The tragic back story of New Zealand's worst mining disaster, weaving in documentary footage and interviews with Pike River families.

The pillaging of sacred Māori burial grounds for treasure was a dangerous undertaking that almost cost Austrian collector Andreas Rieshek his life.

Ngataua Omahuru: A five-year-old Māori child wrenched from a world of armed conflict finds himself plunged into an alien European world of privilege, to become the adopted son of a New Zealand PM.

Amidst one of New Zealand's most violent volcanic eruptions, Te Paea Hinerangi - known to many as Guide Sophia - would emerge a tower of strength and courage for the survivors.

In the late 1860s, Māori teenager Penetito Hawea was implicated in one of Aotearoa's most sensational murders - the ritual killing of Anglican minister Karl Volkner.

Sir Maui Pomare: New Zealand's first Maori doctor fought for the very survival of his people, a race that many believed was doomed to extinction.

A routine boat trip from the Chatham Islands to Christchurch in 1940 turns into a terrifying 52 days of captivity on a German naval vessel for Hetty Idiens and her whanau.

Branded as a traitor and spy, Lucy Lord guided British troops into hostile territory where the enemy were her own hapu.

Arapeta Awatere was a distinguished Māori leader - so why did he spend his last years in Mt Eden Prison, convicted of murder?

Profiles Te Rangitopeora - a fearsome warrior who fought in battle beside her uncle, the mighty Te Rauparaha.

Features Oha and Albie Bennett's incredible tale of two coins, a soldier's passion and one woman's faith that would never die.

Half-caster Toi Iti questions the validity of Maori tikanga by delving into the world of Maori superstitions, protocols and lore.

James Joyce was born in Dublin 100 years ago. At the age of 20 he left for Paris to begin a self-imposed exile that was to last most of his life. Dublin, however, remained the inspiration for his writing. This film, complete with many previously unseen interviews, shows the obstacles that lay in the path of Dubliners, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Ulysses and Finnegans Wake, the books that were to make Joyce one of the most famous and influential writers of this century.

Weekly news and current affairs on the arts from Television New Zealand (TVNZ).

A romantic fantasy about love, cake and New York City. A filmmaker from New Zealand meets a beautiful Russian woman on the subway to Coney Island. He falls in love with her and convinces her to make a film of their ensuing affair.

A dramatisation of the story of 19-year-old Heather Walsh, who was held captive on a remote farm in the Mangatiti Valley for 23 weeks in 1985.

Film on the Elgin Marbles. In 1802 Lord Elgin, the then British Ambassador in Constantinople, removed the majority of the sculptures from the Parthenon temple in Athens, and shipped them from Athens to England. Since then there has been controversy about their rightful home. This film is shot on location and uses existing letters to show Elgin's thoughts at the time and tries to explain Elgin's real motives which were not that he was saving the sculptures from pollution nor the Turks, but for himself.

The plan of Edward Gibbon Wakefield

A seven-part documentary series about the settling of New Zealand. The series looks at the ethnic and national backgrounds of different groups of New Zealanders, examining where they came from and why they came, and what they expected to find and how they have contributed to out history and to our contemporary life. Presented by Michael Noonan, it is a story of men and women who shared a dream that New Zealand would give them a better life, men and women with the courage to put that dream to the test.

Pablo Picasso was a legend whose paintings almost everyone can visualise today. The film works through the artworks of Picasso in chronological order and discusses the forces that inspired them, whether in the personal life of the artist or the wider world. http://www.worldcat.org/title/picasso/oclc/388481843

TX date unknown. BBC / RM Arts1982 Date: 1982 By: Thompson, David, 1929-; Turner, Ann,; RM Arts (Firm); British Broadcasting Corporation. Abstract: Presents a challenge to reappraise Raphael's work in the light of the changes that are taking place in our contemporary culture. Outlines some of the issues of tradition, continuity and classical values by looking at the Raphael inheritance. We are transported to art treasures found all over Europe: Rome, Paris, Amsterdam, Denmark and the British Isles. Identifier: ISBN 0714860263 (v. 1), ISBN 0714860271 (v. 2) Prince of painters Presents a reappraisal of Raphael's work in the light of everchanging cultural values. Shot on location in Perugia, this film questions our ability to respond to great art based on "uncontemporary" priorities, such as the Christian story, classical humanism, and the love of the Greek ideal. Summary: Volume 1 The Apprentice Years explores the work of the artist Raphael up to the age of twenty-five, including his work in Urbino, Perugia and Florence. Volume 2 The Prince of Painters looks at the period after his arrival in Rome, and his work in the Vatican.

A fictionalised account in four segments of the life of Japan's celebrated twentieth-century author Yukio Mishima. Three of the segments parallel events in Mishima's life with his novels (The Temple of the Golden Pavilion (Kinkaku-ji), Kyoko's House, and Runaway Horses), while the fourth depicts 25 November 1970, "The Last Day"..

