List of New Zealand films

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by editing the page to add missing items, with references to reliable sources.

This is a list of feature films and pre-1910 short films produced or co-produced by New Zealand companies (with some early 1900s exceptions), ordered by the year of release.

Key

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

Pre 1910

Title	Director(s)	Genre	Notes
1898
Opening of the Auckland Industrial and Mining Exhibition	Alfred Henry Whitehouse	Documentary	First NZ film; lost
Māori Scenes	Joseph Perry	Documentary	First NZ films of Māori; lost
Uhlan winning the Auckland Cup at Ellerslie Racecourse †	Alfred Henry Whitehouse	Documentary	First NZ horse-race filmed;lost
1899
Regatta scene	Alfred Henry Whitehouse	Documentary	lost
Maori Canoe Hurdle Race at Waikato	Alfred Henry Whitehouse	Documentary	lost
1900
The Departure of the Second Contingent for the Boer War	Alfred Henry Whitehouse	Documentary	Oldest surviving NZ film
The World's First Lady Mayor	Enos Silvanus Pegler	Docu-drama	Re-enactment of 1893 speech
1901
Royal Visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York to New Zealand	Joseph Perry	Documentary	lost
Waimangu Geyser in action	Joseph Perry	Documentary	lost Waimangu Geyser
Dummy Mace	Franklyn Barrett		staged boxing match
1903
A Message from Mars	Franklyn Barrett	Drama	First science fiction film made in NZ; lost
Ally Sloper as a Conjuror	Franklyn Barrett	Comedy	Harry Hall of Masterton as Ally Sloper
Ally Sloper on Holiday	Franklyn Barrett	Comedy	shot at Days Bay
Ally Sloper at the Races	Franklyn Barrett	Comedy	filmed at the old Hutt Park racecourse
1908
The Sea Coasts of New Zealand	Franklyn Barrett	Documentary

1910s

Title	Director(s)	Genre	Notes
1913
Hinemoa	Gaston Méliès		First NZ feature film; lost
How Chief Te Ponga Won His Bride	Gaston Méliès		lost
Loved by a Maori Chieftess	Gaston Méliès		lost
The River Wanganui	Gaston Méliès	Documentary
1914
Hinemoa	George Tarr	Romance	First feature film with a NZ producer and director; lost
1916
A Maori Maid's Love	Raymond Longford		lost
The Mutiny of the Bounty	Raymond Longford		lost
The Test	Rawdon Blandford	melodrama	lost

1920s

Title	Director	Genre	Notes
1921
Beyond	William Desmond Taylor	Drama	lost
The Betrayer	Beaumont Smith	Drama	lost
The Bloke from Freeman's Bay	Rudall Hayward	Comedy	Hayward's first film
1922
The Birth of New Zealand	Harrington Reynolds		Earliest New Zealand film of which footage (fragments only) are known to still exist.
My Lady of the Cave	Rudall Hayward
Ten Thousand Miles in the Southern Cross	George Tarr	Documentary/travelogue
1923
The Romance of Sleepy Hollow	Henry J. Makepeace		lost
1924
Rewi's Last Stand	Rudall Hayward		fragments only remain
Venus of the South Seas	James R. Sullivan
1925
The Adventures of Algy	Beaumont Smith
Glorious New Zealand	Arthur Messenger	documentary
1927
Carbine's Heritage	Edwin Coubray (Ted)		lost
The Romance of Hine-moa	Gustav Pauli		lost
The Te Kooti Trail	Rudall Hayward	Historical drama
Under the Southern Cross	Gustav Pauli		lost
1928
The Bush Cinderella	Rudall Hayward
1929
Under the Southern Cross	Lew Collins		a.k.a. The Devil's Pit or Taranga. Only fragments remain

1930s

Title	Director	Genre	Notes
1930
The Romance Of Maoriland	Edward T. Brown		Never released. Intended as New Zealand's first feature-length "talkie". 30 minutes of footage only remain.
1934
Romantic New Zealand		travelogue	New Zealand's first released "talkie" film.
1935
Down on the Farm	Stewart Pitt		New Zealand's first non-documentary "talkie". Fragments only remain. First film shot entirely in the South Island.
Hei Tiki	Alexander Markey		a.k.a. Primitive Passions, A Saga of the Maoris.
New Zealand's Charm: A Romantic Outpost of Empire	Cyril James Morton	Scenic
Magic Playgrounds in New Zealand's Geyserland		Scenic
1936
Phar Lap's Son	A. L. Lewis		a.k.a. Phar Lap's Son?. Lost.
On the Friendly Road	Rudall Hayward	drama	Features early New Zealand media personality Colin Scrimgeour in a lead role, playing his radio persona, "Uncle Scrim".
The Wagon and the Star	J. J. W. Pollard	drama	Only one reel remains.
1937
New Zealand Review no.1, Holiday Sounds		Scenic
1938
New Zealand Review No.5, Mountain Holiday		Scenic

