Old Dog (2017)

The Eruption: Stories of Survival

The two NZ survivors of the deadly White Island eruption tell their remarkable story of survival.

Operation 8

Operation 8 examines the so-called 'anti-terror' raids that took place around New Zealand on October 15, 2007 - asking how and why they took place and at what cost to those targeted.

The Silent Alps

"The Silent Alps" explores a forgotten massacre that is widely unknown in the modern era, the history of Kea culling in New Zealand

Erebus: Operation Overdue

On 28 November 1979, an Air New Zealand jet with 257 passengers went missing during a sightseeing tour over Antarctica. Within hours 11 ordinary police officers were called to duty to face the formidable Mount Erebus. As the police recovered the victims, an investigation team tried to uncover the mystery of how a jet could fly into a mountain in broad daylight. Did the airline have a secret it wanted to bury? This film tells the story of four New Zealand police officers who went to Antarctica as part of the police operation to recover the victims of the crash. Set in the beautiful yet hostile environment of Antarctica, this is the emotional and compelling true story of an extraordinary police operation.

See You At The Bottom – The New Zealand Snow Movie

See You At The Bottom – The New Zealand Snow Movie is a 20 minute film that has one simple goal in mind: To leave you lusting to get to the mountains. We unveil the unique big mountain experiences on offer in each of New Zealand’s distinctly different ski regions.

Southern Alps - A NZ Ski Movie

MFC's first ski movie displays the beautiful New Zealand mountains that played a key role in developing some of the worlds top Freeride Skiers.

Dread

An East Coast community in Ruatōria, New Zealand attempts to live in autarchy according to the tenets of their movement. Bob Marley, a prophet of our electronic age, is the soundtrack to the everyday lives of these Māori who feel closer to their own roots by observing a blend of Afro-Carribean Rastafarianism and the Ringatū faith. Merata Mita's camera respectfully portrays this singular cultural dialogue. The outsider cultures of Jamaicans, Ethiopians and Māori have come together, vibrating to a common cosmic chord. They find an underground brotherhood, across continents and seas.

Backroom Troubles

Women talk about the circumstances that drove them to seek illegal abortions and the often traumatic result. Interwoven with historical photographs and newsreel footage, the stories expose how the reality of women's lives were counterposed to what was socially and morally expected of them.

Dogs and Us: The Secret of a Friendship

This heart-warming documentary shows true stories about the unconditional loyalty between humans and dogs and investigates our best friends' remarkable intelligence, their outstanding sensory abilities and emotional bond to us humans.

Kim Dotcom: Caught in the Web

The larger-than-life story of Kim Dotcom, the 'most wanted man online', is extraordinary enough, but the battle between Dotcom and the US Government and entertainment industry—being fought in New Zealand—is one that goes to the heart of ownership, privacy and piracy in the digital age.

Max Gimblett: Original Mind

Max Gimblett: Original Mind documents the life and process of eccentric, creative genius Max Gimblett. One of New Zealand’s most successful and internationally prominent living painters, Gimblett has been working in America since 1962. The filmmakers spent a week in Gimblett’s Soho loft where he and his devoted studio assistants generously revealed the techniques and philosophy behind his beautiful art.

In the Theatre of the Gogs

A contemplation of art and adventure in the southern wilds of New Zealand by both a landscape photographer and an adventure filmmaker. This film is the unexpected result of their two unique perspectives.

Mururoa 1973

In 1973 Alister Barry joined the crew of a protest boat (The Fri) to Mururoa Atoll, where the French Government were testing nuclear weapons. Barry records the assembly of the crew, the long journey from Northland, and their reception in the test zone; when The Fri was boarded and impounded by French military he had to hide his camera in a barrel of oranges.

The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari

A close examination of the Whakaari / White Island volcanic eruption of 2019 in which 22 lives were lost, the film viscerally recounts a day when ordinary people were called upon to do extraordinary things, placing this tragic event within the larger context of nature, resilience, and the power of our shared humanity.

Dame Valerie Adams: More Than Gold

Olympic Champion, Kiwi Icon, Tongan Leader, Orphan, Mother...winning was just part of the journey.

Kinleith '80

Covers the 12-week-long strike at Kinleith Pulp and Paper Mill, owned by New Zealand Forest Products in January 1980.

Wildcat: The Struggle for Democracy in the New Zealand Timberworkers' Union

Delegates and workers discuss the issues that effect the Timberworkers’ Union, the reasons for the formation of the Combined Council of Timber Workers Delegates (CCD) and their industrial action.

Into the Basement

A documentary team in small town New Zealand investigate claims by scared locals that their kids have turned into devil worshipers, only to find out the truth has been grossly overstated.