This documentary examines an unusual Aotearoa first encounter: between Māori and Russians in 1820, when Queen Charlotte Sound was visited by Fabian Bellingshausen aboard the sloop the Vostok. Alongside reenactments of crew diaries, presenter Moana Maniapoto gets a history lesson from Tipene O'Regan, and visits Russia to look at traded taonga and archive material — and also find out what the famed Antarctic discoverer was doing in Ship Cove shortly after Napoleon was sent packing from Moscow. https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/the-russians-are-coming-2011

Ka Mate is the haka that the All Blacks perform to acknowledge and challenge their opponents before important matches. Its story, however, extends well beyond the rugby field. It takes us back to the great chief Te Rauparaha, a visionary leader of the Ngāti Toa iwi (tribe) in the 1800s.

A "what-if" drama documentary exploring the effects of a devastating cyber-attack on Britain's national electricity grid. Based on expert advice and meticulous research, Blackout combines real user-generated footage, alongside fictional scenes, CCTV archive and news reports to build a terrifyingly realistic of Britain being plunged into darkness.

The true story of two climbers and their perilous journey up the west face of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in 1985.

A docu-drama depicting a definitive moment in NZ history: the 1932 Queen Street riots as seen through the eyes of James Edwards, the son of the leader of the Unemployed Workers Union, Jimmy Edwards.

Inspired by true events, first-hand accounts and employing actual newsreel footage, this drama follows the aftermath of the Earthquakes that befell New Zealand’s Christchurch between 2010 and 2011, telling a universal story of family, hope and triumph against the odds.

Inspired by true events, first-hand accounts and employing actual newsreel footage, this drama follows the aftermath of the Earthquakes that befell New Zealand’s Christchurch between 2010 and 2011, telling a universal story of family, hope and triumph against the odds.

Inspired by true events, first-hand accounts and employing actual newsreel footage, this drama follows the aftermath of the Earthquakes that befell New Zealand’s Christchurch between 2010 and 2011, telling a universal story of family, hope and triumph against the odds.

A fierce explorer and archaeologist, lyrical writer and cunning politician, Gertrude Bell (1868-1926) spent much of her life traveling throughout present-day Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan & Israel.

Marguerite Harrison (1879 - 1967) was a reporter, spy, film maker, and translator who was one of the four founding members of the Society of Woman Geographers. Harrison spied for the United States in Russia and Japan, arriving in Russia in 1920 as an Associated Press correspondent. She assessed Bolshevik economic strengths and weakness and assisted American political prisoners in Russia. She was held captive in Lubyanka, the infamous Russian prison, for ten weeks. While there she contracted tuberculosis and due to pressure from her influential contacts she was eventually set free in exchange for food and other aid to Russia.

Aviator Amelia Earhart was the first woman to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross which she was awarded as the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many other records wrote best-selling books about her flying experiences and was instrumental in the formation of The Ninety-Nines an organization for female pilots. During an attempt to make a circumnavigational flight of the globe in 1937 Earhart disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean near Howland Island. Fascination with her life career and disappearance continues to this day.

Billy is the personal story of New Zealand s most beloved entertainer, Billy T James. Sunday Theatre goes beyond the public façade to reveal the man behind the chuckle. Twenty years have passed since Billy T James died at the age of 42, and he still manages to make us laugh. Tonight on TV ONE, the story of New Zealand's best loved entertainer is being told in the Sunday Theatre - the Audi New Zealand Season drama, Billy. Based on the biography Billy T, written by Matt Elliott, and made with the approval and support of Billy's widow, Lynn Matthews, Billy is a love story set in the changing culture of New Zealand in the seventies and eighties. It also portrays the journey of a shy, loyal and musically gifted boy who married his first love and went on to achieve extraordinary success. A Maori boy who within a few short years lost everything, including his life. Billy also takes us back to the beginning when Billy grew up in the fifties and sixties in a predominantly Pakeha world. Being Maori was considered a disadvantage to getting ahead and his adoptive parents brought him up believing that to succeed he had to forget his own culture and play the game by Pakeha rules. A multi-talented musician, Billy dreamed of being a great entertainer. Paradoxically, Billy was desperately shy off-stage but thrived in front of an audience. His timing, music and comedic charm made him hugely popular, and for Billy the greatest pleasure was to make people laugh. Although Billy had built a successful career, bad business decisions cost him his wealth and his health. Billy didn't know how to say no and the years of unhealthy living and relentless pressure finally took their toll. Working hard to pay off his debts he caught a fever that damaged his newly transplanted heart and on August 7th 1991 he passed away. Lynn Matthews, who has never sought the limelight and has been uncomfortable with other projects detailing her husband's life, believes Billy is a wonderful tribute. "Since Billy died, some people who feel like they own Billy are making money from him. Also, there are so many stories floating around about Billy, things that never happened but are being perpetuated. "So, it's comforting to know that he is still loved as much as he is and people still talk about him with such affection and fondness," she says. She says Billy is very accurate. "I wish some of the things (in the drama) were made up, but that was what life was like for us. A lot of people thought they knew what was best for Billy but they didn't. Billy knew what he wanted; he just didn't know how to tell people."

