Best movies like Same But Different: A True New Zealand Love Story

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.

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.

The night before Halloween, a teenage babysitter is stalked by a masked killer; but in an unusual turn of events, victim and victimizer begin to develop romantic feelings for each other.

Small-town girl Angie King leaves the church and her home to pursue a dream of singing stardom.

Ex-con turned "scrapper" Jake leads a quiet life caring for his family until he is pursued by violent Punjabi and Mexican criminals following a botched robbery.

New Zealand independent drama following a young Māori man who moves to the country to rebuild his life after facing prejudices around his sexual orientation. He takes on a job on a farm where he grows attached to the farmer’s son. But when their relationship grows, the situation steers into darker territories…

Two single parents come head to head when their kids want to adopt the same dog. Agreeing to co-foster, free-spirited Kate and type-A Eric must work together to find the dog's forever home.

A young woman faces her future as a lawyer in a small New England town where the annual Christmas ice sculpting competition in which she and her father have always competed has been cancelled. Working to save the festival, she meets a reluctant sculptor who reignites her passion, in more ways than one.

Despite agreeing to an arranged marriage to a childhood friend, a successful businessman tries to track down a beautiful woman that he met at a Halloween party.

Small-town New Zealand comedy-drama about Michael (Jordan Selwyn) - a 16-year-old whose passion for maps helps him escape his ordinary life and enjoy a state of isolation from those around him. But there are three women he can’t shut out – his single mother Amelia, a blind 20-year-old called Mary and Alison , a friend whose ‘grace betrays darker secrets’ apparently.

When Jessica Parker’s former high school boyfriend, superstar baseball player Chase Taynor, returns to town, she finds the inspiration to reinvent her struggling diner… and revisits the past to find something even better for the future.

Single mom Abbey takes a leap of faith to pursue her passion for interior design. When she gets hired to decorate the estate of local businessman Nick, Abbey must complete the job by Christmas Eve. With the holidays fast approaching, Abbey must figure out how to break down the wall between her and Nick, as this could be the opportunity that jump-starts her career.

A spirited artist with a mysterious bucket list gets a commission to paint a mural on a new hospital wing in a charming community. When she finds herself falling for the handsome architect designing the addition, she must decide if she can trust him with her list, and the painful memory behind it, or if he’ll break her heart and prove that it’s better to be alone than to be close to someone who will leave.

Trapped behind the Boundary Fence, Freya dreams of escape and pursues a dangerous outsider who can free her.

A famous singer, bored with music and fans, goes to live in Mexico. His manager sends a woman to bring him back. They fall in love.

‘The Legend of Baron To’a’ tells the story of Fritz, a Tongan entrepreneur who returns to his old neighbourhood and inadvertently causes the theft of his late father’s valued pro wrestling title belt by some ruthless gangsters led by ‘man-mountain’ Tahu. When negotiation and diplomacy fail to get it back, he is forced to embrace his father’s legacy to reclaim the title.

Biopic about the life of Whina Cooper, an activist who worked tirelessly to improve the lives of fellow Māori women.

When Kelsey's magazine approves her pitch about a sceptic's take on love and horoscopes, she is teamed up with Astrology guru, Carter. Clearly from opposite worlds, they put their competing perspectives aside to work the story around a local meteor shower festival. Through both fact and fate, they soon unearth that love really can be written in the stars.

When Kendall, a successful restaurant designer comes home to Mystic Bay for the annual Big Catch Festival, she finds herself in uncharted waters with town newcomer Zack. Is Kendall baited for trouble in her home town or will she catch true love?

When Holly boldly proposes to Phil, he confesses he needs to first work things out with a long-ago ex. Having booked a romantic holiday sleigh ride, despondent Holly pours her heart out to sleigh driver, Jake, who takes a refreshing interest in her, until Phil returns.

Madison has the chance to pursue her love of event management when her two best friends announce their engagement. Finding a pre-planned wedding package on a remote island vineyard in New Zealand, Madison teams up with David, the handsome vineyard owner, to re-imagine the event for her friends.