Lost Dinosaurs of New Zealand

The discovery of dinosaurs by retired housewife turned scientist Joan Wiffen has cast a new light on the behaviour of dinosaurs during the late cretaceous period, and the puzzle of why dinosaurs, in general, became extinct. This programme tells the remarkable story of Joan Wiffen, who at age 68, went fossil hunting and found New Zealand's first dinosaur bones.

Nightshave

A narrator recounts a story about his missing friend, the downfall of a sheep shearing gang and sightings of a hairy beast in 1980s rural New Zealand.

Ram Raid Mums

Ram Raid Mums follows three desperate mothers, at their breaking point. With nowhere to turn, they discover Mana Inc, a lifeline that sparks hope.

Langi Ziit

Plot unavailable

The Hollow Men

The 'stolen' insider emails that informed Nicky Hager's best-selling account of National's 2005 election campaign return in Alister Barry's (Someone Else's Country) new film - just in time to caution us against campaigning politicians in 2008. Addressing each other like schoolboy Machiavellis, party leader Don Brash and his advisors spelled out how they'd copy the big boys in Australia and the US in order to win the votes of people who'd never support the kind of policies such men are widely presumed to represent. The dividing and conquering began at Orewa.

Steelers: The World's First Gay Rugby Club

Told through the eyes of an Australian news reporter, Eammon Ashton-Atkinson, who moved to the UK to escape depression, the documentary, follows 3 characters on their journey to overcome their struggles as the club competes against 60 other gay clubs in the Bingham Cup in Amsterdam – the World Cup of gay rugby.

Paint Until Dawn: a documentary on art in the life of James Gahagan

Seeing is to painting what listening is to politics. Survival as an artist demands both. Paint Until Dawn is a documentary on art in the life of James Gahagan (1927-1999), who painted all night to push the limits of vision. His life and thought reveal a correlation between art and activism through an interesting angle: the creative process itself.

Once in a Lifetime

This documentary delves into the history behind the Wellington New Zealand based private LOTR Fan museum, run by Kathy. It plays on request at the museum.

Beyond Conversion

BEYOND CONVERSION is a deep-dive into conversion therapy in Aotearoa through the eyes of Kiwi conversion therapy survivors.

Die Hunde der Mächtigen - und eine Katze

Plot unavailable

Georgie Girl

In 1999, the largely conservative Wairarapa district in New Zealand elected a former cabaret performer/actress named Georgina Beyer to the country's House of Parliament -- a seemingly unremarkable event in that country's history except for the fact that Beyer is a transsexual and may very well be the first transsexual in the world to be elected to a national office. In their 2002 biographical documentary Georgie Girl, co-directors Peter Wells and Annie Goldson highlight the popular Member of Parliament's rapid rise through local government to prominence in the New Zealand national government.

The KFC

Five Kiwis take on a paragliding adventure in Tanzania, with the ultimate aim to fly from the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro.

Tackling the All Blacks

Before the summer of 2022, Ireland had never beaten the All Blacks in New Zealand. Using behind the scenes footage and interviews with players and coaches this documentary reflects on the experience of triumphing in New Zealand for the first time.

Offerings to the God of Speed

Short subject documentary about land speed record holder Burt Munro. Produced for NZBC.

Raising Your Dog with the Monks of New Skete: Obedience - Working With Your Adult Dog

Obedience training requires a faithful commitment, precise knowledge, and daily exercise. In the face of such a challenge, keep yourself inspired and encouraged by the vision of the fruits of all the efforts of both you and and your dog -- a happy, responsive, and well-trained dog capable of a wonderful relationship with you and the world around it.

Fathers and Sons

"Fathers and Sons" is a short documentary project of Kaan Müjdeci that was shot in 2012 during the research for director's first feature film entitled SIVAS. Fathers and Sons tells the story of kangal dogs and their owners. Kangal is a breed of shepherd’s dog, unique to the land of Anatolia. The owners fight their kangals and make money off them from bettings. However, they treat and take care of their dogs like their sons, sometimes even better. Even though their sons may get hurt, a father still takes pride in having sent his son to the military, doesn’t he? Fathers and Sons is about the duality of this father-son relationship. But after all, every father would like to be proud of his son.

Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen

This film is an intimate portrayal of pioneering filmmaker Merata Mita told through the eyes of her children. Using hours of archive footage, some never before seen, her youngest child and director Hepi Mita discovers the filmmaker he never knew and shares the mother he lost, with the world.

No Māori Allowed

When an academic unearths a forgotten history, residents of the small township of Pukekohe, including kaumātua who have never told their personal stories before, confront its deep and dark racist past.