John Banas

The story means to develop through an uncovering of layers - strata. As writer Krumbachova stated: "With nature as a prison, an impassable barrier ... where every action is physically and psychically limited by the environment ... people are reduced to fragments of basic instinct and intelligence." Promoted as a psychological thriller, Strata provides little tension nor any real climax. The characters are ideas - not believably real.

It's the 21st century, the Oil Wars have made a mess of the planet and the land outside major cities is lawless. After Hunter comes to the aid of Corlie, who has run away from the villainous Straker, he takes her to the peaceful community of Clearwater. Unfortunately for the citizens of Clearwater, Straker fully intends to get Corlie back.

Em and her father need to pack away her mother's belongings after her passing. A fairly simple act, but a difficult one. And her father really seems to be coping well. Or is he?

During World War 2, a farmer in New Zealand murders seven people. The police, along with local Maori trackers, hunt him in the bush country.

Before Christmas, the North Pole is a very busy place. When Rumbletum, the cantankerous boiler which drives the toy machines breaks down, Santa has to find a job in the city to pay for the repairs.

A primer on proper phone manners produced for the New Zealand Post Office.

Sam is a gifted young dancer whose world spirals after an unexpected, life-changing event. ​Sam walks away from dancing and ballet, ​but the art form is in her blood, and she can’t resist the temptation to return. ​Life eventually leads Sam back to her old dance school – but not as a dancer. An​ old rival, a long-time crush, and her former dance teacher guide Sam back to​ what she loves most, but ultimately, it’s her own emotions and fears that she must confront to reignite her deep passion for dance.

Madison has the chance to pursue her love of event management when her two best friends announce their engagement. Finding a pre-planned wedding package on a remote island vineyard in New Zealand, Madison teams up with David, the handsome vineyard owner, to re-imagine the event for her friends.

This drama tells the true story of the six Elim College students and their teacher who tragically lost their lives in a flash flood, a traumatic experience for the college and New Zealand.

Jodie Carpenter is the owner of 'The Loft', her family's sail-making company located near quaint Redmond's Bay Marina. When luxury developer Charles Prescott purchases the port looking to carry out a lavish expansion, Jodie fears that her business and heritage will be torn down and replaced.

How the tragic death of one man triggered a David and Goliath battle between two Allies that echoed around the world and became the catalyst to end nuclear testing in the Pacific.

When 19 year old Heather Walsh accepts a job on a farm in the Mangatiti Valley, she has no idea paradise will become a nightmare. This true New Zealand story tells of Heather's horrific ordeal.

On the 7th of May 2009, Senior Constables Len Snee, Grant Diver and Bruce Miller arrived at 41 Chaucer Rd in Napier to serve a search warrant on Jan Molenaar for the growing of cannabis. This was just a routine warrant, something they had done countless times. What was meant to be an ordinary procedure turned into three of New Zealand’s darkest days and ended with one police officer dead, two officers critically injured and a member of the public fighting for his life. In some fifty hours Jan Molenaar made a permanent and devastating imprint upon the national psyche of New Zealand as he changed the lives of individuals, families, a police community, and a city. The siege was one of the worst and unexpected cases of violence both Napier and New Zealand had witnessed and it was all the more shocking because of its ordinary suburban backdrop.

A black comedy based on the true story of Alfred Benning's outlandish attempts to murder his overbearing wife in 1977.

Drama set in the sleepy town of Tokerangi, New Zealand in which three laid-back orchard workers accidentally grow a strong strain of marijuana.

Based on the true story of Chris Crean, who took a stand against gang violence in his community only to become a target himself.

Safe House is the story of a struggle for survival in an unfamiliar and threatening world, based on the true life experience of a woman in the early days of the witness protection programme in New Zealand. TV Movie

In November 1947 forty-one people died in a massive blaze that gutted the huge Ballantynes Department Store complex in the heart of Christchurch’s business district. This is the tragic story of New Zealand’s worst fire disaster.

When an attack on a Palmerston North fraud detective made headlines in October 1996, the New Zealand public followed the media reports with fascination. They read like a plot of a Hollywood film or detective novel. Poison pen letters, satanic worship, a police hate crime, and a mysterious and violent pyromaniac. But little did the public know that as the truth emerged, the story was going to get far more bizarre, and the police would turn the focus of their investigation on one of their own.

On the 19th of November 2010, the Pike River mine exploded with 31 men trapped inside. In the immediate confusion that followed no one knew what had happened. Within hours two men would manage a heroic escape but 29 remained unaccounted for. Over five days the men’s families and loved ones waited, hoping they would come out alive. Then two further explosions sealed the men’s fate. However, the fuse that would eventually snuff out so many lives was lit decades before. Set in the drama of the five days between the three explosions, Pike River reveals the tragic back story of the mine where pressure for profits would eventually contribute to the deaths of 29 men. Featuring interviews with the Pike River families and scripted drama to depict key events.

In 1983 Kiwi, a farm horse, became a racing legend when he ran from last to first to win The Melbourne Cup. Kiwi tells the story of the horse and the family who raced him. The extraordinary story of a remarkable horse that became a racing legend when he ran from last to first over the final 300 metres at Flemington to win The Melbourne Cup. This is the enthralling story of Kiwi, the horse a farmer's wife bought for $1000 that went on to win the Melbourne Cup in 1983. An 18-year-old jockey called Jimmy Cassidy was the rider.