Popular documentaries

A collection of the most essential RNZ Documentaries.

Popular documentaries series and films

In a black-and-white photograph, a Māori woman speaks into a microphone in front of a crowd. Her fist is raised defiantly in the air. below the woman, at the bottom of the image, the text reads in yellow lettering: "THE HAKA PARTY INCIDENT."

The Haka Party Incident

Award-winning
The last New Zealand war took place in 1979. It lasted three minutes.
Film
1h 28m
A black-and-white image of a smiling Joy Cowley sitting on a swing. Large text in the background of the image reads: "Joy Full & Fearless."

Joy, Full & Fearless

The trauma & triumph of celebrated author Joy Cowley's astonishing life.
Film
56m
A sepia toned image of a family photograph depicting a woman holding the hands of two young children. The photo is deteriorating and the child on the left is almost obscured by the damage. The text reads, "Farewell Guangdong" there are also four Chinese characters, or 'Hanzi', above the text.

Farewell Guangdong

An intergenerational celebration of women from our Chinese NZ community.
7 episodes
22m
In India, a group of people walk down a path in front of a historic building. Above the building in orange reads: "1984"

1984

Survivors of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in India seek asylum in Aotearoa.
Film
1h 4m
We see a coastline of New Zealand. On the right is the land; on the left is the ocean; above are clouds. Golden text in the middle reads: "STOLEN LANDS A HIGHLANDER'S QUEST."

Stolen Lands

A Highlander’s journey to Aotearoa meets a legacy of land & loss.
2 seasons/10 episodes
29m
Framed by a purple fabric design is a plus-size model in a green dress. In front of her, in black-on-white text, reads: "CUTTING THE CURVE."

Cutting the Curve

Among diet drugs & shrinking ideals, curve & plus-size women fight to be seen.
6 episodes
10m
An archival picture of a group of Pacific Islanders posing for a group picture. The text reads "Untold Pacific History"

Untold Pacific History

A dynamic and often provocative account of NZ's relationship with the Pacific.
2 seasons/8 episodes
14m
A man wearing sunglasses and a tartan hat is looking out to the left. Text reads, "Our Other Islands".

Our Other Islands

Troy Kingi embarks on a journey to explore the "other" islands of Aotearoa.
6 episodes
26m
A birds'-eye view of some military items sitting scattered on a desk, including a map, a hat, playing cards, some photographs, and a couple of coins. The text in the middle reads "Back to Timor."

Back to Timor

Kiwi military vets return to East Timor 25 years after serving as peacekeepers.
Film
43m
A man sits silhouetted on some steps leading down to the water in a cave. He glances out over the incoming waves. Yellow text reads: "BEING Niuean. 50 YEARS OF PULE FAKAMOTU."

Being Niuean

Nominated
50 years of self-governance on the Rock.
Film
44m

More to watch

If you are interested in Popular documentaries you might also want to check out some of our other series and films.

  • Tamariki6

    Series for children, featuring some very well-known New Zealanders.

    Michal Bush, in all pink, plays a guitar in her music room. The text above reads: "Music with Michal."
    A yellow graphic with two blue penguins dancing. Below them is the text: "Bigsies and Littles."
    In an animated graphic, the top of a man's face is seen in front of fence, above which are a collection of native New Zealand birds. In the middle of the image, in the middle of the birds, is the text: "BIRD'S EYE VIEW 2."

  • Hidden gems8

    A collection of some of the best bits you might have missed on RNZ Video.

    One young woman sits on another who is in a wheelchair in a zany candid moment. Text reads "This is Wheel Life with Soph and Indy"
    Whitney Steel & Nathan Taare sit at a table and smell samples of a perfume. White text below them reads: "JOURNEY OF SCENT."
    Eight seperate images edited into two rows of four, each showing different images of people and art. Text reads, "Marauders".

  • Comedy12

    Docos and drama with a healthy dose of humour.

    A man looking into the camera with his mouth slightly open. His left eye is bugged out in a comically over the top way. Text reads, "A Place Called Te Awamutu".
    Piripi is wearing a shirt and a cap and looks into the camera smiling. He is leaning against the side of a vehicle. Text reads, "Oe, The Adventures of of Piripi Kaiwaru AKA Phillip! Narrated by his Mother" There is a small illustration of a truck under the text, as well as illustrations of deer horns and a kangaroo.
    Against a yellow-and-orange background, the cyan-coloured text reads: "the All Goods Race."

