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.
Social & External
The people behind it
An East Coast community in Ruatōria, New Zealand attempts to live in autarchy according to the tenets of their movement. Bob Marley, a prophet of our electronic age, is the soundtrack to the everyday lives of these Māori who feel closer to their own roots by observing a blend of Afro-Carribean Rastafarianism and the Ringatū faith. Merata Mita's camera respectfully portrays this singular cultural dialogue. The outsider cultures of Jamaicans, Ethiopians and Māori have come together, vibrating to a common cosmic chord. They find an underground brotherhood, across continents and seas.
Ragnar Alexsson, a.k.a. RAX, is among the most celebrated photographers in the world. His series Faces of the North are a living document of the dying cultures of the far northern reaches of the planet. His photo essays of farmers and fishermen in Icleand, and of the great hunters of Greenland give an amazing insight into everyday life of people who struggle a daily battle with the Arctic nature. A celebration of the photographer and his subjects, Last Days of the Arctic is an elegy for a disappearing landscape and the people who inhabit it.
We get to know a few inhabitants of central European rivers.
The Sisters of Compassion have lived in the remote village of Jerusalem / Hiruharama on the Whanganui River in New Zealand for 120 years. Today, only three nuns remain - their legacy on the river is coming to an end. This is a complex world of powerful dualities; Maori & Christian spirituality, parties & prayers, pig hunting and perfume appreciation... Over the course of a year, the film follows the journey of Sister Margaret Mary, the newest Sister to Jerusalem, who is a regular volunteer at the local school. Through an intimate, observational gaze, the film is captivated by the spellbinding personalities of the local kids, whose humour and unique philosophies transcend the harsher realities of life. Throughout all seasons, the Sisters’ daily practice of compassion engages with the traditions of local Maori. Together they must learn to navigate lifeʼs heartbreak and joy.
Short documentary about the effects of climate change on the Arctic.
French actress Marion Cotillard travelled to the Philippines to meet with children and young people on climate change and what they want big-polluting governments to do about it. One of the girls she met is Marinel, a survivor of the Super Typhoon disaster in the Philippines in 2013, who is taking action on climate change in her own community. She participates in Plan International’s climate change adaptation projects and now teaches at youth camps to pass on everything she has learnt to the younger children. Marinel travelled to Paris with Plan International for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) in December 2015.
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.
This film tries to blow the whistle on what it calls the biggest swindle in modern history: 'Man Made Global Warming'. Watch this film and make up your own mind.
A documentary exploring the human-cat love story amidst a movement to eradicate cats in New Zealand.
Two Canadian experts in underwater filming, Mario Cyr and Jill Heinerth, join forces for the first time to record how Arctic wildlife is adapting to the dramatic effects of climate change.
Documentary about human impact on the world.
Can forests help cool the planet? Follow scientists working in spectacular forest landscapes in Costa Rica, Brazil, Australia, and beyond as they try to untangle complex networks of trees, fungi, and creatures large and small—all in a quest to tackle the twin threats of climate change and species extinction.
A close examination of the Whakaari / White Island volcanic eruption of 2019 in which 22 lives were lost, the film viscerally recounts a day when ordinary people were called upon to do extraordinary things, placing this tragic event within the larger context of nature, resilience, and the power of our shared humanity.
In the cobalt mining areas of Katanga in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), babies are being born with horrific birth defects. Scientists and doctors are finding increasing evidence of environmental pollution from industrial mining which, they believe, may be the cause of a range of malformations from cleft palate to some so serious the baby is stillborn. More than 60% of the world’s reserves of cobalt are in the DRC and this mineral is essential for the production of electric car batteries, which may be the key to reducing carbon emissions and to slowing climate change. In The Cost of Cobalt we meet the doctors treating the children affected and the scientists who are measuring the pollution. Cobalt may be part of the global solution to climate change, but is it right that Congo’s next generation pay the price with their health? Many are hoping that the more the world understands their plight, the more pressure will be put on the industry here to clean up its act.
A growing group of Dutch people in their twenties see the earth becoming less livable. They join the climate group Extinction Rebellion and campaign to fight the climate crisis. There is little they shy away from in their struggle: nightly campaigns, high-altitude actions, and even arrests or a criminal record. Everything for a better planet.