Zack is a young, divorced father who starts to develop romantic feelings towards his friend Rebecca, whom he refers to as "Crazy Eyes". He spends a lot of time at a bar run by his best friend Dan Drake and hanging out with Autumn. As he pursues a sexual relationship with Rebecca, Zack grows increasingly aware of the importance of his son's role in his life amidst the failing health of his own father.

Two down on their luck childhood friends struggle to figure out their lives. Ray a drummer in a rock and roll band, and Owen an aspiring film maker spend most of their time working menial jobs and drinking. When Owen's fiancé Lynn breaks off their engagement he finds himself spiraling, and allows Ray to come along with him to a two bit film festival he has been invited to in Kansas. There Owen makes several attempts to patch up his relationship, while Ray scams them into a deluxe suite at the local Four Seasons hotel by posing as Wally Shawn's son (who happens to be receiving a lifetime achievement award) and generally causes a major ruckus. By the end, Owen decides to make some changes in their relationship and in his life.

The life of a single mum spirals out of control when a shocking event threatens to tear her family apart. Pursued by a dangerous criminal, they flee the city to hide out in a remote caravan on the coast. Along the way they accept the help of a stranger, but who is he and what is he hiding? Soundproof is a gripping story about family, secrets and trust.

UPROAR is a story about connection and finding your place in the world. It is the story of 17-year-old Josh Waaka (played by Julian Dennison). Set in Dunedin in 1981, a rugby-obsessed country is divided over the arrival of the South African Springboks team, sparking nationwide protests. Under pressure from home and school to conform, Josh, who has never felt like he fits in anywhere, is inspired by the protests to find his own voice. A sequence of events sees Josh embrace his community and follow his heart to his whakapapa (Māori heritage), which brings him and his whānau on a journey towards healing.

After skipping town a decade ago, transgender activist Caz Davis returns to the remote, politically divided dairy community of Rurangi, hoping to reconnect with his estranged father, who hasn't heard from him since before Caz transitioned.

The parallel stories of two couples in crises and their connections to a drowned woman found in a river.

Three friends united by their love of hip-hop work to make their big mark in the music industry. Beginning in the summer of 1990 NYC, Nikki a brilliant recent grad abandons a law school scholarship to pursue her dream of becoming a record exec along with the son of a legendary music producer boyfriend David who’s struggling at the city’s top R&B station. Dee Vee is an aspiring producer on the hunt to find the next big rapper on the come-up.

Their love of dance, and their friendship, is challenged for two high school girls when one is diagnosed with cancer.

Eight Māori female directors have each contributed a sequence to this powerful and challenging feature which unfolds around the tangi of a small boy who died at the hands of his caregiver.

The first film in the Tina trilogy, using the actual inhabitants of a tough Leeds council estate in the leading roles. Tina is a single mum who steals to order for her own `shopping' business, her drug-addict boyfriend Aaron is planning the theft of a cow so he can sell the meat, and Tina's father, Don, is the mobster in control of the local drugs trade.

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.

In 1852, two friends left the Nevada prospector region to relocate from en route he meets the beautiful Marie who decides to make a trek with two friends, but on the way he is attacked by three Arabs who installs camels, take these Arab adventurers to the Indians.

Butterfly Crush is a modern love story, starring award winning Australian actress Amelia Shankley, and set against the backdrop of the Sydney music industry. The song and dance duo, Butterfly Crush are about to break big, and are up for the Australasian Song Awards, but their chance at success is jeopardized when half of the duo; Eva, gets involved with a Kings Cross cult, the “Dreamguides”, deep into astrology and virtual dreaming. Moana must risk everything to save her, in this brand new contemporary feature about music and love.

Portrait of a Knight is a musical romance about the way in which historic ideals inform contemporary urban life. Rachel is a young archivist living and working in Wellington, New Zealand. Feeling alone and disconnected from life, she projects her romantic fantasies onto the paintings she loves, until one day her song brings Reginald - a Knight of the Realm - to life. His carefree innocence and zest for life begin to open Rachel up to the beauty around her, but the fates have a way of making trouble when miracles occur...