1940s

Title	Director	Genre	Notes
1940
Rewi's Last Stand	Rudall Hayward	Historical drama/War
One Hundred Crowded Years	H H Bridgman	Docu-drama	Official Centennial film
1941
Country Lads	Stanhope Andrews	Patriotic propaganda	National Film Unit

1950s

Title	Director	Genre	Notes
1950
1950 British Empire Games		Sports documentary	1950 British Empire Games
Journey for Three	Michael Forlong	Immigration propaganda
1952
Broken Barrier	John O'Shea	Drama
1954
Royal New Zealand Journey / A Queen's Royal Tour	Oxley Hughan	Documentary	1953–1954 royal tour of New Zealand
The Seekers	Ken Annakin	Adventure	Location shooting for British film with NZ setting.

1960s

Title	Director	Genre	Notes
1964
140 Days Under the World	Geoffrey Scott	Documentary	1965 Academy Award Nominee: Documentary Short.
Runaway	John O'Shea	Drama	First film appearance for several noted New Zealand media personalities, including Selwyn Muru, Barry Crump, and Kiri Te Kanawa.
1966
Don't Let It Get You	John O'Shea	Comedy

1970s

Title	Director	Genre	Notes
1970
This is New Zealand	Hugh Macdonald	Documentary	Made for Expo '70 in Osaka, projected over three screens
1972
To Love a Maori	Rudall Hayward		Shot on 16mm. New Zealand's first colour feature film; Hayward's last film.
1973
Rangi's Catch	Michael Forlong	Children's drama	Film debut of Temuera Morrison
1974
Games '74	John King, Sam Pillsbury, Paul Maunder, Arthur Everard	Sports documentary	1974 British Commonwealth Games
1975
Landfall †	Paul Maunder		shot on 16mm
Test Pictures: Eleven Vignettes from a Relationship †	Geoff Steven	Drama
1976
Off the Edge †	Michael Firth	Skiing
1977
Sleeping Dogs	Roger Donaldson	Drama/action	First NZ film to open in the U.S.
Solo	Tony Williams
Wild Man	Geoff Murphy
1978
Angel Mine	David Blyth	Fantasy	Art New Zealand
Skin Deep *	Geoff Steven	Drama
1979
Middle Age Spread *†	John Reid	Comedy	shot on 16mm
Sons for the Return Home *†	Paul Maunder	Drama	based on the 1973 book by Albert Wendt

