An exclusive collection of documentaries and films

NZ On Screen is marking Anzac Day with an exclusive on-line collection of war-themed NZ documentaries and films from through the years.

NZ On Screen content director Irene Gardiner says NZers have always had a strong interest in Anzac Day war commemorations, and this interest is increasing over the years as a new generation of NZers want to find out more about the war stories of their grandparents and great-grandparents.

“I think there will be a lot of interest in the excellent collection of titles we have collated for the site. We’ve got iconic full-length documentaries and short films, as well as significant excerpts from Gaylene Preston’s acclaimed documentary film War Stories.”

The collection is supported by written background information and profiles, with a special introductory piece by leading NZ war historian Chris Pugsley, and a reflection on the meaning of Anzac from veteran broadcaster Ian Johnstone.

NZ On Screen’s Anzac Day collection is running for four weeks. You can see the collection, and hundreds of other NZ titles, for free on www.nzonscreen.com

Documentaries featuring in the Anzac collection include: Our Lost War (2006), which sees Outrageous Fortune actress Robyn Malcolm re-tracing the war experiences of her great-uncle who was killed at Passchendaele in 1917; Children of Gallipoli, a documentary made in 2001 by producer and director Anna Cottrell which features the journeys of Gallipoli descendents to Anzac Cove and includes the Turkish point of view; Maori Battalion – March to Victory, produced and directed by Tainui Stephens in 1990; and Our Oldest Soldier, filmmaker David Blyth’s 2002 documentary about his grandfather, WWI hero Curly Blyth.

Three award-winning NZ short films will be screening for the first time on-line – Oscar-nominated director Taika Waititi’s Tama Tu, about Maori Battalion soldiers at war (special mentions at Berlin and Sundance Film Festivals); Turangawaewae – A Place to Stand, directed by Peter Burger (selected for Cannes critics week and featuring the late Wi Kuki Kaa in one of his last performances); and wartime romance Dead Letters, directed by Paolo Rotondo.

The collection also features some classic historic titles, such as Maori Battalion Returns from the Weekly Review NFU newsreel series of 1946, and a Compass current affairs programme from 1966 about the RSA.