Browse documentary movie and series in New Zealand
Dive into the world of documentary movie and series in New Zealand. From timeless classics to trending hits, explore an exciting collection of titles that define the documentary genre.
Explore critically acclaimed blockbusters, hidden gems, and trending new releases that showcase the diversity and creativity of documentary storytelling. Use our filters to find top-rated titles, recent hits, or beloved classics tailored to your taste.
With Popcorn Time, uncover your next favorite movie or TV show and enjoy the best of documentary entertainment. Start browsing now and bring documentary into your watchlist today!
Movie
In the small town of Lokichoggio, in northern Kenya, dozens of planes returning from Sudan land on a short runway. Many have just dropped off relief supplies, but the majority are carrying wounded patients from the civil war in southern Sudan. These patients will be picked up at the airport by ambulances that will take them through dust and scrub down an empty road to one of the most unique places in Africa: the International Committee of the Red Cross' Lopiding Hospital, the biggest field hospital in the world today. WAR HOSPITAL follows the life and fortunes of this field hospital during a three month period when peace might finally be signed in Sudan.
War Hospital (2005 )
Movie
Philip and His Seven Wives (2006) a film made for the BBC’s prestigious Storyville strand, tells the intriguing story of a former messianic rabbi who believes that he communicates directly with God. Isaacs’ captivating and intimate documentary is a portrait of this unconventional family whose lives revolve around faith and obedience to the head of the household.
Philip and His Seven Wives (2005 )
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Movie
Explore the world of 1893 through a cinematic visit to Chicago's Columbian Exposition. Many of the world's greatest achievements in art, architecture, science, technology and culture are unveiled there. The grounds were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, famous for his design of New York City's Central Park, and constructed under the supervision of Daniel Burnham. The Fair was an engineering marvel. On opening day, President Grover Cleveland depressed a golden telegraph key which sent the first courses of electricity throughout the Fair powering fountains, machines, electric railways and thousands of lights. It was the first use of electricity on such a massive scale. Nearly 28 million visit the "White City," which inspires future innovators like Henry Ford, Walt Disney and Frank Lloyd Wright, and debuts the Ferris Wheel and Cracker Jack.
EXPO: Magic of the White City (2005 )
Movie
An invading alien race bent on conquering humanity. The fear of the unknown. Intelligent insects, apocalyptic musings, time travel, mutant half-breeds, invisibility formulas, and mad scientists—such is the rich fantasy world imagined by H.G. Wells. With this exciting program, explore the motivations, the societal pressures, and the inspirations behind some of Wells’ most popular works, including “The War of the Worlds.” Learn more about the man whose political and sexual views were just as every bit revolutionary as his fiction. When H.G. Wells began his literary career he both shocked and thrilled the world by exposing the flaws and hypocrisy of Victorian society with his futuristic thinking and alternate views.
H.G. Wells and the War of the Worlds: A Documentary (2005 )
Wild About New Zealand (2013 )
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TV Show
The greatest gift of mankind over beasts is his ability to craft and use tools. From the simple stone axe to modern warfare technology the relationship between man and survival has been an ongoing battle from the beginning of time. Blast through authentic archived photos, comprehensive video footage and in-depth re-enactments as you discover the achievements and tribulations that played major roles in the shots heard round the world. From the conquering of game, power and land this 7-Part Documentary shoots through 400 years of the events and developments that shaped...The Evolution of Firearms
Guns: The Evolution of Firearms (2013 )
Khawater (2005 )
TV Show
The F Word is a British food magazine and cookery programme featuring chef Gordon Ramsay. The programme covers a wide range of topics, from recipes to food preparation and celebrity food fads. The programme is made by Optomen Television and aired weekly on Channel 4. The theme tune for the series is "The F-Word" from the Babybird album Bugged.
The F Word (2005 )
Movie
Rattled by the prospect of becoming a dad, a 40-year-old filmmaker begins to consider what "manhood" really means for him, prompting him to pursue an array of interests and reexamine his views -- which were shaped by his father.
My Own Man (2014 )
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The story of East London’s exciting drag scene with touching personal stories at its’ heart. Individuals questioning their friendships, family and personal ambitions whilst dressing up to shock the world.
Dressed as a Girl (2014 )
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A biography of powerful Hollywood agent and executive Lew Wasserman.
The Last Mogul (2005 )
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Celebrate the last night of the Pythons on the big screen! - With John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones and Michael Palin.
Monty Python Live (Mostly) (2014 )
Movie
April 8, 2003: Karsten Heuer + Leanne Allison left the remote community of Old Crow,Yukon, to join the Porcupine Caribou Herd on their epic life journey. For 5 months the Canadians migrated on foot with the 123,000-member herd from wintering to calving grounds in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and back again — 1500km across snow and tundra. They completed their journey on Sept. 8, 2003.
Being Caribou (2005 )
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Movie
With unprecedented access to the UN Department of Peacekeeping, The Peacekeepers provides an intimate and dramatic portrait of the struggle to save "a failed state" The film follows the determined and often desperate maneuvers to avert another Rwandan disaster, this time in the Democratic Republic of Congo (the DRC). Focusing on the UN mission, the film cuts back and forth between the UN headquarters in New York and events on the ground in the DRC. We are with the peacekeepers in the "Crisis Room" as they balance the risk of loss of life on the ground with the enormous sums of money required from uncertain donor countries. We are with UN troops as the northeast Congo erupts and the future of the DRC, if not all of central Africa, hangs in the balance. In the background, but often impinging on peacekeeping decisions, are the painful memory of Rwanda, the worsening crisis in Iraq, global terrorism, and American hegemony in world affairs.