1980s

Title	Director	Genre	Notes
1980
Beyond Reasonable Doubt	John Laing	Drama	Based on the true story of the Crewe murders and wrongful conviction of Arthur Allan Thomas
Squeeze	Richard Turner	Drama	shot on 16mm
1981
Bad Blood *	Mike Newell	drama	NZ-British co-production
Dead Kids / Strange Behaviour / Shadowland †	Michael Laughlin	horror	AU-NZ-US co-production
Goodbye Pork Pie *	Geoff Murphy	comedy, road movie
Pictures †*	Michael Black		Entered into the 12th Moscow International Film Festival
Race for the Yankee Zephyr	David Hemmings	action	Australia - NZ co-production
Smash Palace *	Roger Donaldson	drama
Wildcat †	Ross Prosser, Russel Campbell, Alister Barry		shot on 16mm
1982
Carry Me Back †*	John Reid	comedy
The Scarecrow *	Sam Pillsbury
Battletruck (reissued as Warlords of the 21st Century)	Harley Cokliss	action	Hollywood film shot on location
A Woman of Good Character	David Blyth	Historical drama	AKA Lizzie; shot on 16mm
1983
Among the Cinders †*	Rolf Hädrich	Drama
It's Lizzie to Those Close / Lizzie †*	David Blyth	Historical drama	shot on 16mm
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence	Nagisa Oshima	War	location shooting for British-Japanese co-production
Patu! †*	Merata Mita	documentary
Savage Islands / Nate and Hayes †	Ferdinand Fairfax	Adventure
Second Time Lucky †	Michael Anderson	comedy
Strata †	Geoff Steven
Trespasses †	Peter Sharp
Utu *	Geoff Murphy	historical action	Screened at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival
Wild Horses †*	Derek Morton	Drama
War Years †	Pat McGuire
1984
Constance *	Bruce Morrison	Drama
The Bounty	Roger Donaldson	Adventure	Location shooting for Australian/US production
Death Warmed Up †*	David Blyth	horror/thriller
Heart of the Stag †	Michael Firth	Drama
Other Halves	John Laing	drama
The Silent One *	Yvonne Mackay	Drama	filmed in the Cook Islands
Vigil *	Vincent Ward	Drama	Nominated for Palme D'Or at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival
Trial Run *	Melanie Read	Thriller	First NZ feature film to be written and directed by a woman
1985
Bridge to Nowhere *	Ian Mune
Came a Hot Friday *	Ian Mune	comedy
Dangerous Orphans *	John Laing	Action
Hot Target	Denis Lewiston	sex thriller	Location shooting for US film
Kingpin	Mike Walker	drama	Entered into the 14th Moscow International Film Festival
The Lost Tribe	John Laing	horror
Mr Wrong *	Gaylene Preston	horror
The Quiet Earth *	Geoff Murphy	Drama/sci-fi/mystery
Shaker Run	Bruce Morrison	Action/thriller
Sylvia	Michael Firth	biographical film
1986
Footrot Flats: The Dog's Tale	Murray Ball	animated film
Arriving Tuesday *	Richard Riddiford	romantic comedy
Mark II *	John Anderson	drama
Pallet on the Floor	Lynton Butler
Queen City Rocker *	Bruce Morrison
1987
Bad Taste *	Peter Jackson	Comedy/horror/sci-fi
Illustrious Energy *	Leon Narbey
Mauri *	Merata Mita
Ngati *	Barry Barclay
1988
The Grasscutter	Ian Mune	action/thriller
Just Me and Mario	Greg Stitt	Comedy
The Navigator: A Mediaeval Odyssey *	Vincent Ward	fantasy	Entered into the 1988 Cannes Film Festival
Never Say Die	Geoff Murphy	action
Send a Gorilla *	Melanie Read	Comedy
1989
A Soldier's Tale	Larry Parr	Romantic drama
Meet the Feebles *	Peter Jackson	black comedy
Zilch! *	Richard Riddiford	thriller
Flying Fox in a Freedom Tree *	Martyn Sanderson	drama	based on works by Albert Wendt

1990s

Title	Director	Genre	Notes
1990
An Angel at My Table *	Jane Campion	biography
Mana Waka	Merata Mita	documentary
Ruby and Rata *	Gaylene Preston
User Friendly	Gregor Nicholas	horror, comedy
The Returning	John Day	Thriller
1991
The End of the Golden Weather	Ian Mune		Based on the play The End of the Golden Weather
Grampire	David Blyth	comedy/horror/kids	AKA My Grandpa Is a Vampire
Old Scores	Alan Clayton	comedy/sport
Te Rua	Barry Barclay
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
Jack Be Nimble	Garth Maxwell	gothic horror
1994
Heavenly Creatures *	Peter Jackson	Drama/romance/crime
Once Were Warriors	Lee Tamahori	Drama
The Last Tattoo	John Reid	Drama
Loaded	Anna Campion	Drama
1995
Bonjour Timothy *
Cinema of Unease	Sam Neill, Judy Rymer	Documentary
Forgotten Silver	Costa Botes, Peter Jackson	mockumentary
War Stories Our Mothers Never Told Us	Gaylene Preston	Documentary
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	Werner Meyer
Someone Else's Country	Alistair Barry	Documentary
The Frighteners *	Peter Jackson	comedy/horror
The Whole of the Moon *	Ian Mune
Out of the Dark	Keith Hunter	Documentary
1997
Aberration	Tim Boxell	Horror	Starring Pamela Gidley, Simon Bossell
Lost Valley	Dale G. Bradley
Topless Women Talk About Their Lives	Harry Sinclair
The Ugly	Scott Reynolds
1998
Memory and Desire	Niki Caro
Saving Grace	Costa Botes	romance
When Love Comes Along	Garth Maxwell
Heaven	Scott Reynolds	thriller
Via Satellite	Anthony McCarten	Comedy
1999
Channelling Baby	Christine Parker
I'll Make You Happy	Athina Tsoulis
Savage Honeymoon	Mark Beesley
Scarfies *	Robert Sarkies	black comedy
What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?	Ian Mune	drama
Punitive Damage	Annie Goldson	documentary
Campaign	Tony Sutorius	documentary
Getting to Our Place	Gaylene Preston, Anna Cottrell	documentary
Uncomfortable Comfortable	Campbell Walker	drama
Magik and Rose	Vanessa Alexander	drama, comedy
Lawless	Chris Martin-Jones	action/crime	Starring Kevin Smith, Angela Dotchin. First of a trilogy

