Waru

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.

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 drama about a Maori family living in Auckland, New Zealand. Lee Tamahori tells the story of Beth Heke’s strong will to keep her family together during times of unemployment and abuse from her violent and alcoholic husband.

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.

An intimate story set during the 1860s in which a young Irish woman Sarah and her family find themselves on both sides of the turbulent wars between British and Maori during the British colonization of New Zealand.

Mousie and Sad Girl are childhood best friends in a contemporary Los Angeles poor Hispanic neighborhood. But when Sad Girl becomes pregnant by Mousie's boyfriend, a drug dealer named Ernesto, the two become bitter enemies. While their dispute escalates towards violence, the violence of the world around them soon also impacts their lives.

Abigail, a divorced mother of two, is struggling to balance the dynamics within her dysfunctional family as she attempts to cultivate new love.

Rewi Rapana returns to the small country town of Te Mata after his family has left the district. His arrival rekindles old tensions as well as renewing family ties. He is seeking an identity and a permanent place to call home yet desperately hiding a secret from his past. Oddly enough there is one person with whom he finds peace of mind. She is an old woman known as Kara. A special relationship develops between Rewi, Kara and Kara’s great granddaughter Awatea.

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

When 19 year old Heather Walsh accepts a job on a farm in the Mangatiti Valley, she has no idea paradise will become a nightmare. This true New Zealand story tells of Heather's horrific ordeal.

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.

A medicine woman - a giver of life - is asked to hide a secret which may protect one life but which will destroy another.

Eve and Charlie are about to have a baby but they are no longer together. After years of history and months of separation they have 24 hours to find their way forward. Set in Christchurch, New Zealand one year after the earthquakes that devastated the city. 'Sunday' is a story like the city, one of past devastation and a chance at rebuilding.

Nancy Carroll stars in Manhattan Cocktail as Babs, a college coed who dreams of becoming a famous actress. Joining up with her campus chums Fred (Richard Arlen) and Bob (Danny O'Shea), likewise aspiring thespians, Babes heads to Broadway with stars in her eyes. The winsome threesome are quickly disillusioned by the heartless machinations of nasty producer Renov (Paul Lukas) and his harridan wife (Lilyan Tashman). Before the plot proper gets under way, the audience is regaled with a cute "mythological" prologue, featuring the same three leading actors. Manhattan Cocktail was a silent picture, except for two brief musical numbers showcasing Nancy Carroll.

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.

An aerial journey from the deep south of the South Island to the northern tip of the North Island. We discover the landscapes and meet New Zealanders who talk about their work, interests and culture.

In a seemingly quiet country town the newest resident, Detective Inspector Mike Shepherd, finds that murder lurks in even the most homely location.

Find me a Māori Bride follows the comic misadventures of Tama Bradley, and his cousin George Alpert, a pair of successful, metrosexual Māori men, whose lives are turned upside down, when presented with a wero (challenge), by their late grandmother – find a Māori wife within 6 months, or lose out on inheriting the whānau farm, worth a whopping $47,000,000.

Acclaimed filmmaker Jennifer Fox maps the world of female life and sexuality today -- from the dramatic turns in her own life to the stories of women around the globe that shed light on the universal issues all women face. Employing a groundbreaking camera technique, called "passing the camera", this powerful series creates a new type of documentary language and storytelling that mirrors the special way women communicate.

Francis and Kaiora Tipene are the passionate proprietors of Tipene Funerals. This is a unique opportunity to look behind the scenes of their business and into this little-explored but vital service, where our culture's last taboo is being addressed with dignity and aroha.

New Zealand's capital is a hotbed of supernatural activity... so Officers Minogue and O'Leary, who featured in the vampire documentary What We Do In The Shadows, take to the streets to investigate all manner of paranormal phenomena.

The most spectacular vehicles in the world are milestones of engineering that have changed land, water, and air transport for good. Each episode features a different class of vehicle, from the breathtakingly fast to the impressively powerful.

The 19th-century tale of love, murder and revenge as men and women travel across the world to make their fortunes on the wild West Coast of New Zealand's South Island.

During a murder investigation in Queenstown, an ambitious young detective reawakens a spiritual gift that endangers the case, his career and his life.

Two very different sisters inherit a funeral home - and its eccentric employees - from their koro. While Ellie is determined to uphold her grandfather's legacy, Gwen can't wait to get to Bali and become a DJ. Can they figure out their lives while staring death in the face?

Colonial Combat takes a laugh at our unofficial NZ colonial history. It's a dog eat dog world, where colourful characters compete inside and outside of the ring.

Five young friends and flatmates grapple with what it means to be Maori in the 2020s.

TakaPu, a computer-animated gannet, travels around the Pacific islands and tells about his incredible adventures and exciting encounters with the islanders and diverse cultures of the Pacific. TakaPu is the Maori name for gannet. He is cheeky and precocious, like all young gannets, and, of course, outrageously clumsy. He is driven by his never ending appetite for man made fishfingers and will beg, steal and borrow to get them. The series is aimed at pre-school and primary school kids. In a lightly educational, but nevertheless entertaining and funny way it helps to promote a better understanding of Pacific cultures amongst children of all descents.

The (mostly) true story of how the most comically inept gang to ever join forces got half a billion dollars' worth of meth to New Zealand shores - and nearly to market. And they would have got away with it too, if it wasn't for a pesky 70-year-old Māori diesel mechanic and his aqua-aerobics instructing wife!

A dark comedy about a sexual health nurse with a fear of casual sex consequences who decides to get back in the game by dating online.