre	Notes
1964
Runaway	John O'Shea		[5]
140 Days Under the World	Geoffrey Scott	Documentary	1965 Academy Award Nominee: Documentary Short.[6]
1966
Don't Let It Get You	John O'Shea	Comedy	[7]
1969
Young Guy on Mt. Cook (ja:Nyu jirando no wakadaishô)	Jun Fukuda		Location shooting of Japanese film[5]

1970s

Title	Director	Genre	Notes
1972
To Love a Maori	Rudall Hayward		Shot on 16mm [5]
1973
Rangi's Catch	Michael Forlong		[5]
1974
Games '74	John King, Sam Pillsbury, Paul Maunder, Arthur Everard	Sports documentary
1975
Test Pictures: Eleven Vignettes from a Relationship †	Geoff Steven		shot on 16mm [5]
Landfall †	Paul Maunder		shot on 16mm [5]
1976
Off the Edge †	Michael Firth	Skiing	[5]
The God Boy †	Murray Reece		Telemovie [5]
1977
Wild Man	Geoff Murphy
Sleeping Dogs	Roger Donaldson	Drama/action	First NZ film to open in the U.S.
Solo	Tony Williams
1978
Skin Deep *	Geoff Steven	Drama	[5]
Died in the Wool †	Brian McDuffie	whodunnit	telemovie
Colour Scheme †	Peter Sharp	whodunnit	telemovie
Angel Mine	David Blyth	Fantasy	[8] Art New Zealand
1979
Middle Age Spread*†	John Reid	Comedy	shot on 16mm
Jack Winter's Dream †	David Sims		telemovie
Sons for the Return Home*†	Paul Maunder

1980s

Title	Director	Genre	Notes
1980
Beyond Reasonable Doubt *	John Laing	docudrama
A Woman of Good Character	David Blyth	Historical drama	[9] AKA Lizzie; shot on 16mm
Squeeze†	Richard Turner		shot on 16mm
1981
Goodbye Pork Pie *	Geoff Murphy	comedy, road movie	[5]
Pictures† *	Michael Black		[5] Entered into the 12th Moscow International Film Festival
Race for the Yankee Zephyr	David Hemmings	action	Australia - NZ co-production [5]
Smash Palace *	Roger Donaldson	drama	[5]
Wildcat†	Ross Prosser, Russel Campbell, Alister Barry		shot on 16mm [5]
Dead Kids / Strange Behaviour / Shadowland†	Michael Laughlin		[5]
Bad Blood *	Mike Newell	drama	NZ-British co-production [5]
1982
Carry Me Back† *	John Reid	comedy	[5]
Battletruck (reissued as Warlords of the 21st Century)	Harley Cokliss	action	Hollywood film shot on location[5]
The Scarecrow *	Sam Pillsbury		[5]
1983
Hang on a Minute Mate!	Alan Lindsay		telemovie [5]
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence	Nagisa Oshima	War	location shooting for British-Japanese co-production[5]
Wild Horses† *	Derek Morton	Drama	[10]
It's Lizzie to Those Close† *	David Blyth		shot on 16mm [5]
War Years†	Pat McGuire		[5]
Patu!† *	Merata Mita	documentary	[5]
Strata†	Geoff Steven		[5]
Second Time Lucky†	Michael Anderson	comedy	[5]
Heart of the Stag†	Michael Firth	Drama	[5]
Trespasses†	Peter Sharp		[5]
Savage Islands (a.k.a. Nate and Hayes)†	Ferdinand Fairfax	Adventure	[5]
Among the Cinders† *	Rolf Hädrich	Drama	[11]
Utu *	Geoff Murphy	historical action	Screened at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival [5]
1984
Came a Hot Friday	Ian Mune	comedy	[12]
Other Halves	John Laing	drama	[5]
The Silent One *	Yvonne Mackay	Drama	filmed in the Cook Islands [13]
Iris a.k.a. Out of Time	Tony Isaac	Biography drama	Telemovie [14]
Death Warmed Up† *	David Blyth	horror/thriller	[5]
Vigil *	Vincent Ward	Drama	Nominated for Palme D'Or at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival [15]
The Bounty	Roger Donaldson	Adventure	Location shooting for Australian/US production[5]
1985
Came a Hot Friday *	Ian Mune	comedy	[5]
Dangerous Orphans *	John Laing	Action
Kingpin	Mike Walker	drama	Entered into the 14th Moscow International Film Festival
The Lost Tribe	John Laing	horror	[5]
Mr Wrong *	Gaylene Preston	horror
Shaker Run	Bruce Morrison	Action/thriller
Hot Target	Denis Lewiston	sex thriller	Location shooting for US film[5]
Sylvia	Michael Firth	biographical film	[5]
The Quiet Earth *	Geoff Murphy	Drama/sci-fi/mystery	[5]
Bridge to Nowhere *	Ian Mune		[5]
1986
Footrot Flats: The Dog's Tale	Murray Ball	animated film	[5]
Pallet on the Floor	Lynton Butler		[5]
Mark II*			[5]
Queen City Rocker *	Bruce Morrison		[5]
1987
Bad Taste *	Peter Jackson	Comedy/horror/sci-fi
Ngati *	Barry Barclay		[5]
Illustrious Energy *	Leon Narbey		[5]
Mauri *	Merata Mita		[5]
1988
Send a Gorilla *	Melanie Read		[5]
The Grasscutter	Ian Mune	action/thriller	[5]
The Navigator: A Mediaeval Odyssey *	Vincent Ward	fantasy	[5] Entered into the 1988 Cannes Film Festival
Just Me and Mario	Greg Stitt	Comedy
1989
Meet the Feebles*	Peter Jackson	black comedy	[5]