2000s

Title	Director	Genre	Notes
2000
The Irrefutable Truth About Demons *	Glenn Standring	Horror, Thriller
Jubilee *	Michael Hurst	Comedy
The Price of Milk *	Harry Sinclair	Comedy
Wild Blue	Dale G. Bradley	drama
Hopeless	Stephen Hickey	comedy
Feathers of Peace	Barry Barclay	drama
Hotere	Merata Mita	documentary
2001
Crooked Earth	Sam Pillsbury	Drama
Kung Fu Vampire Killers	Phil Davison
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
Blerta Revisited	Geoff Murphy	documentary
2002
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers	Peter Jackson	fantasy	U.S. & NZ funded film produced in New Zealand
Whale Rider *	Niki Caro	drama
In a Land of Plenty	Alistair Barry	Documentary
Tongan Ninja	Jason Stutter	Action comedy
Toy Love	Harry Sinclair	comedy
The Maori Merchant of Venice	Don Selwyn	drama
Kids World	Dale G. Bradley	children's film
2003
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	Peter Jackson	fantasy	U.S. & NZ funded film produced in New Zealand
The Locals	Greg Page	Supernatural Thriller
Christmas	Greg King	Drama/Comedy
Woodenhead	Florian Habicht	Musical/Fairy tale/Drama
Perfect Strangers	Gaylene Preston	Thriller
2004
Fracture	Larry Parr	Drama	Based on Crime Story by Maurice Gee
Murmurs	Elric Kane and Alexander Greenhough	Drama
In My Father's Den	Brad McGann	Drama
Spooked	Geoff Murphy
Kaikohe Demolition	Florian Habicht	Documentary
2005
50 Ways of Saying Fabulous	Stewart Main	drama
King Kong	Peter Jackson	adventure
Banana in a Nutshell	Roseanne Liang	Documentary
River Queen	Vincent Ward	historical drama
The World's Fastest Indian *	Roger Donaldson	biography	Based on the life of Burt Munro
Meet Me in Miami	Eric Hannah and Iren Koster	Comedy
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
The Ferryman	Chris Graham	horror
The Waimate Conspiracy	Stefen Harris	Drama
Out of the Blue	Robert Sarkies	drama (based on true events)	Based on the true story of the Aramoana massacre
Black Sheep	Jonathan King	Comedy/horror
2007
The Tattooist	Peter Burger	Horror	New Zealand and Singapore co-production
A Song of Good	Gregory King
Down by the Riverside	Marama Killen Brad Davison	Film noir/horror
The Devil Dared Me To	Chris Stapp
Kissy Kissy	Elric Kane and Alexander Greenhough	Drama
We're Here To Help	Jonothan Cullinane	Kafkaesque comedy
Men Shouldn't Sing	Sarah Higginson and Michael Bell	Musical
The Last Great Snail Chase	Edward Lynden-Bell	Drama
The Last Magic Show	Andy Conlan	Comedy romance
Pictures of You
The Vintner's Luck	Niki Caro
Show of Hands	Anthony McCarten	Romantic comedy	Filmed in New Plymouth, Nov-Dec 2007
Eagle vs Shark	Taika Waititi	Romantic Comedy
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
Last of the Living	Logan McMillan	Comedy horror
Rubbings from a Live Man	Florian Habicht	Drama documentary
2009
District 9	Neill Blomkamp	Science fiction action
The Lovely Bones	Peter Jackson
Under the Mountain	Jonathan King	Fantasy	Based on the children's book of the same name by Maurice Gee which was also adapted into a television miniseries
Jumping in Puddles	Nick Hitchens and Jonathan Warner	Documentary
The Strength of Water	Armağan Ballantyne	Drama
Separation City	Paul Middleditch
The Man in the Hat	Luit Bieringa	Documentary
The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls	Leanne Pooley	Documentary
Land of the Long White Cloud	Florian Habicht	Documentary

