Best New Zealand drama movies

The life story of New Zealander Burt Munro, who spent years building a 1920 Indian motorcycle—a bike which helped him set the land-speed world record at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats in 1967.

Precocious teenager Juliet moves to New Zealand with her family and soon befriends the quiet, brooding Pauline through their shared love of fantasy and literature. This friendship gradually develops into an intense and obsessive bond.

Boy, an 11-year-old child and devout Michael Jackson fan who lives on the east coast of New Zealand in 1984, gets a chance to know his absentee criminal father, who has returned to find a bag of money he buried years ago.

After a top-secret experiment misfires, a scientist may be the only man left alive in the world.

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 contemporary story of love, rejection, and triumph as a young Maori girl fights to fulfill a destiny her grandfather refuses to recognize.

Every culture has one – the horrible monster fueling young children's nightmares. But for Tim, the Boogeyman still lives in his memories as a creature that devoured his father 16 years ago. Is the Boogeyman real, or did Tim make it up to explain why his father abandoned his family?

Eleven-year-old Mildred’s life is turned upside down when her mother lands in hospital and estranged, American magician father, Strawn Wise, comes to look after her. Hoping to entertain the bookish tween, Strawn takes Mildred camping in the notoriously rugged New Zealand wilderness, and the pair embark on the ultimate test of family bonding – a quest to find the mythological beast known as the Canterbury Panther.

Filling the giant screen with stunning time-lapse vistas of Antarctica, and detailing year-round life at McMurdo and Scott Base, Anthony Powell’s documentary is a potent hymn to the icy continent and the heavens above.

In 1989 the trimaran Rose Noelle set sail from Picton, New Zealand, bound for Tonga with four crew. After a freak wave capsized the yacht, they drifted for 119 days before landing on Great Barrier Island.

War journalist Paul Prior returns to his New Zealand hometown after his father’s death, rekindling strained relationships with his brother and memories of a troubled past. He befriends Celia, a curious and aspiring writer, who shares a fascination with his world. When Celia mysteriously disappears, Paul becomes the prime suspect, forcing him to confront buried secrets and uncover the dark truths of his family and community.

A 3D feature film about Sir Edmund Hillary's monumental and historical ascent of Mt. Everest in 1953 - an event that stunned the world and defined a nation.

As a war rages on in the province of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea, a young girl becomes transfixed by the Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations, which is being read at school by the only white man in the village.

American ballet dancer Joy Womack is accepted into Moscow's infamously tough Bolshoi Ballet Academy, with the dream of becoming a great ballerina.

When a self-destructive teenager is suspended from school and asked to look after his feisty alcoholic grandmother as a punishment, the crazy time they spend together turns his life around.

In the midst of a new scheme to publicly report surgeons’ performance, a gifted surgeon’s life is thrown into disarray as her colleagues begin to close ranks, and even her partner, a nurse at the hospital, turns her back on her.

A 17 year-old student is forced to get off the fence he has actively sat on all his life to stand up for himself, his whanau (family) and his future in this heartwarming story of identity.

Ordinary people find extraordinary courage in the face of madness. On 13–14 November 1990 that madness came to Aramoana, a small New Zealand seaside town, in the form of a lone gunman with a high-powered semi-automatic rifle. As he stalked his victims the terrified and confused residents were trapped for 24 hours while a handful of under-resourced and under-armed local policemen risked their lives trying to find him and save the survivors. Based on true events.

The vampire myth is given a stylish 1960s treatment, where a human cop partners with a vampire cop to stop a vamp bent on creating a war between the two "separate but equal" races.

Jim is preparing for his first professional fight but begins to rethink his life's trajectory and his sexuality after tangling with Whetu, a gay Maori boy who spends his days in an old shack down by the beach.

Five years have passed and Jake has turned his back on his family. He's still up to his usual tricks in McClutchy's Bar, unaware, as he downs his latest opponent, that his eldest son, Nig, has died in a gang fight. The uncomfortable family reunion at Nig's funeral sparks a confrontation with second son, Sonny, and sets Jake and Sonny on a downward spiral.

Teenage twins battle dark forces hidden beneath Auckland's volcanoes.

Sometimes first love is found in the most unlikely of places, like in the carpark outside the Te Kaha pub.

Coming of age tale told through the eyes of 'Tu', an ambitious young man from Auckland who dreams of being a professional hip-hop dancer.

Bunny King is a mother of two, a rough cut diamond with a sketchy past. While battling the system to reunite with her children, a confrontation leads her to take her niece Tonyah under her wing. With the world against her and Tonyah, Bunny’s battle has just begun.