1990s

Title	Director	Genre	Notes
1990
An Angel at My Table *	Jane Campion	biography	[5]
Flying Fox in a Freedom Tree*	Martyn Sanderson	drama	[5]
Ruby and Rata *	Gaylene Preston		[5]
1991
A Soldier's Tale	Larry Parr	war/drama
Grampire	David Blyth	comedy/horror/kids	AKA My Grandpa Is a Vampire
Old Scores	Alan Clayton	comedy/sport
Te Rua
The End of the Golden Weather	Ian Mune
1992
Alex*	Megan Simpson Huberman	sport /drama
Absent Without Leave	John Laing	World War II	Entered into the 18th Moscow International Film Festival
Braindead	Peter Jackson	Splatter/Horror
Chunuk Bair	Dale G. Bradley	War
Crush	Alison Maclean		Entered into the 1992 Cannes Film Festival
1993
Bread and Roses*	Gaylene Preston	biography
Desperate Remedies	Stewart Main, Peter Wells	surrealist melodrama	Screened at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival
The Piano	Jane Campion	drama/romance	Won the Palme d'Or at Cannes
The Tommyknockers	John Power	Horror TV Mini-Series	US production filmed in New Zealand [16]
1994
Heavenly Creatures'*'	Peter Jackson	Drama/romance/crime
Once Were Warriors	Lee Tamahori	Drama
1995
Bonjour Timothy*
Cinema of Unease	Sam Neill, Judy Rymer	Documentary
Forgotten Silver	Costa Botes, Peter Jackson	mockumentary
1996
Broken English	Gregor Nicholas	drama/romance
Chicken	Grant La Hood	comedy
Jack Brown Genius	Tony Hiles		Produced by Peter Jackson
Flight of the Albatross
Someone Else's Country	Alistair Barry	Documentary
The Frighteners*	Peter Jackson	comedy/horror
The Whole of the Moon*
1997
Lost Valley[17]
Topless Women Talk About Their Lives	Harry Sinclair
The Ugly
1998
Constance *	Bruce Morrison	Drama	[5]
Memory and Desire
Saving Grace	Costa Botes	romance
1999
Channelling Baby	Christine Parker
I'll Make You Happy
Savage Honeymoon
Scarfies*	Robert Sarkies	black comedy
What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?	Ian Mune	drama