2010s

Title	Director	Genre	Notes
2010
Kawa	Katie Wolfe	Drama	Based on Nights in the Gardens of Spain by Witi Ihimaera
After the Waterfall	Simone Horrocks	Drama
Wound	David Blyth	Horror
Matariki	Michael Bennett	Drama
Boy	Taika Waititi	Comedy/drama
Predicament	Jason Stutter	Comedy	Based on the Ronald Hugh Morrieson novel
The Insatiable Moon	Rosemary Riddell	Comedy/drama
The Hopes & Dreams of Gazza Snell	Brendan Donovan	Comedy/family
Home by Christmas	Gaylene Preston	Documentary Drama
Russian Snark	Stephen Sinclair	Comedy
2011
The Devil's Rock	Paul Campion	Horror
The Holy Roller	Patrick Gillies	Comedy drama
Love Birds	Paul Murphy	Romantic comedy
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
Tracker	Ian Sharp	Action/Thriller
Love Story	Florian Habicht	Documentary drama
When a City Falls	Gerard Smyth	Documentary
2012
Sione's 2: Unfinished Business	Simon Bennett	Comedy	Sequel to the Sione's Wedding (2006)
Good for Nothing	Mike Wallis	Comedy/Thriller/Western
Ghost TV	Phil Davison
Mr. Pip	Andrew Adamson	Drama	Based on Lloyd Jones' novel Mister Pip
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey	Peter Jackson	Fantasy	U.S. & NZ funded film produced in New Zealand
Tongan Ark	Paul Janman	Documentary	NZ Screen Innovation Fund www.publicfilms.works
The Red House	Alyx Duncan	Drama
Kiwi Flyer	Tony Simpson	Family/Comedy
Two Little Boys	Robert Sarkies	Comedy
2013
White Lies	Dana Rotberg	Drama
Eternity	Alex Galvin	Drama/sci-fi/mystery
Shopping	Mark Albiston, Louis Sutherland	Drama
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug	Peter Jackson	Fantasy	U.S. & NZ funded film produced in New Zealand
Romeo & Juliet: A Love Song	Tim van Dammen	Rock opera	Based on William Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo & Juliet
Gardening with Soul	Jess Feast	Documentary
The Weight of Elephants	Daniel Joseph Borgman	Drama
Giselle	Toa Fraser	Documentary
Fantail	Curtis Vowell	Drama
He Toki Huna: New Zealand in Afghanistan	Kay Ellmers	Documentary
Sheen of Gold	Simon Ogston	Documentary
Us and the Game Industry	Stephanie Beth	Documentary
Edwin: My Life as a Koont	Jason Stutter	Mockumentary, Comedy
Ghost Bride	David Blyth	Horror, Romance
Crackheads	Andy Sophocleus, Tim Tsiklauri	Comedy
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
The Pā Boys	Himiona Grace	Music/drama
The Dark Horse	James Napier Robertson	Drama	Biopic based on the true story of chess player Genesis Potini
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
Tūmanako/Hope	Susy Pointon	Documentary
3 Mile Limit	Craig Newland	Drama
Urban Turban	Devesh Singh	Drama, Romance	Fiji/NZ Bollywood film
The Cure	David Gould	Action thriller
Jake	Doug Dillaman	Drama, Sci-fi, Comedy
Everything We Loved	Max Currie	Drama
Contract Killers	Mathew John Pearson	Action Thriller
Beyond the Edge	Leanne Pooley	Documentary
Orphans and Kingdoms	Paolo Rotondo	Drama
Aunty and the Star People	Gerard Smyth	Documentary
Erewhon	Gavin Hipkins	Essay
Hot Air	Alister Barry, Abi King-Jones	Documentary
REALITi	Jonathan King	Thriller, Sci-Fi
Voices of the Land: Nga Reo o te Whenua	Paul Wolffram	Documentary
Cap Bocage	Jim Marbrook	Documentary
The Inheritance	Jeff McDonald	Documentary
Into the Void	Margaret Gordon	Documentary
2015
Deathgasm	Jason Lei Howden	Comedy/horror
The Dead Room	Jason Stutter	Horror
Turbo Kid	François Simard, Anouk Whissell and Yoann-Karl Whissell	Action/adventure/comedy/superhero/post-apocalyptic
25 April	Leanne Pooley	Documentary
Ghost Shark 2: Urban Jaws	Andrew Todd, Johnny Hall	Comedy/horror
Born To Dance	Tammy Davis	Action/sport
Belief: The Possession of Janet Moses	David Stubbs	Docodrama
Slow West	John McLean	Action/adventure, Drama
Lexi	Wayne Turner	Drama
The Great Maiden's Blush	Andrea Bosshard, Shane Loader	Drama
