Ian Mune

Young hobbit Frodo Baggins, after inheriting a mysterious ring from his uncle Bilbo, must leave his home in order to keep it from falling into the hands of its evil creator. Along the way, a fellowship is formed to protect the ringbearer and make sure that the ring arrives at its final destination: Mt. Doom, the only place where it can be destroyed.

When an arranged marriage brings Ada and her spirited pre-teen daughter Flora to the wilderness of 19th-century New Zealand, she finds herself locked in a battle of wills with both her controlling husband and a rugged frontiersman to whom she develops a forbidden attraction.

Confined to a secluded rest home and trapped within his stroke-ridden body, a former Judge must stop an elderly psychopath who employs a child's puppet to abuse the home's residents with deadly consequences.

When Kylie Bucknell is sentenced to home detention, she's forced to come to terms with her unsociable behaviour, her blabbering mother and a hostile spirit who seems less than happy about the new living arrangement.

The story of the senior-level preparations for the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944 from the time of Dwight D. Eisenhower's appointment as the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, to the establishment of the beachhead in Normandy.

In a violent relationship, it takes a mother’s strength to save herself and her children from the man she loved. Once Were Warriors is a violent love story set against a contemporary urban backdrop.

Two ordinary people are abducted by aliens, and blessed as chosen ones to spread a cosmic message to the masses.

In the aftermath of an explosion that rocked the Pike River Mine and took the lives of 29 West Coasters, two women step up to fight for accountability.

Numero Bruno is a warts and all biography of widely popular actor, musician and counter-cultural hero Bruno Lawrence. Lawrence's intense, charismatic screen presence was key to ground-breaking Kiwi films, Smash Palace, The Quiet Earth and Utu. Directed by Steve La Hood, this documentary features interviews with family and friends, and liberal excerpts from Lawrence's film and musical work, including performances by 70s alternative Aotearoa icons Blerta and clips showcasing his seminal collaborations with Geoff Murphy.

When a messy underachiever accidentally gets alien-pregnant, she must overcome skeptical doctors, a useless baby daddy, and her oversharing mum in order to survive and reclaim her life.

Recluse Smith is drawn into a revolutionary struggle between guerrillas and right-wingers in New Zealand. Implicated in a murder and framed as a revolutionary conspirator, Smith tries to maintain an attitude of non-violence while caught between warring factions.

Wound is a supernatural horror that explores the dark worlds of mental illness, incest, revenge and death. We follow Tanya as she searches for the mother she has never met – a mother who gave her up for dead after being abused by her own father who remains stuck in her present life. Tanya returns from the dead to confront and possess her mother with all her deepest fears and desires, sending Susan into a state of madness and gore filled retribution. A dark, disturbing look into a haunted woman’s mind. This is one terrible dream you will never wake up from.

The vampire myth is given a stylish 1960s treatment, where a human cop partners with a vampire cop to stop a vamp bent on creating a war between the two "separate but equal" races.

Evoking the style and pace of the Noir genre, the film is essentially a murder mystery with Stanley (Gareth Reeves) the prime suspect. Stanley's success as a novelist has been largely due to his style where he writes from the first person perspective of the central characters, who are always the killers in real-life cases. Troubled with writer's block, his agent suggests a tramping trip "to clear his mind". However, when he wakes up on the first morning of his tramp, he finds his fellow tramper dead.

With the accidental discovery of a lethal bio-agent at her research facility, Dr. Christine Ruben decides to double cross her own government by stealing the deadly formula to keep it out of the clutches of the military, whom she doesn't trust. To make her rendezvous with some confederates who promise to get her out of the country, she recruits daredevil driver Judd Pierson and his partner Casey Lee, who are down on their luck and take the job without knowing what they're getting into.

Darcy, a composer, sees colors when she plays musical notes. When she notices her usually subtle colors changing, she realizes a profound change is upon her. Over a summer month, Darcy creates a time of music and reflection that help her make a final choice.

This 1995 documentary comprehensively plots New Zealand's progress from enthusiastic supporter of the atomic bomb in the 1940s to becoming proudly nuclear free by the late 1980s. The birthplace of "father of the atom" Ernest Rutherford willingly participated in British tests at Christmas Island in the 1950s (and looked eagerly for uranium in the Buller Gorge). But as testing increased in the Pacific, Prime Ministers Holyoake, Kirk and Lange voiced opposition. Moruroa, nuclear ship visit protests and the Rainbow Warrior bombing fuelled the anti-nuclear cause.

When Arthur, self-proclaimed son of God, sets off on a mission to find the Queen of Heaven, his world changes.

Director Roger Donaldson's 1977 movie of CK Stead novel Smith's Dream helped spark a new wave of Kiwi cinema. Getting there was a cash-strapped, bare-knuckle ride. In this documentary cast and crew recall a communal film set that was "constantly on the go" as they pulled together drama, car chases, and gun battles using mainly ingenuity.

Ron Ryan is accused of a murder he did not commit. As his family races to prove his innocence, he and a priest aim for redemption.

A true story. 1942. New Zealand is at war. Times are desperate. The Japanese invasion seems imminent. At this perilous moment, confidence trickster Syd Ross completes his sentence and is released from Waikeria Prison. He makes a phone call and finds himself in front of Prime Minister Fraser. Syd tells a tale of sabotage and assassination, of a Nazi plot to take over New Zealand.