2000s

Title	Director	Genre	Notes
2000
The Irrefutable Truth About Demons*	Glenn Standring
Jubilee*
The Price of Milk*	Harry Sinclair
2001
Crooked Earth	Sam Pillsbury
Kung Fu Vampire Killers	Phil Davison		[18]
Her Majesty	Mark J. Gordon	coming-of-age
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	Peter Jackson	fantasy	U.S. & NZ funded film produced in New Zealand
Rain	Christine Jeffs	coming-of-age
Snakeskin	Gillian Ashurst	Thriller/road movie
Stickmen	Hamish Rothwell
Vertical Limit	Martin Campbell	Action/Drama	Some scenes filmed in New Zealand
2002
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers	Peter Jackson	fantasy	U.S. & NZ funded film produced in New Zealand
In a Land of Plenty	Alistair Barry	Documentary
Tongan Ninja	Jason Stutter	Action comedy	[19]
2003
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	Peter Jackson	fantasy	U.S. & NZ funded film produced in New Zealand
The Last Samurai	Edward Zwick		U.S produced film shot in New Zealand
The Locals	Greg Page	Supernatural Thriller	[20]
Whale Rider*	Niki Caro	drama
Christmas	Greg King	Drama/Comedy
2004
Fracture
Without a Paddle		Comedy
Murmurs	Elric Kane and Alexander Greenhough	Drama
In My Father's Den	Brad McGann
Spooked	Geoff Murphy
2005
50 Ways of Saying Fabulous	Stewart Main	drama
King Kong	Peter Jackson	adventure
River Queen	Vincent Ward	historical drama
The World's Fastest Indian *	Roger Donaldson	biography
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe	Andrew Adamson	Fantasy/adventure
Meet Me in Miami
Memories of Tomorrow	Amit Tripuraneni	Drama/thriller
2006
No. 2	Toa Fraser
Perfect Creature	Glenn Standring	horror/thriller
Buddha Wild: Monk in a Hut	Anna Wilding	documentary
Sione's Wedding	Chris Graham	comedy/romance
Eagle vs Shark	Taika Cohen	Comedy
Kissy Kissy	Elric Kane and Alexander Greenhough	Drama
The Ferryman	Chris Graham	horror
Out of the Blue	Robert Sarkies	drama (based on true events)
Black Sheep	Jonathan King	Comedy/horror
2007
The Tattooist
A Song of Good
Down by the Riverside	Marama Killen Brad Davison	Film noir/horror
The Devil Dared Me To
Bridge to Terabithia
We're Here To Help	Jonothan Cullinane	Kafkaesque comedy
Men Shouldn't Sing
The Last Magic Show	Andy Conlan	Comedy romance
Pictures of You
30 Days of Night	David Slade	Horror
The Vintner's Luck	Niki Caro
Show of Hands	Anthony McCarten	Romantic comedy	Filmed in New Plymouth, Nov-Dec 2007 [21]
2008
Second Hand Wedding	Paul Murphy	Romantic comedy
Rain of the Children	Vincent Ward	Documentary
Taking the Waewae Express	Andrea Bosshard	Drama
Dean Spanley	Toa Fraser	Drama
BLACKSPOT	Ben Hawker	Thriller
Untitled Charles Upham biopic
Last of the Living	Logan McMillan	Comedy horror
2009
Avatar	James Cameron		Principal live photography in Wellington studios, plus digital fx work
The Lovely Bones	Peter Jackson
The Strength of Water	Armagan Ballantyne	Drama	[22]
Separation City

