Spontaneous Combustion: Songs for Barry Brickell(2024)

Exergo(eu)

Departing from peripheral details of some paintings of the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, a female narrator unravels several stories related to the economic, social and psychological conditions of past and current artists.

Kea - Mountain Parrot(en)

This documentary tells the story of the inimitable kea. The 'Clown of the Alps' is heralded as the world’s smartest bird (its intelligence rivals a monkey’s). Kea are famous on South Island tracks and ski fields for their insatiable (and destructive) inquisitiveness. Curiosity almost killed the kea when it was labelled a sheep killer, and tens of thousands were killed for a bounty. After shots of baby kea being fed, there is extraordinary night footage in clip four of the 'avian wolf' in action. The award-winning film makes a compelling case for the charismatic kea as a national icon.

Max Gimblett: Original Mind(en)

Max Gimblett: Original Mind documents the life and process of eccentric, creative genius Max Gimblett. One of New Zealand’s most successful and internationally prominent living painters, Gimblett has been working in America since 1962. The filmmakers spent a week in Gimblett’s Soho loft where he and his devoted studio assistants generously revealed the techniques and philosophy behind his beautiful art.

Not Just Another Mountain(en)

This short documentary explores the significance One Tree Hill/Maungakiekie holds to Aucklanders – and the nation of New Zealand as a whole.

Pirates of the Airwaves(en)

In 1966 a group of determined young men defied the New Zealand government and launched a pirate radio station aboard a ship in the Hauraki Gulf.

Portrait of a Goan Collector(en)

For over 30 years a man termed as a mad man, comes to light as his passionate work of collecting artifacts gathers momentum and gains the title of a museum. The film trails through the struggles of Victor Hugo Gomes, a Collector from India-Goa, and how he perceives to leave behind his collection.

Erebus: Operation Overdue(en)

On 28 November 1979, an Air New Zealand jet with 257 passengers went missing during a sightseeing tour over Antarctica. Within hours 11 ordinary police officers were called to duty to face the formidable Mount Erebus. As the police recovered the victims, an investigation team tried to uncover the mystery of how a jet could fly into a mountain in broad daylight. Did the airline have a secret it wanted to bury? This film tells the story of four New Zealand police officers who went to Antarctica as part of the police operation to recover the victims of the crash. Set in the beautiful yet hostile environment of Antarctica, this is the emotional and compelling true story of an extraordinary police operation.

Hot Air(en)

In the years since New Zealand politicians began to grapple with climate change our greenhouse gas emissions have burgeoned. Alister Barry’s doco draws on TV archives and interviews with key participants to find out why.

Africa Light / Gray Zone(en)

"Africa Light" - as white local citizens call Namibia. The name suggests romance, the beauty of nature and promises a life without any problems in a country where the difference between rich and poor could hardly be greater. Namibia does not give that impression of it. If you look at its surface it seems like Africa in its most innocent and civilized form. It is a country that is so inviting to dream by its spectacular landscape, stunning scenery and fascinating wildlife. It has a very strong tourism structure and the government gets a lot of money with its magical attraction. But despite its grandiose splendor it is an endless gray zone as well. It oscillates between tradition and modernity, between the cattle in the country and the slums in the city. It shuttles from colonial times, land property reform to minimum wage for everyone. It fluctuates between socialism and cold calculated market economy.

Beak & Brain - Genius Birds from Down Under(de)

Whoever came up with the term 'bird brain' never met these feathered thinkers, who use their claws and beaks to solve puzzles, make tools and more.

Birds of the Lakes Return(sl)

An excellent display of how humans can rehabilitate and restore an area where a heavy industry polluted the water so severely that it was unsuitable to sustain any kind of life. A a film showing how birds returned to an environment once devastated by industry. The lakes around the northern Slovenian town of Velenje, placed in the Central Europe, are geographic center of the film. They emerged as the land above the lignite mines subsided and the depressions were filled with water. The mines started operating at the end of the 19th century. In the mid 20th century a power plant was built that caused a severe pollution of the lake waters to the extent of the lakes not being fit for any kind of life. As a consequence many birds moved from these parts. After a long ecological restoration that started in the mid 1980s, life returned to the water. Gradually the birds returned as well, including some there were previously never observed in this area.

Andy Warhol: A Documentary Film(en)

Ric Burns unearths rarely seen footage and offers keen observations on the life and artistic influence of Andy Warhol. [Made for and aired on PBS's American Masters series.]

Tackling the All Blacks(en)

Before the summer of 2022, Ireland had never beaten the All Blacks in New Zealand. Using behind the scenes footage and interviews with players and coaches this documentary reflects on the experience of triumphing in New Zealand for the first time.

Mining Review 15th Year No. 5(en)

A visit to Peterlee, Co. Durham.

The Cumbrian Coast(en)

One of the least well-known areas of Britain, we travel to the Cumbrian Coast by means of two different trains. Firstly, we board a North West Regional Railways Express (class 156) which traverses the former Furness Railway via Grange-over-Sands and Ulvertston to Barrow-in-Furness. There we change to a class 153 for the most scenic section of the route along the coast from Bootle to Maryport, filmed in what can only be described as 100% perfect weather - not a cloud in the sky! Apparently you only get one day a year like that along the coast and we were there! As signalling expert David Allen says in his script; "this line is a mecca for semaphore signalling enthusiasts". Filmed in 1997.

Steal This Film II(en)

These are strange times indeed. While they continue to command so much attention in the mainstream media, the 'battles' between old and new modes of distribution, between the pirate and the institution of copyright, seem to many of us already lost and won. We know who the victors are. Why then say any more?

The Railways: Engine of Progress(de)

When the first railroads were built some two hundred years ago, they brought about a revolutionary change for mankind, linking cities and countryside, driving the industrial revolution and irrevocably changing the landscape: a history of the railroad from its beginnings to the present day.

We Want More Than Money(pt)

​​The film begins with the implementation of the Paulo Gustavo Law in São Manuel, a town of 40,000 residents in the countryside of São Paulo, to open a broader conversation: what happens when public funding reaches the cultural sector? And why is there still so much resistance to that? Through interviews with funded artists, cultural managers, policymakers, and spontaneous conversations with local residents, the film reveals a reality that goes beyond the borders of a single town, drawing a wider picture of the relationship between art, public policy, and everyday life. The documentary features historian Célio Turino, creator of the Pontos de Cultura program, and congresswoman Jandira Feghali, rapporteur of the Aldir Blanc Law. The screenplay is co-written by Turino and director bagadefente.

Langi Ziit(de)

Georgie Girl(en)

In 1999, the largely conservative Wairarapa district in New Zealand elected a former cabaret performer/actress named Georgina Beyer to the country's House of Parliament -- a seemingly unremarkable event in that country's history except for the fact that Beyer is a transsexual and may very well be the first transsexual in the world to be elected to a national office. In their 2002 biographical documentary Georgie Girl, co-directors Peter Wells and Annie Goldson highlight the popular Member of Parliament's rapid rise through local government to prominence in the New Zealand national government.