Spontaneous Combustion embraces the holistic vision of one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most provocative artists and thinkers: the unity of the natural environment and the human imagination, the energy, rhythm and textures of the physical world expressed in clay, words, and music. The film celebrates the legacy of Barry Brickell (1935-2016) and the realisation of his extraordinary dream, Driving Creek Railway: a productive pottery with numerous kilns, a bush railway, a native bird and bush sanctuary and a lively creative hub drawing artists from around the globe.
Narrator

Spontaneous Combustion embraces the holistic vision of one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most provocative artists and thinkers: the unity of the natural environment and the human imagination, the energy, rhythm and textures of the physical world expressed in clay, words, and music. The film celebrates the legacy of Barry Brickell (1935-2016) and the realisation of his extraordinary dream, Driving Creek Railway: a productive pottery with numerous kilns, a bush railway, a native bird and bush sanctuary and a lively creative hub drawing artists from around the globe.
2024-06-30
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When the natural environment and the human imagination combine.
0.0An Austrian director followed five successful African music and dance artists with his camera and followed their lives for a year. The artists, from villages in Ghana, Gambia and Congo, were the subjects of Africa! Africa! touring across Europe, but they have unbreakable roots to their homeland and their families. Schmiderer lovingly portrays his heroes, who tell their stories about themselves, their art and what it means to them to be African with captivating honesty. The interviews are interwoven with dance scenes and colourful vignettes set to authentic music.
8.0For 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.
7.0On 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.
0.0In 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.
0.0Max 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.
6.3These 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?
A third generation NZ born Niuean Female surfer, visits her Island of heritage for the first time only to discover there is no surf on Niue. But Mella's visit opens her eyes to the island's other beautiful qualities, the magical water, warm people, and clean unpolluted land. However she also discovers the low population has left the countries future hanging by a thread. This documentary is a record of Mella's journey to regaining her identity and first steps at becoming part of the solution in Niue's restoration of itself.
0.0In 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.
0.0A harsh winter in Canada’s Muskoka, where players face sub-zero temperatures, contrasts with New Zealand, where hockey is just starting to take root. Yet, between these two far-apart nations, there’s one thing they share: a deep love for the game of hockey.
0.0Seeing is to painting what listening is to politics. Survival as an artist demands both. Paint Until Dawn is a documentary on art in the life of James Gahagan (1927-1999), who painted all night to push the limits of vision. His life and thought reveal a correlation between art and activism through an interesting angle: the creative process itself.
9.0Before 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.
0.0Anna Osborn and Sonia Rockhouse were forever changed when the Pike River Mine Disaster stole their loved ones, but instead of sitting down, they stood up! But They Did tells Anna and Sonia's story, following them through the period of time before and during the re-entry of the mine.
0.0Traverse the southernmost reaches of civilization to uncover New Zealand's pristine natural beauty, alluring culture, and enigmatic mythology.
1.0In 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.
0.0Follow the charming Aotearoa New Zealand singer-songwriter on a life-changing journey of self-exploration as he embraces his roots and creates his first album in te reo Māori.
5.7The first major profile of the American Pop Art cult leader after his death in 1987 covers the whole of his life and work through interviews, clips from his films, and conversations with his family and superstar friends. Andy Warhol, the son of poor Czech immigrants, grew up in the industrial slums of Pittsburgh while dreaming of Hollywood stars. He went on to become a star himself.
TV documentary film about the life of New Zealand poet James K. Baxter.