A Flickering Truth	Pietra Brettkelly
Herbs: Songs of Freedom	Tearepa Kahi	documentary
Free in Deed	Jake Mahaffy	drama
Act of Kindness	Costa Botes	Documentary
The Art of Recovery	Peter Young	Documentary
Crossing Rachmaninoff	Rebecca Tansley	Documentary
Ever the Land	Sarah Groenert	Documentary
Philip Dadson: Sonics From Scratch	Simon Ogston, Orlando Stewart	Documentary
The Price of Peace	Kim Webby	Documentary
Return of the Free China Junk	Robin Greenberg	Documentary
Tom Who? The Enigma of Tom Kreisler	Shirley Horrocks	Documentary
2016
Mahana	Lee Tamahori	Action/drama	Based on the novel Bulibasha by Witi Ihimaera
Penny Black	Joe Hitchcock	Road Movie
Orphans and Kingdoms	Paolo Rotondo	Drama
notes to eternity	Sarah Cordery	Documentary	featuring Noam Chomsky, Robert Fisk, Norman Finkelstein, Sara Roy
Hunt for the Wilderpeople	Taika Waititi	Comedy	Based on the novel Wild Pork and Watercress by Barry Crump
Tickled	David Farrier, Dylan Reeve	Documentary
Chasing Great	Justin Pemberton, Michelle Walsh	Documentary
the heART of the matter	Luit Bieringa	Documentary
Poi E: The Story of Our Song	Tearepa Kahi	documentary
The Rehearsal	Alison Maclean	Drama
On an Unknown Beach	Adam Luxton, Summer Agnew	Documentary
West of Eden	Alastair Riddell	Drama
The 5th Eye	Errol Wright, Abi King-Jones	Documentary
Chronesthesia	Hayden J. Weal	Romantic comedy
This Giant Papier Mâché Boulder Is Actually Really Heavy	Christian Nicolson	Science fiction, Comedy
Apple Pie	Sam Hamilton	Documentary
Le Ride	Phil Keoghan	documentary
2017
Pork Pie	Matt Murphy	Comedy/Road Movie	Remake of Goodbye Pork Pie
Kiwi Christmas	Tony Simpson	Family
Waru	Briar Grace-Smith, Casey Kaa, Ainsley Gardiner, Katie Wolfe, Chelsea Cohen, Renae Maihi, Paula Whetu Jones, Awanui Simich-Pene	Drama
6 Days	Toa Fraser	Drama/Thriller
The Changeover	Miranda Harcourt, Stuart McKenzie	Fantasy/Thriller	Based on the novel The Changeover by Margaret Mahy
Human Traces	Nic Gorman	Drama/Thriller
The Wizard & the Commodore - Chathams Islands New Zealand	Samuel A. Miller	Mondo Documentary
Bill Direen, A Memory of Others	Simon Ogston	Documentary	Screened in NZIFF 2017, download with O.S.T. 2019
My Year With Helen	Gaylene Preston	Documentary
What Lies That Way	Paul Wolffram	Documentary
Spookers	Florian Habicht	Documentary
The Stolen	Niall Johnson	Western
Kim Dotcom: Caught in the Web	Annie Goldson	Documentary
Pecking Order	Slavko Martinov	Documentary
2018
The Breaker Upperers	Madeleine Sami, Jackie van Beek	Comedy
Blue Moon	Stefen Harris	Film Noir
Broken	Tarry Mortlock	Drama	Inspired by true events
Mortal Engines	Christian Rivers	Fantasy/Thriller	Filmed in NZ, a U.S./NZ co-production based on the novel Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
Mega Time Squad	Tim van Dammen	Sci-fi, Action, Comedy
Status Pending	Ben Zolno	Dramedy	Improvised dialogue (mumblecore) film premiering at Cinequest, Filmed Entirely in Wellington, NZ.
The Heart Dances - The Journey of The Piano: The Ballet	Rebecca Tansley	Documentary
2019
Daffodils	David Stubbs	Drama
For My Father's Kingdom	Vea Mafile'o, Jeremiah Tauamiti	Documentary
Bellbird	Hamish Bennett	Drama
Come to Daddy	Ant Timpson	Horror
Brown Boys	Hans Masoe	Comedy
Take Home Pay	Stallone Vaiaoga-Ioasa	Comedy
Capital in the Twenty-First Century	Justin Pemberton	Documentary
Savage	Sam Kelly	crime
Jojo Rabbit	Taika Waititi	Comedy drama
Killer Sofa	Bernie Rao	Comedy horror
Vai	Nicole Whippy Ofa-Ki-Levuka Guttenbeil-Likiliki Matasila Freshwater Amberley Jo Aumua Mīria George Marina Alofagia McCartney Dianna Fuemana Becs Arahanga	Drama
The Chills: The Triumph & Tragedy of Martin Phillipps	Julia Parnell Rob Curry	Documentary
Mosley	Kirby Atkins	animated fantasy adventure drama
Guns Akimbo	Jason Lei Howden	Action comedy

