Queer Aotearoa Films
A diversity of queer short and feature films from Aotearoa New Zealand.
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- DirectorStewart MainStarsGreg MayorMarton CsokasJohn MaunsellFollowing a pitched battle, a Maori warrior finds a wounded European soldier and helps him back to health. How will this clash of cultures in a time of warfare turn out?
- DirectorLeanne PooleyStarsDouglas WrightNeil IeremiaShona McCullaghDouglas Wright escaped small town New Zealand by punishing his body with drugs, alcohol and eventually, extraordinary dance; but facing death, the world renowned choreographer struggles to exorcise demons even he can't dance away.
- DirectorFlorian HabichtStarsWarwick BroadheadNiamh PerenA documentary exploring the life of performance artist Warwick Broadhead in which he plays all the interviewees, including God; through artifice he shares deep personal revelation.
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsMelanie LynskeyKate WinsletSarah PeirseTwo teenage girls share a unique bond; their parents, concerned that the friendship is too intense, separate them, and the girls take revenge.
- DirectorStewart MainPeter WellsStarsJennifer Ward-LealandKevin SmithLisa ChappellIn a town called Hope on the edge of Britain's empire, desperations clash: the beautiful Dorothea Brook is desperate to free her pregnant sister Rose from the clutches of Fraser, a fortune hunter. A local politician, William Poyner, is desperate for cash and thinks marriage to Dorothea will save him. Dorothea hires Lawrence Hayes, a rough but handsome Argonaut, to bribe Fraser with jewels and to marry Rose; Hayes desperately loves Dorothea and may marry Rose to stay close to her. But Dorothea has a lover, the ravishing Anne Cooper, who encourages the match with Poyser to give the lovers cover. Are these remedies, each desperate in its turn, going to make anyone happy?
- DirectorGarth MaxwellStarsRobert PollockIain ReaLucy SheehanA man obsessed with the sun exploding and a trouble-making Italian-Kiwi man meet and fall in love in Auckland.
- DirectorStewart MainStarsConrad CrawteMartyn SandersonHeather LindsayA teenage boy is caught between his recently-separated parents. They each want to buy him his first suit, but his own burgeoning self-image differs very much from both of theirs.
- DirectorPeter WellsStarsRichard HannaGeorgina BeyerJoanne ClarkeA queer man describes the intimate and mundane details of his loving relationship with a trans woman who is an inspiration in his life.
- DirectorRichard TurnerStarsRobert ShannonPaul EadyDonna AkerstenThe relationship between a young man, Paul, and a confident executive, Grant, about which his soon-to-be-wife Joy knows nothing, in Auckland's gay scene in 1980, when homosexuality was illegal.
- DirectorLeanne PooleyStarsJools ToppPaul HoranJean ToppFun, disarming and musically provocative, the Topp Twins are New Zealand's finest lesbian country and western singers and the country's greatest export since rack of lamb and the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.
- DirectorGarth MaxwellPeter WellsStarsDoug GeorgeShoe designer and fetishist Doug George tells the story of how high heels saved his life.
- DirectorPaul Oremland100 Men reflects on 40 years of gay history via a countdown of Kiwi filmmaker Paul Oremland's most memorable shags, featuring candid and moving interviews with past lovers.
- DirectorAnnie GoldsonPeter WellsStarsGeorgina BeyerGeorgina Beyer is a transexual of Maori descent who was elected in 1999 to represent her district in New Zealand's National government. Beyer has been a showgirl, a sex worker and now a politician. This is her story.
- DirectorDavid HintonStarsLloyd NewsonNigel CharnockRussell MaliphantExplores serial killer Dennis Nilsen interwoven notions of loneliness, desire and trust. Founded upon the conviction that societal homophobia often results in tragic consequences that drove Nilsen to kill for company.
- DirectorKeely MeechanStarsWilson DownesTaungaroa EmileBrady PeetiA young man's relationship with his straight boyfriend, his awkward dad and his burning desire to be a drag queen.
- DirectorStewart MainPeter WellsStarsCiaran PenningtonCameron J. WattStephen PappsTwo flamboyant gay teenage boys who can't wait to grow up and get out of New Zealand take a trip to Rangitoto Island and recall their friendship.