The Peacekeepers (2005 )
Movie
Few Americans have had lives as intense and publicized, or been as adored and sometimes reviled, as Tammy Faye Messner. Four years after the award-winning documentary THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE, we catch up with Tammy Faye as she fights the biggest battle of her tumultuous life.
Tammy Faye Death Defying (2005 )
Movie
These senior citizens may each be almost a century young, but for Kara, (94) Maynie (95) and Terri (93) the journey to Las Vegas and the World Hip Hop Dance Championships is just the beginning of a life's journey. And along with twenty-seven other nonagenarians they defy the odds and hip-hop their way into the hearts and minds of thousands of young fans from around the world. Led by their exuberant and 'I must have been mad,' manager Billie Jordan they learn to throw away their wheelchairs and walking sticks and push their bodies and artificial joints to the absolute limits of old age.
Hip Hop-eration (2014 )
Movie
No one comes close to the undisputed master of the macabre and suspense as Alfred Hitchcock. The rotund figure of the smiling, unassuming Englishman is as recognizable as his work, thanks in part to his wonderful cameo appearances and to having crafted such classics like Psycho, The Birds, Rear Window, and Dial M For Murder. Hitchcock is a name that no one will soon forget. There is, however, another incredible story to be told here - that of the great director Alfred Hitchcock himself.
Alfred Hitchcock: More Than Just a Profile (2005 )
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Movie
Documentary on the life of late Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood.
Malfunkshun: The Andrew Wood Story (2005 )
Movie
Beethoven's Hair traces the unlikely journey of a lock of hair cut from Beethoven's corpse and unravels the mystery of his tortured life and death. The film begins in modern times, when a pair of Beethoven enthusiasts purchase the hair at a Sotheby's auction. The story then looks at the lock's previous owners and culminates in the science that reveals Beethoven's "medical secret". Set to a lush score of some of Beethoven's most glorious music, the film explores the world of forensic testing in sharp relief against the romance of 19th-century Vienna and the horrors of 20th-century Nazi Germany.
Beethoven's Hair (2005 )
Movie
With unprecedented access, this program reveals the humour, chaos and passion that went into bringing the Flying Circus to the stage cumulating in the legendary One Down, Five To Go.
Monty Python: The Meaning of Live (2014 )
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TV Show
Violence and corruption pulsed through the soul of the Gangster Empire during the heyday of Prohibition and the Atlantic City Boardwalk.
Gangster Empire: Rise of the Mob (2013 )
Movie
Discover the process behind Charli XCX’s 2020 quarantine album "how i'm feeling now", created in 40 days during the COVID-19 pandemic, including its semi-collaborative nature with her community of online fans.
Charli XCX: Alone Together (2022 )
Movie
In 700 Sundays, legendary comedian and actor Billy Crystal tells the stories of his youth, growing up in the jazz world of Manhattan, his teenage years, and finally adulthood. The Tony Award-winning show is a funny and poignant exploration of family and fate, loving and loss.
Billy Crystal: 700 Sundays (2014 )
Movie
Steve ‘Spaz’ Williams is a pioneer in computer animation. His digital dinosaurs of Jurassic Park transformed Hollywood in 1993, but an appetite for anarchy and reckless disregard for authority may have cost him the recognition he deserved.
Jurassic Punk (2022 )
Movie
Exactly one year after the release of the one man show, "Bo Burnham: Inside" (made in one room, by one person, throughout the pandemic,) comes a series of unseen outtakes, deleted scenes, alternative versions of songs, and new songs unused from the special.
Bo Burnham: The Inside Outtakes (2022 )
Movie
Against the darkening backdrop of New Delhi's apocalyptic air and escalating violence, two brothers devote their lives to protecting one casualty of the turbulent times: the bird known as the black kite.
All That Breathes (2022 )
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Explore the unlikely partnership and enduring legacy of one of the most prolific power couples in entertainment history. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz risked everything to be together.
Lucy and Desi (2022 )
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The legendary Tracy Morgan returns to his roots in his new stand-up special, "Tracy Morgan: Bona Fide". Tracy delivers a hilarious hour that includes everything from growing up in the projects to the time Prince threw him out of his house after a party.
Tracy Morgan: Bona Fide (2014 )
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Movie
Trixie and Monkey will stop at nothing to take their innovative circus-burlesque act to new creative heights. In pursuit of their dream, they relocate from Baltimore to New England to study acrobatics and trapeze. On the weekends they travel relentlessly to test-drive their act on stages as varied as Baltimore rock clubs, Vegas casinos, New York City theaters and beyond. Financial uncertainty, physical exhaustion and romantic tension are always looming; leaving them to wonder will they make it as artists, what success even means and will their love survive?
Us, Naked: Trixie & Monkey (2014 )
Movie
Elizabeth is an archive-based documentary film about the Queen. A celebration. A truly cinematic mystery-tour up and down the decades: poetic, funny, disobedient, ungovernable, affectionate, inappropriate, mischievous, in awe. Funny. Moving. Different. The Queen as never before.
Elizabeth: A Portrait in Part(s) (2022 )
Movie
After 52 years of armed conflict the FARC guerrillas are about to hand over their arms in exchange for political participation and social inclusion of the poor. Ernesto is one of them. The much celebrated Colombian peace agreement throws Ernesto and the polarised society around him into chaos in which everyone is afraid of the future and their own survival.
Colombia in My Arms (2022 )
Movie
All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is one of the toughest med schools in the world (with an acceptance rate of less than 0.1%). After a student gets involved in a violent accident on campus, a film maker goes undercover at AIIMS to investigate the rising incidents of violence amongst the best minds of the nation. Four med students agree to be filmed for a year as part of this observational experiment. Through their personal journeys within these celebrated hallways of excellence- we enter a ruthless world of ambition and competition, where only the toughest can survive. Those who pass through must battle monsters- both within and without.
Placebo (2014 )