2010s

Title	Director	Genre	Notes
2010
Kawa-Nights in the Gardens of Spain	Katie Wolfe	Drama
Tracker	Ian Sharp	Action/adventure
Wound	David Blyth	Horror
Matariki	Michael Bennett	Drama
Boy	Taika Waititi	Comedy/drama
Predicament	Jason Stutter	Comedy	Based on the Ronald Hugh Morrieson novel[23]
Bloodlines	Peter Burger	Crime/Drama
The Insatiable Moon	Rosemary Riddell	Comedy/drama	[24]
The Hopes & Dreams of Gazza Snell	Brendan Donovan	Comedy/family
2011
The Devil's Rock	Paul Campion	Horror
Love Birds	Paul Murphy
My Wedding and Other Secrets	Roseanne Liang
The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn	Steven Spielberg	Family/adventure
Operation 8: Deep in the Forest	Errol Wright and Abi King-Jones	Documentary
The Most Fun You Can Have Dying	Kirstin Marcon
Dreamer by Design	David Chan	Comedy/drama	[25]
Billy	Peter Burger		Biopic based on the true story of comedian Billy T. James
Bliss	Fiona Samuel		Biopic based on the true story of author Katherine Mansfield
Rage	Danny Mulheron	Drama	Based on events of the 1981 Springbok Tour
Tangiwai: A Love Story	Charlie Haskell		Based on the true story of the Tangiwai disaster
2012
Sione's 2: Unfinished Business	Simon Bennett	Comedy	Sequel to the Sione's Wedding (2006)[26]
Compound	Dale Stewart	Horror	Filmed at Spookers, Auckland
Ghost TV	Phil Davison
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey	Peter Jackson	Fantasy	U.S. & NZ funded film produced in New Zealand
The Red House	Alyx Duncan	Drama
Siege	Mike Smith	Drama	Based on the true story of the 2009 Napier shootings
2013
Eternity	Alex Galvin	Drama/sci-fi/mystery
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug	Peter Jackson	Fantasy	U.S. & NZ funded film produced in New Zealand
2014
Syrenia	Fraser Grut	Fantasy/family
What We Do in the Shadows	Taika Waititi, Jemaine Clement	Comedy/horror
Housebound	Morgana O'Reilly, Cameron Rhodes	Comedy/horror
Field Punishment No.1	Peter Burger	Drama
The Pā Boys	Himiona Grace	Music/drama
The Dark Horse	James Napier Robertson
Erebus: Operation Overdue	Peter Burger, Charlotte Purdy	Drama
Pirates of the Airways	Charlie Haskell	Documentary
The Dead Lands	Toa Fraser	Action/horror	It was premièred in the Special Presentations section at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival
Hip Hop-eration	Bryn Evans	Documentary
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies	Peter Jackson	Fantasy	U.S. & NZ funded film produced in New Zealand
2015
Deathgasm	Jason Lei Howden	Comedy/horror
25 April	Leanne Pooley	Documentary
Ghost Shark 2: Urban Jaws	Andrew Todd, Johnny Hall	Comedy/horror
Born To Dance	Tammy Davis	Action/sport
2016
Mahana	Lee Tamahori	Action/drama
Penny Black (film)	Joe Hitchcock	Road Movie
Orphans and Kingdoms	Paolo Rotondo	Drama
Hunt for the Wilderpeople	Taika Waititi	Comedy	Based on the novel Wild Pork and Watercress by Barry Crump
The Wizard & the Commodore	Samuel Miller	Documentary	A Real life Sea Shanty from the Chathams Islands

See also

• Cinema of New Zealand

References

1. FilmNZ History
2. "Hinemoa". The New Zealand Film Archive. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
3. "A New Zealand Romance". The New Zealand Film Archive. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
4. NZFA Events Calendar
5. "Feature Films made in New Zealand since 1939". New Zealand Film Commission. 13 November 2008. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
6. "Awards for 140 Days Under the World". IMDb. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
7. "Don't Let It Get You (1966)". IMDb. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
8. Ward, Diana (1978). "David Blyth's new film Angel Mine". Art New Zealand. 11. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
9. NZ film commission
10. Wild Horses (1983)
11. Among the Cinders (IMDB)
12. "Came a Hot Friday". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
13. The Silent One (1984)
14. Out of Time (1984) (TV)
15. Vigil (IMDB)
17. http://www.nzfilm.co.nz/film/lost-valley-the
18. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0887752/
19. Tongan Ninja at IMDB
20. The Locals at IMDB
21. "New movie lures Melanie Lynskey home". Taranaki Daily News. 24 October 2007. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
22. Calder, Peter (27 August 2009). "The Strength of Water". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
23. Kara, Scott (2010-08-12). "Predicament in the making for local film". New Zealand Herald.
24. "Reaching for the Moon". Otago Daily Times. 2010-10-02.
25. "Dreamer by Design (2011)".
26. "Sione's 2: Unfinished Business (2012)".

• Leonard Maltin's 2007 Movie Guide

Further reading

• Dennis, Jonathan & Jan Bieringa, (1996) "Film in Aotearoa New Zealand", Wellington: Victoria University Press. (best source on topic) ISBN 0-86473-309-7
• Martin, Helen, and Edwards, Sam, (1997) New Zealand film, 1912-1996. Auckland: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-558336-1

External links

• IMDb Guide for New Zealand
• Informational site dedicated to New Zealand feature films on DVD, Blu-ray, Streaming