• Shadow in the Cloud

    Film

    In the throes of World War II, on a rainy morning in Auckland, New Zealand, a group of Allied soldiers prepare to take to the air in a B-17 Flying Fortress dubbed Fool’s Errand. The all-male crew is caught off guard by Flight Officer Maude Garrett...

  • Pumanawa: The Gift

    Film

    Learning that her daughter is serious about a Christian boyfriend, a mother fears it will threaten a spiritual gift both women have inherited. She takes her daughter back to her own tragic past to show how loneliness, hope and faith can turn love into...

  • Cradle

    Film

    Eade is a fourteen year old girl who has spent her entire life in space on the spaceship Cradle. Eade and her dad are on the return journey to earth when an explosion cripples the craft and  seriously injures her father. As the clock counts down to...

  • Helmut Makes a Quilt

    Film

    Helmut Makes a Quilt is a dark comedy about a prison inmate who falls in love with a quilter through the prison pen-pal scheme. Told without dialogue, the story unfolds through a series of narrated letters. The prisoner is Helmut, a simple but gentle...

  • Unnatural History

    Film

    Fragments from a 1996 TV documentary uncover Theo Velasquez's abandoned research into and unexplained "hum" in the Rangipo Desert, and the mysterious circumstances surround its participants. Meanwhile, the desert terain begins to tell its...

  • Blue

    Film

    Blue is a hard working waiter in an Asian restaurant trying his best to keep his job. He always keeps a smiley face on as he serves the food. Blue is different than other people. He used to have a life working as a fluffy TV mascot from a children’...

  • Koro's Medal

    Film

    While hiding from his brother, Billy drops his grandfather’s precious war medal through a crack in their apartment floorboard into the bookshop below. At first, Billy’s mission is simply to get down to the bookshop to retrieve Koro’s...

  • Maul

    Film

    No matter how hard Will tries, he can't make the grade in the local rugby team. When he discovers giant eggs soaking in the team's changing rooms, he realises there is a final sacrifice awaiting him

  • Dive

    Film

    DIRECTOR’S NOTES - Matthew Saville   The inspiration for Dive comes from the surrealist painting ‘LaReproduction Interdite’ (1937) by Rene Magritte. The painting shows the commissioner ‘Edward James’ staring...

  • Ani

    Film

    One night Ani’s parents have a terrible fight that leads her mother to leave the house. When Ani wakes up the next day she is unsure of what to do. Her father burns and buries her mothers clothes in the garden in his grief. Ani makes herself...

  • Impossible

    Film

  • Te Tumu Whakaata Taonga New Zealand Film Commission Names New CEO

    News
    Issue date: 14 Jun 2021

    The New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC) is pleased to announce the appointment of David Strong as its new CEO. He replaces Annabelle Sheehan, who stepped down from the role in May to return to Australia, after three and a half years in the role. Making...

  • He Ara Funding Announced

    News
    Issue date: 19 Apr 2021

    E rau rangatira mā o te Ao Kiriata,  tēnā koutou katoa. He Ara (Pathway) funding supports Māori and/or Pacific Island filmmakers to create a diverse range of quality New Zealand content using their own way of working. Congratulations to...

  • Sweet Tooth debuts worldwide on Netflix tonight, starring New Zealand locations, cast and crew.

    News
    Issue date: 4 Jun 2021

    Sweet Tooth debuts worldwide on Netflix tonight, starring New Zealand locations, cast and crew. You can find out more about Sweet Tooth in our production showcase.

  • Sweet Tooth

    Showcase
    Issue date: 4 Jun 2021

    Years after "The Great Crumble" changed everything, a hybrid deer-boy forms an unlikely bond with a wandering loner. They embark on an extraordinary adventure through the lush, dangerous world left behind, searching for the meaning of home. Sweet Tooth...

  • Juniper Starring Award-Winning Actor Charlotte Rampling and Rising Star George Ferrier Debuts Stunning Trailer

    News
    Issue date: 28 May 2021

    The trailer for the local feature film Juniper has been released today ahead of its nationwide cinema release on August 26, 2021. Juniper stars acclaimed Emmy, Golden Globe and Academy Award nominated actor Charlotte Rampling (45 Years, Hannah, Night...

  • 43,000 Feet

    Film

    On his way to a statistics conference, John Wilkins is the victim of a freak accident, sucked out of the plane when an emergency door fails mid-flight. Realising he has several minutes before he hits the ground, he reflects on his past, formulates a plan...

