Munro, en soldat, der blev lægprædikant, kommer til New Zealand for at tjene de første britiske kolonister, men han bliver omvendt af den magtfulde høvding Maianui til at tjene et andet formål.
I midten af 1800-tallet rejser en ung enke fra Skotland til New Zealand, hvor hun har aftalt giftermål med en mand, hun aldrig har set. Med sig har hun sin datter, lidt bagage - samt sit dyrebare klaver.
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.
Boy er en 11-årig dreng i 80’ernes New Zealand. Da han overlades til sig selv på gården med sin lillebror i en uge, dukker deres far pludselig op. Boy har dannet sig et billede af sin far som en superhelt, men vraget, der står foran ham, er alt andet end det. Det er en lurvet gangster, som er vendt tilbage for at grave en pengesæk op, som han begravede flere år forinden.
Den brutale maorikriger Wirepa leder et blodigt angreb på en rivaliserende stamme, som næsten udraderes totalt. Også høvdingen omkommer, og hans søn, Hongi, sværger hævn over Wirepa, så de mange afdøde sjæle kan finde ro. Hongi tør ikke tage kampen op alene, så han vover sig ud til den frygtede begravelsesplads Dødelandet for at bede genfærdet af den sagnomspundne Warrior om hjælp.
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.
Arajan (Ray Winstone) er en veteran i Boer krigen og en mester til at spore folk. Han bliver lovet en stor dusør hvis han kan fange Kereama (Temuera Morrison), en Maori der er anklaget for at have myrdet en britisk soldat. Kereama vedholder sin uskyld. Undervejs kommer den jagede og jægeren til at kende hinanden, og en respekt imellem de to opstår. En Britisk officer leder en gruppe blodtørstige mænd, og er lige i hælene. Hans eneste mål: At se Kereama hængt.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Two young teenagers are forced to take control of their own destiny amid the chaos of a pivotal battle in New Zealand’s first land wars in 1864.
‘The Legend of Baron To’a’ tells the story of Fritz, a Tongan entrepreneur who returns to his old neighbourhood and inadvertently causes the theft of his late father’s valued pro wrestling title belt by some ruthless gangsters led by ‘man-mountain’ Tahu. When negotiation and diplomacy fail to get it back, he is forced to embrace his father’s legacy to reclaim the title.
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.
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.
A western set in New Zealand during the 1820s following a group of British pioneers seeking a new life Down Under.
This docudrama follows an imaginary news reporter who travels back in time to cover the days leading up to the Treaty of Waitangi's signing on 6 February 1840. Dropping the usual solemnity surrounding Aotearoa's founding document, it uses humour and asides to camera to evoke the chaos and motives behind the treaty. This clip features a confrontation between Hone Heke and representatives of the Crown.
At the end of the 18th century, hundreds of Indian sailors, known as lascars, worked amongst European settlers in Aotearoa New Zealand - often under the gruesome working conditions of seal hunting gangs. The story follows a lascar, Dasa, who has been abandoned on the coast of Aotearoa NZ by the East India Company, alongside his sealing gang. When Dasa finds himself in the middle of a conflict between his abusive British superior and two Māori traders, he is faced with a choice: bend the knee or take a stand.
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.