A documentary on Al Gore's campaign to make the issue of global warming a recognized problem worldwide.
BEYOND CONVERSION is a deep-dive into conversion therapy in Aotearoa through the eyes of Kiwi conversion therapy survivors.
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
The film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia.
Martin Scorsese's documentary intertwines footage from The Band's incredible farewell tour with probing backstage interviews and featured performances by Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, and other rock legends.
Interviews with leading authors, philosophers and scientists, with an in-depth discussion of the Law of Attraction. The audience is shown how they can learn and use 'The Secret' in their everyday lives.
An astonishing journey revealing the awesome power of the natural world. Over the course of one single day, we track the sun from the highest mountains to the remotest islands to exotic jungles.
A look at the origins, history and conspiracies behind the "Majestic 12", a clandestine group of military and corporate figureheads charged with reverse-engineering extraterrestrial technology.
Using the book 'Fragments', which collects Marilyn Monroe's poems, notes and letters, and with participation from the Arthur Miller and Truman Capote estates who have contributed more material, each of the actresses will embody the legend at various stages in her life.
Never-before-seen footage shows how our living in lockdown opened the door for nature to bounce back and thrive. Across the seas, skies, and lands, Earth found its rhythm when we came to a stop.
Coral reefs are the nursery for all life in the oceans, a remarkable ecosystem that sustains us. Yet with carbon emissions warming the seas, a phenomenon called "coral bleaching" -- a sign of mass coral death -- has been accelerating around the world, and the public has no idea of the scale or implication of the catastrophe silently raging underwater.
An exploration of technologically developing nations and the effect the transition to Western-style modernization has had on them.
A decade after An Inconvenient Truth brought climate change into the heart of popular culture comes the riveting and rousing follow-up that shows just how close we are to a real energy revolution. Vice President Al Gore continues his tireless fight, traveling around the world training an army of climate champions and influencing international climate policy. Cameras follow him behind the scenes—in moments private and public, funny and poignant—as he pursues the empowering notion that while the stakes have never been higher, the perils of climate change can be overcome with human ingenuity and passion.
A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
Film adaptation of French economist Thomas Piketty's ground-breaking global bestseller of the same name: an eye-opening journey through wealth and power.
THE SPIRIT MOLECULE weaves an account of Dr. Rick Strassman's groundbreaking DMT research through a multifaceted approach to this intriguing hallucinogen found in the human brain and hundreds of plants, including the sacred Amazonian brew, ayahuasca. Utilizing interviews with a variety of experts to explain their thoughts and experiences with DMT, and ayahuasca, within their respective fields, and discussions with Strassman’s research volunteers, brings to life the awesome effects of this compound, and introduces us to far-reaching theories regarding its role in human consciousness.
A documentary that explores the downloading revolution; the kids that created it, the bands and the businesses that were affected by it, and its impact on the world at large.
Though legendary lyricist Howard Ashman died far too young, his impact on Broadway, movies, and the culture at large were incalculable. Told entirely through rare archival footage and interviews with Ashman’s family, friends, associates, and longtime partner Bill Lauch, Howard is an intimate tribute to a once-in-a-generation talent and a rousing celebration of musical storytelling itself.
A look at how climate change affects our environment and what society can do to prevent the demise of endangered species, ecosystems, and native communities across the planet.
Filmed over nearly five years in twenty-five countries on five continents, and shot on seventy-millimetre film, Samsara transports us to the varied worlds of sacred grounds, disaster zones, industrial complexes, and natural wonders.
When a cross-section of seven-year-olds were interviewed for 7 Up in 1964 it was immediately evident that their social backgrounds influenced their attitudes towards life. While the upper class children were confident and self-assured, those from middle and working class backgrounds were resigned to a challenging life of hard work. This premise was put to the test every seven years when the same group were interviewed about the progression of their lives. 49 years in the making, the changes that occurred to the original 14 make for fascinating television and are in many ways the stories of all our lives. From success and disappointment, marriage and childbirth, to poverty and illness, nearly every facet of life has been captured on film. Now, at the age of 56, the group are once more brought together and, with the benefit of hindsight, assess whether their lives have been ruled by circumstance or self-determination.