2020s

Title	Director	Genre	Notes
2020
The Legend of Baron To'a	Kiel McNaughton	drama
Balance of the Five Elements	Jan-Hinrik Drevs	documentary
The Girl on the Bridge	Leanne Pooley	documentary
Rūrangi	Max Currie	LGBT/drama
LOIMATA, The Sweetest Tears	Anna Marbrook	documentary
This Town	David White	comedy
Lowdown Dirty Criminals	Paul Murphy	comedy
Shadow in the Cloud	Roseanne Liang	action/horror
Reunion	Jake Mahaffy	thriller, horror
Baby Done	Curtis Vowell	comedy
Six60: Till the Lights Go Out	Julia Parnell	documentary
We Need to Talk about A.I.	Leanne Pooley	documentary
2021
Dawn Raid	Oscar Kightley	documentary
Coming Home in the Dark	James Ashcroft	thriller
There Is No "I" in Threesome	Jan Oliver Lucks	drama, documentary, comedy
Cousins	Ainsley Gardiner, Briar Grace-Smith	drama	Based on Patricia Grace's eponymous novel.
Night Raiders	Danis Goulet	drama
James & Isey	Florian Habicht	documentary
Poppy	Linda Niccol	drama
The Justice of Bunny King	Gaysorn Thavat	drama
Juniper	Matthew J. Saville	drama
Mothers of the Revolution	Briar March	documentary
The Power of the Dog	Jane Campion	drama	Nominated for Best Picture at the 94th Academy Awards
Millie Lies Low	Michelle Savill	drama, comedy
Fiona Clark: Unafraid	Lula Cucchiara	documentary	Documentary on photographer Fiona Clark
Whetū Mārama – Bright Star	Toby Mills, Aileen O'Sullivan	documentary
Signed, Theo Schoon	Luit Bieringa	documentary
Ayukawa: The Weight of a Life	Tu Rapana Neill, Jim Speers	documentary
Mark Hunt - The Fight of His Life	Peter Brook Bell	documentary
A Mild Touch of Cancer	Annie Goldson	documentary
MILKED	Amy Taylor	documentary
Rohe Kōreporepo – The Swamp, the Sacred Place	Kathleen Gallagher, Kate Goodwin	documentary
2022
We Are Still Here	Beck Cole, Chantelle Burgoyne, Dena Curtis, Richard Curtis, Mario Gaoa, Danielle MacLean, Miki Magasiva, Renae Maihi, Tracey Rigney, Tim Worrall	drama
Nude Tuesday	Armağan Ballantyne	comedy
Whina	James Napier Robertson, Paula Whetu Jones	biographical drama
Muru	Tearepa Kahi	action, drama
Kāinga	Julie Zhu, Asuka Sylvie, Michelle Ang, Nahyeon Lee, Yamin Tun, Ghazaleh Golbakhsh, HASH, Angeline Loo	drama	Anthology film
Punch	Welby Ings	drama
Gloriavale	Fergus Grady, Noel Smyth	documentary	Documentary on the Gloriavale Christian Community
A Boy Called Piano	Nina Nawalowalo	drama documentary
When the Cows Come Home	Costa Botes	documentary
Mister Organ	David Farrier	documentary
Dame Valerie Adams: More than Gold	Briar March	documentary	Documentary on Valerie Adams
We Came Here For Freedom Part I	Alistair Harding	documentary
Geoff Dixon: Portraits of Us	Glenis Giles, Claire O'Leary	documentary
Juliet Gerrard: Science in Dark Times	Shirley Horrocks	documentary
Ka Pō	Etienne Aurelius	drama
Shut Eye	Tom Levesque	drama
2023
Bad Behaviour	Alice Englert	comedy
Red, White & Brass	Damon Fepulea'i	comedy
Stylebender	Zoe McIntosh	documentary	Documentary on Israel Adesanya
We Came Here For Freedom Part II	Alistair Harding	documentary
