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!
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Revealing terrifying accidents, fights for survival, and stories of close calls and near misses by the astronauts who survived them. This series offers chilling accounts of the challenges of space exploration as told only by the explorers who lived them and the men and women in mission control who helped each team avert disaster.
Secret Space Escapes (2015 )
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300 Spartans-The Real Story. Putting aside the myths and legends, this documentary takes a detailed look at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC Greece leading to the last stand of the 300 Spartans and Spartan King Leonidas. On the 3rd day of the battle, when Leonidas was being surrounded, he sent most of his troops away and covered their retreat with a last stand because Spartans never retreated.
300 Spartans: The Real Story (2015 )
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Dirty Gold War (2015 )
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Go out into the world, they say… see it for yourself! But in an age where any destination is in the palm of your hand- just a click away, what is left to truly explore? Level 1 examines the universal dialect of moving down snow on two feet through a lens of fresh perspective- documenting the outer niches of a sport pushed under the rug by the modern day ski zeitgeist. From the secret valleys of Switzerland, the ancient cities of Estonia, to the rowdy rope-tows of Minnesota- follow us around the globe as we capture skiing in its purest form. It’s a Small World, after all.
Small World (2015 )
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GOING CLEAR intimately profiles eight former members of the Church of Scientology, shining a light on how they attract true believers and the things they do in the name of religion.
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (2015 )
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One of the most significant UFO events in history -- Travis Walton's 1975 UFO experience comes alive in this 90-minute documentary. His trauma and transition after a mysterious beam of light strikes him unconscious.
Travis: The True Story of Travis Walton (2015 )
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Beautifully filmed by New Zealand nature photographer Richard Sidey over the past decade around the polar regions, Speechless: The Polar Realm is a visual meditation of light, life, loss and wonder at the ends of the globe. This is the second film in Sidey’s non-verbal trilogy which is comprised of: - Landscapes at the World’s Ends (2010) - Speechless: The Polar Realm (2015) - Elementa (2020)
Speechless: The Polar Realm (2015 )
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During the Great Recession, joblessness exceeds 20 percent east of the Anacostia River in Washington, DC. City of Trees follows the intimate stories of Charles, Michael and James, three long-term unemployed residents struggling to gain employment through 'shovel ready' green projects. When stimulus dollars run out, short term idealism clashes with day-to-day survival in the struggle to find a sense of purpose and place in a recovering economy.
City of Trees (2015 )
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There is an elite group that controls the world. They run governments, companies and religions - This is the story of the world's most powerful secret and sacred order.
One World Agenda: The Illuminati (2015 )
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Locked away from society in an apartment on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, the Angulo brothers learn about the outside world through the films that they watch. Nicknamed ‘The Wolfpack’, the brothers spend their childhood reenacting their favorite films using elaborate home-made props and costumes. Their world is shaken up when one of the brothers escapes and everything changes.
The Wolfpack (2015 )
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Deep Web gives the inside story of one of the most important and riveting digital crime sagas of the century -- the arrest of Ross William Ulbricht, the 30-year-old entrepreneur convicted of being 'Dread Pirate Roberts,' creator and operator of online black market Silk Road. As the only film with exclusive access to the Ulbricht family, Deep Web explores how the brightest minds and thought leaders behind the Deep Web and Bitcoin are now caught in the crosshairs of the battle for control of a future inextricably linked to technology, with our digital rights hanging in the balance.
Deep Web (2015 )
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All odds were stacked against the pit-bulls rescued from quarterback Michael Vick's dogfighting ring. Forced to fight for their lives, they were considered so dangerous many wanted them euthanized. But no one could have predicted how the dogs would change the lives of those who risked everything to save them.
The Champions (2015 )
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The curtain is raised into the seldom seen world that surrounds the wine we drink. How many people understand how wine is produced? How it is grown? What goes on in the cellar? From those questions to how many hands touch a bottle, to why wine costs what it costs, to how certain wines end up on a wine list, this is a never before seen look into the world of wine.
Somm: Into the Bottle (2015 )
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Tom "Putuparri" Lawford is a man caught between two worlds: his past and present in modern society, where he battles with alcoholism and domestic violence; and his future as a leader of his people, reconnecting with his ancestral lands, learning about his traditional culture and shouldering his responsibility to pass this knowledge on to the next generation. Director Nicole Ma spent more than a decade documenting Putuparri's journey, travelling with him and his family on numerous occasions to Kurtal, in the Kimberley's Great Sandy Desert region – traditionally a site of great significance as a place where people ritually make rain – as they fight for their native title claim over the area. Set against the backdrop of this long fight for ownership of traditional lands, the MIFF Premiere Fund-supported Putuparri and the Rainmakers is an emotional, visually breathtaking story of love, hope and the survival of Aboriginal law and culture against all odds.
Putuparri and the Rainmakers (2015 )
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A startling expose of rape crimes on US campuses, their institutional cover-ups, and the devastating toll they take on students and their families. The film follows the lives of several undergraduate assault survivors as they attempt to pursue—despite incredible push back, harassment and traumatic aftermath—both their education and justice.