  • Snowmen

    Film

    After a night out drinking, Barry and Bryan wake up in a vast world of ice.   But where are they? How did they get there? Is it the afterlife? Snowmen is a comedy about friendship, alcohol and trying to find your way home. Oh, and meeting God. But...

  • Maria

    Film

    The matriarch of a large Polynesian family lies bedridden and silent, unable or unwilling to speak after a long illness. When a family crisis strikes, Nan Maria gets some unexpected help as she struggles to reunite her fractured family. 

  • No. 2

    Film

    For his first feature film No.2, Toa Fraser has written and directed a screen adaptation of his internationally acclaimed, award-winning stage play of the same name. No.2 has transformed from a one-woman stage show into a screenplay for a large ensemble...

  • Trailer Released for New Local Thriller Coming Home In The Dark Following Rave Reviews at Sundance Film Festival

    News
    Issue date: 26 May 2021

    Directed by James Ashcroft, Owen Marshall's chilling short story comes to life on the big screen. Following its world premiere at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival, the gripping trailer for new local film Coming Home in the Dark has today been...

  • Shopping

    Film

    Shopping is the feature film debut of Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland, the writing/directing team behind acclaimed New Zealand shorts The Six Dollar Fifty Man and Run.  Both films were honoured by the Cannes Short Film jury with a Special...

  • The Legend of Baron To'a

    Film

    Fritz, a displaced Tongan man, returns to the cul-de-sac of his youth to sell his family home. When a priceless heirloom - a championship wrestling belt belonging to his late father, Baron To’a, - is pillaged from the family home, Fritz’s...

  • Recommended Short Film Festivals

    Resource

    Are you wanting to submit your short film to a festival? Here is a list of film festivals that the Film Commission currently recommends for short film submissions. There are a large number of film festivals in the world and this represents only a small...

  • Memory Foam

    Film

    Memory Foam is an observational, slice of life short film that closely follows Martin and Annette, a middle-aged couple in search of a new bed. As they move through a furniture store evaluating their options, the various beds seem to symbolise aspects of...

  • Yellow Roses

    Film

    Hine (70) and Michael (35) come together after Hine calls an escort agency seeking the services of a man who resembles her husband in his prime – when they were young, healthy and happy. John and Hine were medal-winning ballroom dancing champions...

  • Shout at the Ground

    Film

    Deep in the middle of Nowhere, New Zealand, 1992, a speeding tour van shatters the peaceful serenity of the clear blue skies and rolling green hills. The rock band onboard are suffering, possibly from last night’s revelry, but more likely from Deb...

  • Thicket

    Film

    18-year-old Elliot lives and works on a small family-owned New Zealand dairy farm. He meanders out at dawn towards a herd of feeding cows where his attempt to take the wheel for the morning’s feed-out run is quickly overruled by his overbearing...

  • Purerehua

    Film

  • Boxes

    Film

    Liam is nineteen, fresh out of high school, and enjoying a life of parties and pills. He lives with his grandmother. He keeps her at an arm’s length, and so, when she has a sudden stroke, he ignores her call, and doesn’t find out until he...

  • Mannahatta

    Film

    When an ancient Native American spirit lost in an in-between world is seen by pizza worker Ivan he attempts to get a message across. But Ivan isn’t interested, he is on a one-week trial in this busy New York City pizzeria and cannot afford...

  • Mission: Impossible - Fallout

    Showcase
    Issue date: 12 Jul 2018

    The South Island is very well equipped with aircraft and extremely experienced pilots because there is a considerable helicopter tourist industry.  Jake Myers, producer Mission: Impossible - Fallout qualified for the 20% New Zealand...

  • Short Film Festival Marketing Guide

    Resource
    Issue date: 13 May 2021

    A guide designed to help answer your most frequently asked festival-related questions and to support targeted release strategies for short films.

  • Short Films in Festivals

    Page

    Screening a short film at a major international festival creates profile for a filmmaker and helps to build international exposure.  The relationship between international festivals and short films delivers different rewards and operates under...

  • New Wave of New Zealand Filmmakers Receive International Recognition

    News
    Issue date: 12 May 2021

    Six New Zealand screenwriters have had their scripts selected as part of the Black List New Zealand Project (BLNZP), a partnership between internationally acclaimed the Black List and the New Zealand Film Commission. The six writers will take part in a...

  • Board Applications due 1pm

    Event

    Applications to the Board for production financing are due at 1pm.