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Documentary

Joy Cowley in the new documentary, Joy: Full & Fearless

We should all hope to live like Joy Cowley

The prolific New Zealand author might have found the secret to a happy life. 
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By Joel MacManus | 20th September, 2025
Senior writer
Motuhaketanga follows three wāhine Māori as they reenter society after prison. (Image: Supplied).

Motuhaketanga: The long road home for wāhine Māori after prison

The new documentary is an exploration of how New Zealand values wāhine Māori.
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By Dana Leaming | 4th August, 2025
Guest writer
Jacinda Ardern in Prime Minister

Everything we learned from the Jacinda Ardern movie trailer

There will be tears, there will be imposter syndrome, there will be a Clarke Gayford cinematographer credit. 
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By Alex Casey | 19th May, 2025
Senior writer
Marzia, one of the subjects of new local documentary project fiftyone. (Image: Supplied)

The documentary capturing the ‘ripple effect’ of kindness following March 15

'We hope the film inspires people to see how tragedy can create positive change, no matter what they're dealing with.'
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By Alex Casey | 3rd April, 2025
Senior writer
Shay Williamson is one of ten people competing in the new season of Alone Australia (Photo: TVNZ)

Meet the brave New Zealander on the new season of Alone Australia

'You’ve got to be willing to eat what's available…You're not necessarily going to get a nice T-bone steak.'
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By Tara Ward | 28th March, 2025
Staff writer
Kia Tupu Te Ara chronicles the rise of te reo Māori metal band Alien Weaponry

Review: Kua Tupu Te Ara tells Alien Weaponry’s coming-of-rage story

A new documentary chronicles the meteoric rise of groundbreaking metal band.
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By Troy Rawhiti-Connell | 14th February, 2025
Guest writer
Warren’s Vortex, Don’t and Secrets at Red Rocks (Photos: TVNZ, Sky)

The best local TV and movies to look forward to in 2025

From Small Town Scandal to Hospice Heroes to Tinā, here’s what’s hitting our screens this year. 
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By Tara Ward | 24th January, 2025
Staff writer
A still from Smith’s documentary Out There (Photo: Supplied)

‘Party in the sky’ over Waiheke: The documentary maker and the UFO encounter

'It was huge, about three times bigger than any big international aircraft, and it was completely silent.'
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By Alex Casey | 12th October, 2024
Senior writer
Patrick Gower’s life in TV (Design: Tina Tiller)

‘Scared the shit out of me’: Patrick Gower on his biggest story yet

'Without question, it’s the most important piece of work that I've done.'
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By My Life in TV | 10th August, 2024
Guest writer
The House Within (Photos: Supplied)

The House Within: the new documentary about Dame Fiona Kidman, reviewed

A new documentary shines a light on one of our great literary trailblazers.
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By Claire Mabey | 1st August, 2024
Books editor
New to streaming: What to watch on Netflix NZ, Neon and more this week

New to streaming: What to watch on Netflix NZ, Neon and more this week

A new gladiatorial blockbuster, more perplexing family mysteries and the return of Colin from Accounts.
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By New to streaming | 15th July, 2024
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The Lost Boys of Dilworth (Photo: Supplied)

How The Lost Boys of Dilworth brought a ‘horrendous nightmare’ to life

'Seeing these children, and their little bright shiny faces, really hit home how young they were.'
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By Alex Casey | 16th April, 2024
Senior writer
A scene from new docu-series Dynamic Planet (Photo: Supplied)

Why you should watch Dynamic Planet, a climate change doco that isn’t soul-crushing

A new locally-made documentary series meets those at the coalface of climate action.
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By Tara Ward | 5th March, 2024
Staff writer
Nadine Anne Hura in a scene from her Māori TV documentary Aro

More truth than my chest could hold

'I had wanted to show what it’s like living in the aftermath of suicide, but when I saw what it’s like I wanted to look away.'
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By Nadine Hura | 24th May, 2023
Contributing writer
US honeymooners Matt and Lauren Urey take a snap mere minutes before the eruption

The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari tells a harrowing story of pain and resilience

In this Netflix documentary, the survivors' scars are immediately obvious. So too is the trauma they’re still living with.
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By Catherine McGregor | 20th December, 2022
Contributing writer
Gaylene Preston with her films, clockwise from top left: Perfect Strangers, Hone Tūwhare, War Stories Our Mothers Never Told Us, Making Utu and Home By Christmas

In celebration of trailblazing Aotearoa filmmaker Dame Gaylene Preston

For close to 50 years, she's been creating NZ cinematic history – while also documenting the history of the country itself.
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By Amelia Berry | 26th November, 2022
Guest writer
A future so bleak you need shades (Image: Supplied / Additional design: Tina Tiller)

First, you have to accept the threats of the future are real

A new documentary says people are the cause of our greatest existential threats – but also the solution.
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By Shanti Mathias | 17th November, 2022
Contributing writer
David Farrier spent three years chasing the shadowy figure, Michael Organ. (Photo: Supplied / Treatment: Tina Tiller)

David Farrier on making a movie that never ends: ‘It sucked … it fucked me’

He fled New Zealand to get away from the subject of his new film. Now he's back home, David Farrier's worried it's about to kick off all over again.
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By Chris Schulz | 5th November, 2022
Guest writer
Beyond Conversion doesn’t just tell the story of the ban against conversion therapy passing in parliament, but the stories of those affected by the practice. (Photo: Eight Productions)

Beyond Conversion is a necessary insight into our shameful past

A new documentary tells the story of the fight to ban conversion therapy, and the stories of those the practice harmed.
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By Sam Brooks | 12th October, 2022
Contributing writer
A collective of Pasifika cultural guardians reactivate ancient Tu’i Tonga kava ceremony for contemporary use in Aotearoa in a way that honours tangata whenua. (Image: Archi Banal, Photo: Jinki Cambronero)

Kava ‘o Aotearoa acknowledges tangata whenua in Pacific traditions

'We can’t come here, perform our kava and ignore the fact that we’re on Māori land.'
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By Sela Jane Hopgood | 30th August, 2022
Pacific communities editor

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