The Hunting Ground (2015 )
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An intimate glimpse inside the life of internationally acclaimed drag performer Jinkx Monsoon.
Drag Becomes Him (2015 )
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The Legacy Project tells the fate of the World War II heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis using exclusively first-person accounts. The last crew and their families share gripping stories of kamikaze attacks, invasions, a secret mission, and ultimately a devastating torpedo attack that killed three fourths of the crew. The survivors recall the 5 days they spent floating alone in the Pacific Ocean, their miraculous rescue, and how they fought together to clear their captain's name. Start to finish, this feature-length film flows from survivor to survivor as they finish each other's sentences. Set to a completely original score, the incredible story unfolds while rare WWII footage, a collection of previously unpublished photographs, open-ocean reenactments, and new footage from one of the last WWII era heavy cruisers in existence.
USS Indianapolis: The Legacy (2015 )
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A documentary exploring how money and the trading of value has evolved, culminating in Bitcoin.
Bitcoin: The End of Money as We Know It (2015 )
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What makes a voice “gay”? A breakup with his boyfriend sets journalist David Thorpe on a quest to unravel a linguistic mystery.
Do I Sound Gay? (2015 )
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Hunter S. Thompson meets Barry McKenzie in this dark nonfiction comedy about a real-life, legendary but down-and-out tabloid television journalist who heads to Hawaii to film a marijuana travel series, only to become lost in a fog of drugs, sex and paranoia as he uncovers a secret government war to control the marijuana trade. - Written by Sam Peters
High There (2015 )
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Academy Award® winning director Charles Ferguson's new film investigates global climate change villains and heroes, and reveals practical solutions to act on.
Time to Choose (2015 )
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Documentary about four friends on a 3,000 mile journey across the American West on horseback.
Unbranded (2015 )
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Minecraft. The game that took the world by storm. Follow the story of how the Minecraft phenomenon has ploughed through the 21st century selling over 54 million copies worldwide on a multitude of platforms engaging an audience in the millions which is still continuing to grow. The game boasts the biggest digital world in gaming history with a fan base stretching to every corner of the globe. Youtube viewing numbers have grown and online participation has tripled over the last few years creating a new industry for enthusiastic gamers. Vast communities have been brought together through it's educational impact, YouTube celebrities, festivals and game events pushing the boundaries of technology and creativity to the limits.
Minecraft: Into the Nether (2015 )
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A study of the dark legends that surround the Camp Hero Air Force Base in Montauk, Long Island.
Montauk Chronicles (2015 )
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In the history of sports, few names are more recognizable than that of Evel Knievel. Long after the man hung up his famous white leather jumpsuit and rode his Harley into the sunset, his name is still synonymous with the death-defying lifestyle he led. Notoriously brash, bold, and daring, Knievel stared death in the face from the seat of his motorcycle, but few know the larger-than-life story of the boy from Butte, Montana.
Being Evel (2015 )
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Frackman tells the story of accidental activist Dayne Pratzky and his struggle against international gas companies. Australia will soon become the world's biggest gas exporter as more than 30,000 'fracked' wells are sunk in the state of Queensland where Dayne lives. He and his neighbours have unwittingly become the centre of a massive industrial landscape and they have no legal right to stop mining on their land. Dayne embarks on a journey that transforms him from conservative pig-shooter to sophisticated global activist as the Frackman. He meets the people drawn into a battle that is crossing the ideological divide, bringing together a peculiar alliance of farmers, activists and political conservatives. Along the way Dayne encounters love, tragedy and triumph.
Frackman (2015 )
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With great bawdiness and backbone, a rugby team made up of farmers strive to redeem themselves from a long run of bitter losses. In the face of the hefty demands of farming and fatherhood, the Saturday game becomes the focus of the men’s passions and the ground on which their worth is proved. ‘The Ground We Won’ is a highly authentic, slice of life film about the challenges and joys of manhood, as seen through the rites and rituals of a rural New Zealand rugby club.
The Ground We Won (2015 )
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The larger than life true story of how a barmaid in a poor Welsh mining village convinces some of her fellow residents to pool their resources to compete in the "sport of kings" with a racehorse they would breed and raise.
Dark Horse (2015 )
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The life and career of the power lifter.
CT Fletcher: My Magnificent Obsession (2015 )
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A look at the life and music of legendary singer and civil rights activist, Mavis Staples.
Mavis! (2015 )
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Jon Mikl Thor was a bodybuilding, steel bending, brick smashing rock star in the '70s & '80s whose band, Thor, never quite made it big. Years later he attempts a comeback that nearly kills him.
I Am Thor (2015 )
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An Inspirational film about the power of family and music, told through the lives if Greece's most famous musical clan, from the island of Crete. The film captures the Xylouris family at crossroads: fifty - year old Giorgis performs non-stop to satisfy his passionate fans, while his Australian wife and manager Shelagh, struggles to keep the family together. Their three children find new freedom abroad, but struggle to uphold the music of their homeland, while finding their own voice. 'A Family Affair' reveals how this age-old and little known musical tradition is passed on from father to son to grandchildren. it brings to light the redemptive but also obstructive power of a strong family, while bringing us closer to the intimate process of the creation of music.
A Family Affair (2015 )