MOW about the life of Lucille Ball, focusing on the loving yet tumultuous relationship with Desi Arnaz.

Nige runs over and accidentally kills a Scandinavian soccer star in an unfortunate incident involving a hot meat pie, a ginger cat and a policeman. He chucks the body in a nearby road works hole and runs to his best mate of fifteen years, Deano. But Deano's not the guy you should turn to in a crisis...

Four children on a remote sheep station in New Zealand hear of the escape of two convicts, and realise that the crooks are responsible for burgling their house.

Recluse Smith is drawn into a revolutionary struggle between guerrillas and right-wingers in New Zealand. Implicated in a murder and framed as a revolutionary conspirator, Smith tries to maintain an attitude of non-violence while caught between warring factions.

An Ulster Volunteer Force vigilante, turned police informer, is sent by the British government to New Zealand to start a new life, leaving behind his eldest son. Although his wife and two young boys are also in New Zealand, they are no longer together, and he has a new love interest. After some eight years his past catches up with him when former comrades show up, intent on extracting revenge. After two nearly successful attempts by them (in Dunedin), the action moves to a final confrontation and shootout in the hills above Queenstown.

Five years have passed and Jake has turned his back on his family. He's still up to his usual tricks in McClutchy's Bar, unaware, as he downs his latest opponent, that his eldest son, Nig, has died in a gang fight. The uncomfortable family reunion at Nig's funeral sparks a confrontation with second son, Sonny, and sets Jake and Sonny on a downward spiral.

A baby is washed up on a Pacific Island and is adopted by a childless woman. The tribal priest takes an instant dislike to the child, proclaiming him a demon. The child is deaf and mute and therefore excluded from hunting with the other young men. Out of loneliness, he befriends a white turtle. When a drought befalls the island, the priest blames the silent one. When the chief protects the boy, the priest plots the chiefs' downfall.

Set in post-war (1949) rural New Zealand, this film traces the efforts of two con men to run a betting scam in a small town (Tainuea) already rife with illegal gambling corruption, and eccentricity.

Set in post-war (1949) rural New Zealand, this film traces the efforts of two con men to run a betting scam in a small town (Tainuea) already rife with illegal gambling corruption, and eccentricity.

The God Boy is a portrait of a troubled teen Jimmy (Jamie Higgins) growing up in post-war small town New Zealand and wrestling with a repressive education and home front turmoil. Adapted from the Ian Cross novel by Ian Mune and directed by Murray Reece, the landmark film was the first NZ telefeature, gaining Feltex awards and front page reviews. With menace and Catholic guilt ever-present, it’s credited as a pioneer of what Sam Neill dubbed NZ’s “cinema of unease”. (NZ On Screen)

In this award-winning children's adventure created by Ian Mune, Tony (Ian Templeton) and Suey (Julie Wilson) spend time on their uncle's farm and become country kids — riding horses to school and getting stick from mouthy classmate Harvey (Buddy Ruruku). The trio are fascinated by local drifter 'Rotten' Fred, whose dog Ratsguts is rumoured to be a sheep killer. They form the Mad Dog gang, uncovering Fred's history and protecting him from vindictive farmer Wilkie (John Bach). Directed by Ross Jennings, this telemovie combines three half-hour episodes. It was named Best Drama at the 1979 Feltex Television Awards.

Kids on an outing in the forest come up against a mysterious hermit who lives on the other side of a bridge, and he is definitely not happy to see them.

Kids on an outing in the forest come up against a mysterious hermit who lives on the other side of a bridge, and he is definitely not happy to see them.

Family drama set in New Zealand about Geoff Crome, a young boy (Fulford) who immerses himself in his own private fantasy world where he meets Firpo (Papps), a strange being who dreams of being an Olympic athlete. Together, the two begin a close friendship as Geoff attempts to help Firpo realise his dream. However, it is not long until the adult world begins to impinge on his fantasy.

When Kirk, a top roller-blader, discovers that he has bone cancer in his leg, his pleasant affluent life is shattered. Even though amputation provides the best chance for survival; to him, losing skating means the end of life. His friends cannot cope with his condition, but his hospital isolation is relieved by Marty - a street kid survivor who was found dying of leukemia. Marty bullies, taunts, and challenges Kirk, until he begins to climb out of his depression. Marty seems afraid of nothing and, knowing she will die, wants to experience everything.

When Kirk, a top roller-blader, discovers that he has bone cancer in his leg, his pleasant affluent life is shattered. Even though amputation provides the best chance for survival; to him, losing skating means the end of life. His friends cannot cope with his condition, but his hospital isolation is relieved by Marty - a street kid survivor who was found dying of leukemia. Marty bullies, taunts, and challenges Kirk, until he begins to climb out of his depression. Marty seems afraid of nothing and, knowing she will die, wants to experience everything.

Cinema documentary feature celebrating iconic New Zealand entertainer, Billy T James.

Cinema documentary feature celebrating iconic New Zealand entertainer, Billy T James.

Evil Eva and her cronies threaten to blow their enemies sky-high by reactivating the Rangitoto volcano with a nuclear device. However, the goofy gang isn't all bad - they like to break into song and dance while holding the city for ransom. Who will save the city from destruction? Why a talented trio of kids, including a nutcase who has invented an antigravity machine. The police force, zonked out on Eva's drugged coffee, are made ineffectual.