Films in Aotearoa

The American Film Institute has called the New Zealand film industry "one of the wonders of the world... an unparalleled success story". This is probably because no one (not even New Zealand) expected this small isolated country to have so many famous filmmakers, who have gained the world’s attention.

Versatility and innovation have been key words in Kiwis development as successful filmmakers. The industry has gained reputation because of its values and because of New Zealanders hard work.

New Zealand first film projection was in the Opera House, Auckland in 1896. After that first step we can mention some of the most famous Kiwi Movies. For example The birth of New Zealand (1922), Goodbye Pork Pie (1980), Bad Taste (1987), The Piano (1993), Heavenly Creatures (1994), Forgotten Silver (1995), The Frighteners (1996), Snakeskin (2001), Whale Rider (2003), Without a Paddle (2004), King Kong (2005), The World's Fastest Indian (2005), Sione's Wedding (2006), Black sheep (2006), Men shouldn’t sing (2007), Boy (2010), The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2002-2003).

A lot of other famous movies like Avatar, The Lovely Bones, The chronicles of Narnia, etc., have been filmed in New Zealand because of its landscape. Sometimes New Zealand gets underrated because people don’t know that the film they are watching was filmed by a Kiwi and probably because not too many people know what New Zealand is.

Like John Grierson said: ‘Above all, they have to send films about people so that they can see their faces and remember that New Zealand is not just a set of spots at the end of a map, but a real country, with a glow of future in the eyes and a throb of life in the heart’.