- DirectorAlison MacleanStarsMarcia Gay HardenDonogh ReesCaitlin BossleyOn the way to interview a novelist, Lane and Christina are involved in a car crash which leaves literary critic Christina brain-damaged. Lane undertakes the assignment and becomes attracted to the novelist's 15 year old daughter, leading to stormy emotions.
- DirectorWelby IngsStarsJesse LeeBryan BevegeTammy WarwickBoy is the story of a young male prostitute in a small town who discovers the truth behind a fatal hit and run accident. Threatened with violence, he battles to expose the truth.
- DirectorMax CurrieStarsElz CarradArlo GreenAwhina-Rose AshbyAfter skipping town a decade ago, transgender activist Caz Davis returns to the remote, politically divided dairy community of Rurangi, hoping to reconnect with his estranged father, who hasn't heard from him since before Caz transitioned.
- DirectorStewart MainPeter WellsStarsRosie BaystingGeorgina BeyerJon BrazierAndy is dying. His friends in Auckland care for him through his last days.
- DirectorGarth MaxwellStarsRena OwenDean O'GormanSimon PrastBetween getting trashed, tripping, blowing guys off and writing songs, Mark falls for Stephen. Fig and Sally put perform Marks songs between casual sex with anyone and everyone. Katie is a few-hit wonder who hit rock-bottom in L.A and returns to New Zealand to patch her life back together. Stephen, Mark and Katie branch out for a slumber party at a beach house of their better days. Fig and Sally arrive, and not long after Eddie arrives also (Katies American guy). Mark stops running away from Stephens love, Katie and Eddie get engaged and Fig and Sally ... have sex?
- DirectorNikki Si'ulepaStarsRobyn PatersonHannah MartinMichele HineA True New Zealand Love Story based on Kiwi-Samoan writer/director Nikki Si'ulepa and producer Rachel Aneta Wills' journey in pursuit of true love.
- DirectorGregor NicholasStarsDouglas WrightDebra McCullochGary HuntA film adaptation of an original dance, set in a sleazy Paris cabaret nightclub, in which a man and a woman, sharing halves of the same suit, enact desire and gender through dance.
- DirectorChristine ParkerStarsTania SimonLucy LawlessJoel TobeckThis short 16 minute film shows relationship of a Maori woman and her man, with Lucy Lawless being there as "the other woman".
- DirectorGarth MaxwellStarsAlexis ArquetteSarah Smuts-KennedyBruno LawrenceJack and Dora, abandoned by their parents as babies, are desperate to find each other after years of adoption. Jack's young life has been spent with a sadistic family. Dora, whose life has been somewhat better, has developed extra-sensory powers which tell her that Jack's in danger and drives her to search for him.
- DirectorStewart MainStarsAndrew PatersonHarriet BeattieJay CollinsGrowing up is mystifying, but Billy discovers all he has to be is himself
- DirectorGeoff StevenStarsCarmen L. RupeMika X.Georgina BeyerIn more repressed times, Carmen was one of NZ's most colourful and controversial figures. Geoff Steven's docu traces the life story of the transgender icon who was born Trevor Rupe in Taumarunui in 1936.
- DirectorMika X.StarsJay TewakeRegan TaylorJackie ClarkeA musical fantasy with a surprisingly tender love story at its heart, GURL takes place one frantic night as a beautiful young sex worker waits for her salesman lover to whisk her away from her last night on the strip to live happily ever after. But it's 1975 and she's a Maori Drag Queen, he's not the "white knight" he said he was. Written and directed by Maori entertainer/cultural activist Mika X, GURL is deliciously immersed in the Maori Trans underworld of the 1970's New Zealand, creating not only a gritty authenticity but also a warm tribute to a friend, Carmen Rupe, NZ's infamous Maori Drag Queen, pioneering brothel owner and gay rights activist. It's a story of shifting realities. At first, we see GURL through Carmen's eyes - a vibrant, sexy young version of herself. But look in the mirror poses more than an intriguing question. Carmen lives her life as a fantasy, forever believing that her white knight in shining armour will sweep her off her feet and take her away. In reality, this 22-year-old is already in her late 60's, sashaying through life believing she is still a young pretty girl she was in the past and still searching for love in all the wrong places. The story of Carmen and Ed, a former professional rugby player (All Blacks), plays out in the mid-70s gay nightclub scene where "Coffee" is a code for every sensual delight imaginable with the price of entry a toasted sandwich. Carmen's "Coffee" lounge is a vibrant, harsh world of colour held together by courage and humour under constant that from a savage, moralistic society. A haven for all who felt they didn't fit in. It was "coffee downstairs and sweets upstairs". The Beautiful drag queen carmen preside over this erotic world. She performs her services with aplomb while mentally calculating her grocery list: "eggs, baked beans, coffee, milk". A tender love story at heart, GURL is a unique blend of Mika's authentic Maori voice, fantastical vision and poignant tenderness pulsating with his original music, production. energy and aroha.
