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 group of Pasifika women pose for a picture. Below them the text reads: "Myths & Maidens."

    Myths & Maidens

    Some of the trauma, challenges, & inequities of fafine Moana across Pasifika.
    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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • The right and left of the image are battle scenes from the first two seasons of the series Stolen Lands. The gold text in the middle reads: "STOLEN LANDS."

    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

More to watch

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

  • Te Ao Māori27

    Comedy, current affairs, and kōrero from tangata whenua.

    The host, Mihingarangi Forbes, smiling at the camera. Text reads, "Mata".
    Whitney Steel & Nathan Taare sit at a table and smell samples of a perfume. White text below them reads: "JOURNEY OF SCENT."
    Against a black background, a group of opera singers sing. The green text reads: "Toiere."

  • 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 gems10

    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."
A woman sitting on a chair next to a desk and coffee table. She's smiling at the camera. Text reads, "Aotearoa's Most Bizarre Conspiracies".
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.
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".
A man wearing a kākahu (clothing garment) and holding a hīrau (waka paddle). Text reads, "Te Kawau ki Tai. The Story of a Waka".
Misty Frequency's mask sits by other masks on a shelf in a dressing room. The text reads "What's the Disability-Tea"
Bob Lowry, wearing an eyepatch, crown, and shirt with the words "In the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is King," holds a finger in the air. The graphic is white and teal with a title to the left of him and curving below which reads: "I Am a Dark River"
Text reads, "Matangireia with Morgan Godfery". Background is beige with an out of focus letter M in fancy script.
A wide long beach withe dark grey sand and blue ocean. Text reads, "Chatham Islanders, Tchakat Tchatam Airani". There is an illustration of an indigenous Moriori tree carving in between the words "Chatham" and "Islanders".
Young man with soot on his face looking into the camera, in his left hand he's holding a Patu (weapon). Text reads, "NZ Wars: Stories of Tauranga Moana".
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".
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 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 woman siting on a two person sized couch, she has her arms spread to the sides. She's looking at the camera. Text reads, "I Got You".
A sand dune with the ocean behind it in a cove, everything shadowy and violet in the twilight. The text reads "Whitiki! Whītī! Whītī! E!"
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."
Whitney Steel & Nathan Taare sit at a table and smell samples of a perfume. White text below them reads: "JOURNEY OF SCENT."
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."
A background image made up of red orange and blue shapes. Text reads, "Shine One Katherine Mansfield" in the 'O' is a black and white photograph of Katherine Mansfield's face.
On a dark-brown background, the light-brown text reads: "MATA REPORTS."
Troy Kingi wearing a traditional red poncho sits in the rocky Californian desert beneath a light blue sky. The text reads "Troy Kingi's Desert Hīkoi"
A blue graphic with a collection of drawings of items including a flag, a guitar, a dog, and skiis. The yellow text reads: "SIGHT UNSEEN."
A Muslim man in a blue shirt stands in a mosque. The text reads "This Is Us"
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 multi-media illustration of four different figures in different art styles. Text reads, "Our Aotearoa".