Taking Back Our Beach(2023)

Shipwreck: The Mystery of the Edmund Fitzgerald(en)

Chronicles the history of the legendary Edmund Fitzgerald, which sank in a violent storm with the loss of the entire crew in Lake Superior on November 10, 1975. In the summer of 1995, the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society, National Geographic Society, Canadian Navy, and Sony Corporation descended to the site of the wreck, more than 500 feet below the surface of the lake. This documentary takes a look at their expedition.

Hindenburg: Titanic of the Skies(en)

The film explores the background and build-up to this final flight to disaster. Using dramatic reconstruction, archive footage and exclusive interviews with leading historians and engineering experts, the special delves into the political and scientific events that led up to the catastrophe.

Backroom Troubles(en)

Women talk about the circumstances that drove them to seek illegal abortions and the often traumatic result. Interwoven with historical photographs and newsreel footage, the stories expose how the reality of women's lives were counterposed to what was socially and morally expected of them.

In Deep Water(en)

The SS Central America, a steamer carrying a cache of gold, sank off the southeast coast of the United States in 1857. Part mystery, part adventure story, the film recounts how a group used Bayesian theory to find the ship — and the gold.

St. Lawrence: Stairway to the Sea(fr)

In this spectacular feature-length documentary, oceanographer Jacques Cousteau and an NFB crew sail up the St. Lawrence River to the Great Lakes on board the specially equipped vessel, the Calypso. They explore the countryside from their helicopter and plumb the depths of the waters in their diving saucer. They encounter shipwrecks, the Manicouagan power dam, Niagara Falls, the locks of the St. Lawrence Seaway and an underwater chase with caribou.

Someone Else's Country(en)

Someone Else’s Country looks critically at the radical economic changes implemented by the 1984 Labour Government - where privatisation of state assets was part of a wider agenda that sought to remake New Zealand as a model free market state. The trickle-down ‘Rogernomics’ rhetoric warned of no gain without pain, and here the theory is counterpointed by the social effects (redundant workers, Post Office closures). Made by Alister Barry in 1996 when the effects were raw, the film draws extensively on archive footage and interviews with key “witnesses to history”.

Ghosts of the Abyss(en)

With a team of the world's foremost historic and marine experts as well as friend Bill Paxton, James Cameron embarks on an unscripted adventure back to the wreck of the Titanic where nearly 1,500 souls lost their lives almost a century ago.

River Deep, Mountain High: James Nesbitt in New Zealand(en)

James Nesbitt moved to New Zealand in 2011 when he landed the role of Bofur in Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy, but he says the country remains largely unknown to him. Travelling more than 1,000 miles from the tip of the North Island down to the South, the actor finds out more about the place he has called home, visiting areas of natural beauty and learning about the nation's history and traditions. Along the way, he meets former All Blacks player the late great Jonah Lomu, takes a trip around film star Sam Neill's vineyards in Queenstown, catches up with Peter Jackson and goes Base-jumping from the tallest building in Auckland.

Gallipoli from Above(en)

Gallipoli from Above: The Untold Story is the true story of how a team of Australian officers used aerial intelligence, emerging technology and innovative tactics to plan the landing at Anzac Cove. It is now nearly 100 years since the landing and hundreds of books, movies and documentaries have failed to grasp the significance of the ANZAC achievement. Instead, the mythology has clouded the real story of how these two influential Australian officers took control of the landing using every innovation they could muster to safely land their men on Z beach.

Deadliest Crash: The Le Mans 1955 Disaster(en)

Three years in the making in conjunction with the BBC. Using never seen before home movies, photos and eye witness accounts - this is the inside story of the world's biggest motorsport disaster.

See You At The Bottom – The New Zealand Snow Movie(en)

See You At The Bottom – The New Zealand Snow Movie is a 20 minute film that has one simple goal in mind: To leave you lusting to get to the mountains. We unveil the unique big mountain experiences on offer in each of New Zealand’s distinctly different ski regions.

Operation 8(en)

Operation 8 examines the so-called 'anti-terror' raids that took place around New Zealand on October 15, 2007 - asking how and why they took place and at what cost to those targeted.

Death by Rescue: The Lethal Effects of Non-Assistance at Sea(en)

In April 2015, two shipwrecks in the central Mediterranean resulted in over a thousand deaths. The first, on 12 April, occurred when an overcrowded boat was approached by a large commercial vessel. Less than a week later, on 18 April 2015, a similar incident led to over eight hundred deaths after an overcrowded vessel collided with a cargo ship that had approached to rescue its passengers. Both incidents are in part the result of changing EU policies toward at-sea rescue, particularly the retreat of state rescue operations and a resulting onus on commercial vessels to fill the ‘rescue gap’.

Kim Dotcom: Caught in the Web(en)

The larger-than-life story of Kim Dotcom, the 'most wanted man online', is extraordinary enough, but the battle between Dotcom and the US Government and entertainment industry—being fought in New Zealand—is one that goes to the heart of ownership, privacy and piracy in the digital age.

À la conquête de l'Empress of Ireland(fr)

Hunt For the Lost Superfleet(en)

The Battle of the Falklands, between a Royal Navy task force and five German cruisers, was one of the most dramatic and bloodiest sea conflicts of World War I. When the smoke cleared, four of the German ships had sunk, including the flagship and pride of the German fleet, the SMS Scharnhorst. For decades, none of the downed vessels were ever found. Now, more than 100 years later, maritime archaeologist Mensun Bound and his team are searching for the ships and the secrets they hold. It's a race against time and the raging South Atlantic Ocean.

1985: Heroes among Ruins(es)

"1985: Heroes among Ruins" is a reflection of disaster. It is about the human solidarity, the search and rescue and the importance of civil protection, but above all, the triumph of the people over devastation during the earthquake of September 19, 1985 in Mexico City and the one ocurred in September 19, 2017.

In the Theatre of the Gogs(en)

A contemplation of art and adventure in the southern wilds of New Zealand by both a landscape photographer and an adventure filmmaker. This film is the unexpected result of their two unique perspectives.

The Hindenburg(en)

The history of lighter than air transportation culminating in the Hindenburg explosion which gets thoroughly covered and analyzed.

Beyond Pollution(en)

Barker White documents the environmental impact of the massive BP spill.