Lucy, a former child actor, seeks enlightenment at a retreat led by spiritual leader Elon while she navigates her close yet turbulent relationship with her stunt-performer daughter, Dylan.

Al Shaw's life revolves around motor racing and his back country junkyard, the "Smash Palace". His French wife, Jacqui, doesn't appreciate the lack of attention due to Al's obsession with cars. When Al finds her in the arms of another man, he takes his daughter, Georgie and heads for the bush, desperately hoping to hold on to the only family he has left.

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.

Recluse Smith is drawn into a revolutionary struggle between guerrillas and right-wingers in New Zealand. Implicated in a murder and framed as a revolutionary conspirator, Smith tries to maintain an attitude of non-violence while caught between warring factions.

Connected by blood but separated by circumstances, three cousins spend a lifetime in search of each other.

In New Zealand in the 1860s the native Māori people fought the British colonials to keep the land guaranteed to them by treaty. The warrior Te Wheke fights for the British until betrayal leads him to seek utu (revenge). The settler Williamson in turn seeks revenge after Te Wheke attacks his homestead. Meanwhile Wiremu, an officer for the British, seems to think that resistance is futile.

A powerful and inspirational story of dedication, danger, fear, and the rare ‘will’ some of us have to defy all personal limitations. Experience the fastest motorsport on earth through the eyes of five-time champion Scott Dixon and the Chip Ganassi Racing team. Filmed with an access all areas lens, ‘Born Racer’ follows the people who are passionate about the world of auto racing and asks why some individuals feel compelled to face danger and risk their lives in order to win. Both action-packed and highly-intimate, it features an intense blend of up close and personal filming with never-before-seen spectacular, cutting-edge racing footage to explore a sport that defines the very people who inhabit it, and pushes them to the edge in their desire for success.

An outbreak of avian flu mutates into a virus that becomes transmittable from human to human.

In the wake of the loss of his beloved wife, a rural community rallies around a farmer to help him deal with his grief.

In 1914 Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans Antarctic Expedition headed for the South Pole and disaster. Shackleton's Captain reveals the truth behind the spectacular survival of all the crew and shows how one man's extraordinary skill and unsung heroism made it possible: Frank Worsley, Captain of the expedition ship, Endurance.

Jack, Thomas and Wayne are the Stickmen. They like nothing more than having a beer in one hand, a pool cue in the other, a coin on the table and a sexy bird or two. They play pub pool for fun and money at Dave's bar. Desperate to get out of debt, Dave gets the Stickmen entered into a high stakes pool tournament run by vicious crime boss "Daddy". He also gets them into a whole rack of trouble.

Nellie, Daisy and Lou attend an institution for delinquent girls on an isolated island in 1954. The trio rail against the system, finding strength in their friendship but this is challenged when the school's matron divides them.

A bittersweet love story told through enchanting re-imaginings of popular and iconic New Zealand songs.

The father of a deeply troubled household that endured tragedy both from without and within, seeks to reconcile with his youngest daughter by making a journey to both symbolically and culturally lay the family "ghosts" to rest.

1960s, East Coast of New Zealand. Two Māori sheep-shearing families, the Mahanas and the Poatas, are longstanding enemies and commercial rivals. 14-year-old Simeon Mahana, the youngest son of the youngest son is in conflict with his traditionalist grandfather, Tamihana. As Simeon unravels the truth behind the longstanding family vendetta he risks not just his own future prospects but the cohesion of the entire tight-knit society.

Toss lives on a sheep farm with her father in New Zealand. When Toss's father dies in an accident, Ethan, an itinerant hunter, wanders onto the family farm and is given a job by her grandfather. Toss's fairly innocent relationship with Ethan is severed when he forms a relationship with her mother.

A granddaughter brings joy on Christmas morning by mending her Filipina grandmother’s beloved Mickey plush and decorating her house with Filipino Christmas lanterns ‘parols’; reviving a family tradition and evoking memories of Christmas past. In partnership with Make-A-Wish. Featuring "Love Is A Compass" by Griff.

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 story of Dame Whina Cooper, the beloved Māori matriarch who worked tirelessly to improve the rights of her people, especially women. Flawed yet resilient, Whina tells the story of a woman formed by tradition, compelled by innovation, and guided by an instinct for equality and justice whose legacy as the Te Whaea o te Motu (Mother of the Nation) was an inspiration to an entire country.

A black comedy based on the true story of Alfred Benning's outlandish attempts to murder his overbearing wife in 1977.

The courageous story of a tenacious New Zealand woman who would stop at nothing in seeking justice for her brother's murder.