- DirectorFiona SamuelStarsJoanne SimpsonCarol SmithPeter DaubeIsabel recalls a trio of relationships: one with a man in the middle of discovering he is gay, one with a man who doesn't like the smell of Isabel's pet dog, and the one with her friend Ruth.
- DirectorPeter WellsA boy's awakening recognition of his (homo)sexuality and the 1954 royal visit coincide in this complex memoir of national under-development and solitary personal growth.
- DirectorPeter WellsStarsPeter WellsJennifer Ward-LealandLisa ChappellWriter and filmmaker Peter Wells recounts his childhood growing up gay in the '50s, the death of his brother from AIDS and his journey to self-acceptance in a conformist society at the time of the release of his memoir Long Loop Home.
- DirectorWelby IngsStarsTim RothJordan OosterhofConan HayesJim is preparing for his first professional fight but begins to rethink his life's trajectory and his sexuality after tangling with Whetu, a gay Maori boy who spends his days in an old shack down by the beach.
- DirectorAlex PlumbStarsVictoria AbbottJarred BlakistonAmber-Rose HenshallA day in the life of a young man with a desire to be noticed.
- CreatorOliver PageStarsElz CarradAwhina-Rose AshbyAroha RawsonAfter skipping town a decade ago, transgender activist Caz Davis returns to the remote, politically divided dairy community of Rurangi, hoping to reconnect with his estranged father, who hasn't heard from him since before Caz transitioned.
- DirectorMark SummervilleStarsIvan DavisTaiaroa RoyalGay tribal life on a mythic South Sea island, with exotically attired beautiful men emerging from the sea.
- DirectorJesse UngStarsDavid ShiKelvin TaEsther WeeOn the eve Chinese New Year, Steven, a closeted Chinese international student living in New Zealand oppressed by the expectations of his parents, plans to lose his virginity to a stranger that he meets online.
- DirectorPeter WellsThe anguish following the break-up of a gay relationship that was never going to get heavy.
- DirectorChris GravesDouglas WrightStarsDouglas WrightA short dance film from acclaimed choreographer and dancer Douglas Wright.
- DirectorNicky MarshallSlamet RahardjoStarsSassy AcornDavid Aston
- DirectorKaren NobesStarsMitch ThomasTim GordonDavid RareIn prison, amid dreams of the glamour "outside" ,a transsexual Maori is harassed by a homophobic prison guard.
- DirectorCharles BracewellStarsCraig HallDean O'GormanHaunting, Hallucinatory tale of love during wartime.
- DirectorWhetu FalaStarsMika X.Ahi Ataahua explodes on screen in a stunning composite of Pacifika. Music from composer Gareth Farr combines with effervescent Mika producing a flambouyant and irresistable dance / body performance
- DirectorMandrika RupaHomosexuality meets traditional family values in this look at a South Pacific family of Indian heritage.
- DirectorJane CampionStarsBenedict CumberbatchKirsten DunstJesse PlemonsCharismatic rancher Phil Burbank inspires fear and awe in those around him. When his brother brings home a new wife and her son, Phil torments them until he finds himself exposed to the possibility of love.
- DirectorGregory KingStarsMatthew SunderlandAn experimental twist on the "fly on the wall" film. Here a handheld camera becomes the fly and the connection between three groups of modern city dwellers: an Asian family and the Auckland they encounter via airport, taxi, and hotel; a whacked-out man and a boy toying with each other in a dilapidated squat; and a party of drag queens in a high rise apartment (heels, snow and sequins).