River of Freedom	Gaylene Barnes	documentary
Uproar	Hamish Bennett, Paul Middleditch	drama
The Convert	Lee Tamahori	drama
Joika	James Napier Robertson	drama
Billion Dollar Heist	Daniel Gordon	documentary
Building Bridges: Bill Youren's Vision of Peace	John Christoffels	documentary
Grant Sheehan: Light, Ghosts & Dreams	Robin Greenberg	documentary
Home Kills	Haydn Butler
King Loser	Cushla Dillon, Andrew Moore	documentary
Loop Track	Tom Sainsbury	comedy horror
Ms. Information	Gwen Isaac	documentary
Red Mole: A Romance	Annie Goldson	documentary
The Strangest of Angels	Rebecca Tansley	documentary
2024
We Were Dangerous	Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu	drama
The Mountain	Rachel House	comedy drama
The Lie	Helena Coan	documentary
The Moon Is Upside Down	Loren Taylor	comedy
Ka Whawhai Tonu	Michael Jonathan	war drama
Bookworm	Ant Timpson	comedy drama
Went Up the Hill	Samuel Van Grinsven	thriller, horror, drama
Alien Weaponry: Kua Tupu Te Ara	Kent Belcher	documentary
Grafted	Sasha Rainbow	horror
The Haka Party Incident	Katie Wolfe	documentary
Head South	Jonathan Ogilvie	coming-of-age, drama
The House Within	Joshua Prendeville	documentary
Marimari	Paul Wolffram	documentary
A Mistake	Christine Jeffs	drama
Never Look Away	Lucy Lawless	documentary
Taki Rua Theatre - Breaking Barriers	Whetu Fala	documentary
Maurice & I	Rick Harvie, Jane Mahoney	documentary
The Rule of Jenny Pen	James Ashcroft	thriller
The Bostrom Scenario	Ricky Townsend	sci-fi, thriller
Tinā	Miki Magasiva	drama
Gut Instinct	Doug Dillaman	Science fiction
The Weed Eaters	Callum Devlin	Comedy, Horror
2025
Forgive Us All	Jordana Stott and Lance Giles	apocalyptic horror
Marlon Williams: Ngā Ao E Rua Two Worlds	Ursula Grace Williams	Documentary
The People We Love	Mike Smith	Drama, Romance
Project Fiftyone	Gaylene Barnes, Bariz Shah, Saba Afrasyabi	Documentary
Kōkā	Kath Akuhata-Brown	Drama
Pike River	Robert Sarkies	Drama
Workmates	Curtis Vowell	Drama, Comedy
Prime Minister	Mishelle Walshe, Lindsay Utz	Documentary
GRACE A Prayer for Peace	Gaylene Preston	Documentary
Life in One Chord	Margaret Gordon	Documentary
TOITŪ Visual Sovereignty	Chelsea Winstanley	Documentary
Anchor Me - The Don McGlashan Story	Shirley Horrocks	Documentary
Kaikohe Blood & Fire	Simon Ogston	Documentary
Notes from a Fish	Tom Levesque, Romy Hooper	Comedy
Mārama	Taratoa Stappard	Gothic horror
No Tears on the Field	Lisa Burd	Documentary
Moss & Freud	James Lucas	Biographical drama
2026
Mum, I'm Alien Pregnant	THUNDERLIPS	Comedy horror
Big Girls Don't Cry	Paloma Schneideman	Drama
Holy Days	Nathalie Boltt	Comedy drama
Caterpillar	Chelsie Preston Crayford	Drama
Tenor: My Name is Pati	Rebecca Tansley	Documentary
Sgt. Haane	Tearepa Kahi	Documentary
Crocodile	Pietra Brettkelly	Documentary
Lomu	Vea Mafile'o, Gavin Fitzgerald	Documentary
Sukundimi Walks Before Me	Matasila Freshwater	Documentary

See also

• Cinema of New Zealand

References

• 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