  • New in 202533

    New series and films as well as the latest from our ongoing shows.

    Michal Bush, in all pink, plays a guitar in her music room. The text above reads: "Music with Michal."
    A yellow graphic with two blue penguins dancing. Below them is the text: "Bigsies and Littles."
    An image of some green New Zealand landscape covered with a bit of fog. The text reads: "MATA Reports Lost Property."
The host, Mihingarangi Forbes, smiling at the camera. Text reads, "Mata".
One young woman sits on another who is in a wheelchair in a zany candid moment. Text reads "This is Wheel Life with Soph and Indy"
A man with their back towards the camera, they're looking on onto an ocean. The image is in grey scale. Text reads, "The Art of War".
A bagpipe band stand in a field ready to perform. The text reads: "12,000 Miles from NZ to the Green."
The silhouette of a man against a sun either rising or setting, the sky is mostly green with a thin bank of orange light along the horizon. Text reads, "Meng".
Illustration of two women looking defiantly at the viewer. The background is yellow with illustrated yellow simple flowers. The text reads, "Conversations with my Immigrant Parents".
A group of penguins walk in a line along the Antarctic ice. At the top of the image, the text reads: "ANTARCTICA IN A WARMING WORLD."
Charlotte Cook leaning on a bench and smiling. Beside her is a stack of cookbooks and a bowl of tomatoes. Text reads, "Grilled, with Charlotte Cook".
A portrait of a child looking into the camera. On their head is a collection of blue and green strips of ribbon that intertwine with their long braided hair. They are wearing a blue shirt, a jacket and a bow tie. Text reads, "Loading Docs". Beside the text is a simple graphic circle meant to look like a roll of film.
A man operating a cannon, theres smoke coming out of it and a man next to it holding his hands over his ears. Text reads, "NZ Wars: Stories of Waitara".
A green graphic with text reading "Five Nights at Everybody Eats" in the center, a small graphic of stacked yellow plates in the bottom right, and text reading "Making a difference one plate at a time" beneath it.
A group of people performing a haka outside amongst the trees. The person at the front is in focus and doing a pukana. Text reads, "NZ Wars: The Stories of Ruapekapeka".
In a graphic made up of differently coloured brown tiles, the two main hosts of Whakamāori season three pose. Behind them is text reading: "WHAKAMĀORI."
A man looking into the camera with his mouth slightly open. His left eye is bugged out in a comically over the top way. Text reads, "A Place Called Te Awamutu".
A white pick-up truck drives up a winding country road, surrounded by dry New Zealand farmland. The text reads "The Turning Point"
A yellow graphic with two blue penguins dancing. Below them is the text: "Bigsies and Littles."
People standing in a forest clearing, backlit by the sun. They are all wearing traditional Māori dress. Text reads, "NZ Wars: Stories of Tainui".
Two men face the camera with serious but open expressions. Text reads "Context, Corin Dann and Guyon Espiner"
An animated graphic of green trees and leaves in a forest, along with a red flower. The text in front reads "What Will I Be Today?"
In a black-and-white photograph, a Māori woman speaks into a microphone in front of a crowd. Her fist is raised defiantly in the air. At the top of the image, in small yellow lettering, reads: "THE LAST NEW ZEALAND WAR HAPPENED IN 1979. IT LASTED THREE MINUTES." Below the woman, at the bottom of the image, the text reads in yellow lettering: "THE HAKA PARTY INCIDENT." Below that text is smaller, white text that reads: "A FILM BY KATIE WOLFE."
Woman looking into the camera, standing side on. She has a staunch expression and Is wearing a bright pink blouse. Text reads, "Breaking Silence". Text and woman stand against a dark, almost black background.
A Muslim man in a blue shirt stands in a mosque. The text reads "This Is Us"
On the left side of the graphic is the back of a yellow-on-black female athlete as she walks away. On the right side is a block of yellow. In the middle, written from top to bottom, is the text "OUTSIDE" in black and "THE LINES" in yellow.
9 images of individual people, lined up in two rows of 5. They are all looking into the camera. Text reads, "Generation Next".