Operation 8

A look at the April 15, 1989 tragedy at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England, where a stampede in the stadium's standing-room-only areas killed 96 people and injured 766. The film also examines the ongoing efforts of victims' families to seek truth and justice, as well as tangible effects on English football, including stadium upgrades and the emergence of the English Premier League.

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”.

The story of unemployment in New Zealand and In A Land of Plenty is an exploration of just that; it takes as its starting point the consensus from The Depression onwards that Godzone economic policy should focus on achieving full employment, and explores how this was radically shifted by the 1984 Labour government. Director Alister Barry's perspective is clear, as he trains a humanist lens on ‘Rogernomics' to argue for the policy's negative effects on society, as a new poverty-stricken underclass developed.

Merata Mita, Leon Narbey and Gerd Pohlmann’s powerful documentary Bastion Point: Day 507 depicts the eviction of protestors from Bastion Point during the struggle for Māori land rights.

Researchers investigate whether orcas have begun hunting great white sharks off the coast of New Zealand.

Documentary about the bombing of the Plaza de Mayo in June 16 1955 perpetrated by the Argentine navy with the intention of overthrowing Juan Domingo Perón's government and resulting in many civilian casualties.

The remarkable story of The Weather Underground, radical activists of the 1970s, and of radical politics at its best and most disastrous.

Documentary on State terrorism during the last military dictatorship in Argentina, made in its aftermath. Invited by the Goethe-Institut to hold a workshop with young film students, Schroeter contrasts the official statements of the regime with the testimony of victims, dissidents and relatives of the disappeared. And trust that their faces and words will resonate much more than a mere representation of violence.

A 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.

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.

A documentary about the history of settler groups that came to New Zealand from Europe.

A documentary about the threat posed to New Zealand's Kaipara Harbour by rapacious commercial fishing and development.

An animated documentary that speaks to immigrants' personal experiences living in Aotearoa, exploring themes of racism, discrimination, loss, loneliness, and maintaining cultural ties while living in another country.

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.

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.

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

Examines the violence and civil disobedience leading up to the hallmark decision in U.S. v. Washington, with particular reference to the Nisqually Indians of Frank's Landing in Washington.

Seeing 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.

A story about acts of terrorism that have impacted Denmark over the past 30 years—from the bombings in Copenhagen in 1985 to the attacks at Krudttønden and the Synagogue in 2015. A story told by the officials and politicians who bore the responsibility for the safety of the Danish population in the most critical moments. How did they react when terror came to the country?

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.