Whina

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.

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.

A trio of accidental outlaws travel the length of New Zealand, protesting conformity and chasing lost love, with a posse of cops and a media frenzy in pursuit.

Sophie loved Edmund, but he left town when her parents forced her to marry wealthy Octavius. Years later, Edmund returns with his son, William. Sophie's daughter, Marguerite, and William fall in love. Marguerite's sister, Marianne, also loves William. Timothy, a lowly carpenter, secretly loves Marianne. He kills a man in a fight, and Edmund helps him flee to New Zealand. William deserts inadvertently from the navy, and also flees in disgrace to New Zealand, where he and Timothy start a profitable business. One night, drunk, William writes Octavius, demanding his daughter's hand; but, being drunk, he asks for the wrong sister.

A modern day take on the classic bard tale - with Silver as a movie producer.

The life and times of Tommy Cooper

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.

Same But Different: A True New Zealand Love Story follows Rachel, a single working Grey Lynn mum, who breaks a three-year spell of singledom to pursue her escalating feelings for Nikki, whom she meets at a Māori film festival.

Separated as children, three cousins with an unshakable bond confront their painful pasts and embark on an emotional journey to find each other.

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.

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

American-born Anna Vorontosov teaches school in a remote, primitive section of northern New Zealand. Her experimental teaching methods have won her the love and affection of her pupils and their parents and the admiration of the unhappily married school inspector, Abercrombie. Her personal life, however, is less secure; frightened of love and sexually inhibited, she has always been aloof with men. Eager to break down this barrier is Englishman Paul Lathrope, a somewhat irrational and immature fellow teacher who aspires to be a singer. Though Anna is attracted to him, she refuses to submit to his advances.

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.

New Zealand version of the reality dating competition where a single bachelor dates multiple women over several weeks, narrowing them down to hopefully find his true love.

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.

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.

The true story of the movement to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, and the unexpected backlash led by a conservative woman named Phyllis Schlafly, aka “the sweetheart of the silent majority.”

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

A television miniseries based on the life of Harriet Tubman, the escaped African American slave who helped to organize the Underground Railroad, and who led dozens of African Americans from enslavement in the Southern United States to freedom in the Northern states and Canada.

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.

1985: Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior is bombed. The attack exposed a murky world of nuclear testing and abuse of power - and inspired a generation of environmental activists.

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.

In exchange for free rent, Henry is forced to go out on arranged 'dates' by his parents and their overzealous family friends. When Henry is matched with Melissa - a fellow homebound 30-something - they conspire to fake a relationship to get their parents off their backs.

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 10 part culinary journey showcasing ten of the best Māori culinary artists at work sharing their tips and tricks to give Māori Kai a modern edge.