The story of New Zealand's women's suffrage movement, and the people who made it possible.

Deanes final warm-up gig for the troops in Waiouru is a mixed bag, and as he finally returns home, the size of the task ahead of him sinks in. Will the gig even happen?

The dramatised story of New Zealand air marshal Keith Park who led the RAF into battle against Hitler's Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain 1940. The documentary fuses war archive, scripted drama and feature film footage to bring the story to life.

Deane finally meets his promoter, Orlando, and the truth is revealed. His comeback gig could be a disaster. Can they pull off a miracle and put on the concert of a lifetime?

Vincent Ward weaves drama with documentary to unravel the extraordinary story of Puhi, the Tuhoe woman who welcomed the young filmmaker into her home in 1978. Ward made the observational film In Spring One Plants Alone about Puhi's day-to-day life in the remote Urewera Ranges. By then almost 80, she was obsessively caring for her schizophrenic adult son Niki, whose violent fits terrified her. In this new cinema feature Ward sets out to unravel the mystery that has haunted him for 30 years: Who was Puhi? And why was she so obsessed with this last remaining son? Using his relationship with Puhi as the framework to explore her life, he finds a woman of extraordinary fortitude who, at the age of 12, was chosen by the great Tuhoe prophet Rua Kenana to marry his son, Whatu. Rua gave her the name, Puhi ("special one"). At 14, she had her first baby while hiding in the bush, having escaped from the 1916 police raid on Rua's community at Maungapohatu, where she witnessed the arrest of Rua and Whatu and the killing of Toko, Rua's other son, said to be her lover. She would go on to have 13 more children. But by the time Ward made his initial film, there were few signs of what had become of them. In Rain of the Children, he finds out how the loss of her children affected the course of her life. The tragedies she lived through were so powerful that some, including her, believed she was cursed. After a tumultuous second marriage and the manslaughter of her third husband, Puhi was left with her dependant son, Niki. She dedicated herself to this man-child, trying to protect him at all costs, even from beyond the grave. Rain of the Children is Ward's search for truth in the story of a woman who sought redemption through love and who has remained a touchstone for him throughout his life.

A four-part mini-series examining the events in the wake of New Zealand's worst air disaster. (1) TE 901's wreckage is found; 257 people have died. Air New Zealand fields rumours of incorrect destination co-ordinates and Justice Peter Mahon is appointed to head a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the disaster.

A four-part mini-series examining the events in the wake of New Zealand's worst air disaster. (3) Air New Zealand's stance on pilot error is strongly opposed by the company's line pilots and Mahon's investigations lead him to the United States and Britain.

A four-part mini-series examining the events in the wake of New Zealand's worst air disaster. (2) As a catalogue of errors contributing to the crash is revealed, the credibility of Air New Zealand's briefing and navigation evidence is called into question.

A four-part mini-series examining the events in the wake of New Zealand's worst air disaster. (4) The commission is over. Mahon's report clears 901's crew and finds against Air New Zealand, alleging that witnesses took part in "an orchestrated litany of lies". The airline prepares to fight back.

This remarkable film traces the final impact which both races had on the indigenous Moriori of the Chatham Islands. Moriori were a peaceful people who vowed never to take up arms against another human being. They were capable of defeating the invaders, but chose not to. Drawing inspiration from Michael King's seminal book 'Moriori', The Feathers of Peace brings the truth about what happened on the Chathams to an even wider audience.

In this feature-length documentary, film director Mark Summerville takes the chance to capture four of New Zealand's most celebrated contemporary choreographer/dancers: Tai Royal, Taane Mete, Douglas Wright and Michael Parmenter, as they create the only dance work that has ever brought them together. The cameras are rolling as the filmmaker gains full access to their workshop process over two years. The programme also goes on a biographical journey, exploring the rich and colourful lives of Mete and Royal. Experience their journey as boys, drag queens, men, teachers and dancers and meet the people who have influenced their lives and careers.

This week's Artsville is a docu-drama on New Zealand s iconic writer of detective fiction Dame Ngaio Marsh.

Prime Minister Robert Muldoon decides to take a political risk and call a snap election. National is defeated as the Labour Party sweeps into power with their anti-nuclear platform. Upon taking office, David Lange faces pressure from the public and his colleagues to live up to his campaign rhetoric.

An economic crisis is narrowly averted. Realising there is no middle ground on the nuclear issue, Lange and the Labour Government take New Zealand into a new era, cut off from the country's traditional allies.

Centered on two key encounters: the Battle of Pukehinahina Gate Pā and the Battle of Te Ranga, Stories of Tauranga Moana recounts the events that unfolded in the Bay of Plenty and their far-reaching consequences for future generations. Using dramatic reenactments, interviews, historical archives, haka, and digital animation, we bring to life the first-hand narratives of tangata whenua and tangata tiriti which have been passed down through the generations.

After the collapse of pearling, many Torres Strait Islanders are forced to migrate to the mainland for work. Legendary leaders like Eddie Koiki Mabo and George Mye take huge strides in returning autonomy to the people.