Adam is a 22 year old New Zealand born Samoan guy who falls for Mary. On a 'chance' encounter he learns that Mary only wants to go out with a 'real island guy' - not a plastic one. Adam realizes that to get rid of his 'plastic' ways and impress Mary, he'll have to travel to Samoa and have his cousins teach him how to be a real island guy. Three Wise Cousins is a feature length comedy, that will have you laughing from start to end; it's a film unlike any other that will surprise you with it's endless amount of 'wisdom'.

Janey is on vacation with her family at their beach house on the Mahurangi Peninsula in New Zealand. Her parents, Ed and Kate, are on the verge of divorce and sit around drinking whiskey all day, while Janey and Jim are left to their own devices. Cady, a local boaty who is having an affair with Kate, catches Janey's pubescent eye.

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.

A love story featuring two young Maoris. A story about growing up and an unusual relationship that is simple, moving and tragic. A boy, a girl… and a step too far into a personal abyss of violence and pain. Survival may not bring a happy ending.

Inspired by actual events, MURU is the story of a local Police Sergeant ‘Taffy’ Tāwharau, who must choose between duty to his badge or his people, when the Government invoke antiterrorism powers to launch an armed raid on Taffy’s remote Urewera community, on a school day. This gripping action drama is not a re-creation, but a response to the 2007 Tūhoe raids. MURU is a Māori concept for 'forgiveness’.

A digitally restored and re-edited version of the original 1983 'Utu'. It starts with the slaughter of a Maori village where almost every character seems to enter into their own personal vendetta against their enemies, turning the film into a prolonged ballad of revenge. These savage motivations mean the moral compass is effectively shattered, nobody is completely good or evil, and the stage is set for some incredibly visceral set pieces, a grim view of race relations and a black sense of humour.

Ivan is the fierce patriarch of a family of Croatian refugees living in Auckland during the Yugoslav wars. Nina is his daughter, ready to live on her own, despite his angry objections. Eddie is the Maori she takes as her lover. Nina works at the restaurant where Eddie cooks. For a price, she agrees to marry another restaurant employee, a Chinese man, so that he can establish permanent residency. The money gives her the independence she needs to leave her parents' house and move in with Eddie. Complications arise when Eddie realizes the depth of her father's fury and the strength of Nina's family ties.

First-year acting student Stanley mines his girlfriend's family scandal as material for the end-of-year show at drama school. The result is a moral minefield.

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

Logan, an ex-gang leader, has left the gang life to raise his daughter Tori. But when Tori is murdered by an opposing gang in town, Logan must choose forgiveness or revenge.

In 1994, New Zealand mountaineer, Mark Whetu, summitted Mt Everest with climbing partner and friend Mike Reinberger. However it was late in the day and after a freezing night on the summit, Whetu was faced with a terrible decision...to leave Reinberger or stay with him forever.

Munted is an unusual, multi-award winning, short film about an accusation of pedophilia and its terrible consequences. Set in 1961 in a remote rural community, it tells the story of a ten-year old girl and her friendship with a brain damaged artist. Told through erosions between film and drawing the film is a lyrical and brutal account of the cost of rumour and prejudice.

The dramatic behind-the-scenes story of All Black Stephen Donald and the pentaly kick that saved the 2011 World Cup.

A stubborn old lady struggles to send a text message to her daughter.

In the wake of the Christchurch earthquake, sassy Samoan mother Mareta mentors her fledgling youth choir to the finale of The Big Sing competition.

This docu-drama dives beneath the sensational headlines to unravel the truth about a murder case that rocked New Zealand and catapulted teenage dominatrix Renee Chignell and cricket umpire Peter Plumley Walker into the national consciousness.

A journey through a cultural minefield, navigating the divide between the traditional values of immigrant parents and the contemporary aspirations of their children in a new land.

In a cold and remote landscape, two strangers struggle to repair their broken pasts. A young man is on parole after serving time for attempting to murder the man who killed his girlfriend in a hit and run. A woman is released from a psychiatric facility far from her homeland. These two damaged strangers cross paths in the mountains in winter and fall into a complex intimate relationship, putting to the test their capacity to trust and heal.

Sam, a fearless young girl raised outside of her Māori culture, is determined to fulfill her mission of connecting with her mountain. She hopes it can heal her from the cancer she is battling. Along the way, she meets some misfits and new kids in town, and together they journey through a difficult route, discovering the true spirit of adventure and the magic of friendship.

The Orator (O Le Tulafale) is a contemporary drama about courage, forgiveness and love. Small in stature and humble, Saili lives a simple life with his beloved wife and daughter in an isolated, traditional village in the islands of Samoa. Forced to protect his land and family, Saili must face his fears and seek the right to speak up for those he loves.