There’s no better time to take a look at some of the gripping dramas, quirky comedies, and tense thrillers from the Land of the Long White Cloud available at and featuring in 'Across The Ditch' week.
Baby Done
Arborist Zoe (Rose Matafeo) didn’t plan to fall pregnant (she finds out after literally falling from a tree). For her, having a baby will put her on a set of tracks heading to a string of immovable milestones. As she puts it, “Married, house, baby, done”. But as she rebels against her fate, partner and fellow arborist Tim (Matthew Lewis) turns clucky, and as the inevitable draws closer their once unbreakable bond starts to fray. Jokes about competitive tree climbing, glitter bombs and a creepy “preggophile” mix with sharp insights into the emotions pregnancy stirs up to create a warmly funny comedy that definitely delivers.
Baby Done airs on SBS World Movies on Wednesday, 27 September at 9.30pm, and is also streaming on SBS On Demand:
STREAM FREE AT SBS ON DEMAND
Baby Done
Wellington Paranormal
New Zealand has been kicking a lot of comedy goals over the past decade or so, and if you want to know what all the fuss is about Wellington Paranormal is the perfect place to start. A loose spin-off from the hit movie What We Do in the Shadows, it follows a very average group of New Zealand police who keep finding themselves faced with weird and supernatural cases that are also surprisingly mundane. It’s a classic deadpan NZ reality police show, only instead of drunk drivers the police are dealing with ghosts and ghouls and portals to hell. Smart, funny, and not afraid to underplay some increasingly ridiculous situations, it’s four seasons of perfectly judged hilarity.
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STREAM FREE AT SBS ON DEMAND
Tracker
Ray Winstone faces off against Temuera Morrison in a classic clash of the movie tough guys – and when they’re not staring down each other, you can stare at some stunning New Zealand scenery. It’s the turn of the (20th) century and Arjan (Winstone) is a Boer fresh from the war who just wants a quiet life in his new homeland. The British have different ideas, as they send him out into the wilds to track down a Maori whaler (Morrison) accused of murder. But as Arjan relentlessly tracks down his prey, he slowly begins to realise that he has more in common with his target than he does with those who sent him on the hunt.
Tracker is screening on SBS World Movies Thursday, 28 September at 10.00pm, and is also streaming on SBS On Demand:
STREAM FREE AT SBS ON DEMAND
Tracker
Bellbird
Ross (Marshall Napier) is a man of few words, so it’s lucky his wife Beth (Annie Whittle) is chatty enough for the both of them. But when she passes away suddenly, he’s left struggling to ask for the help he so clearly needs. His equally taciturn son Bruce (Cohen Holloway) comes back to help out on the farm, but it’s obvious to everyone but Ross that Bruce isn’t a natural when it comes to running the dairy. Could local kid Marley (Kahukura Retimana) be the future of Ross’ farm? A touching look at loss through the eyes of men overwhelmed by feelings they can’t quite articulate, it’s the kind of film that stays with you long after the end credits.
Bellbird is screening on SBS World Movies Monday, 25 September at 9.30pm, and is also streaming on SBS On Demand:
STREAM FREE AT SBS ON DEMAND
Bellbird
Duckrockers
2006’s Sione’s Wedding (also streaming ) was a massive hit in New Zealand. Now this prequel series takes a look back at the central characters when they were teens trying to figure things out in Auckland in the mid-80s. They’re dealing with family issues and relationships and the last summer before they’re expected to grow up; they’re also trying to be the baddest bopping crew in town, which is a crown the rival Flaw Rubberz won’t hand over easily. Packed with authentic touches and some winning performances, it’s a window back to a time when successfully doing a headspin made you a legend.
STREAM FREE AT SBS ON DEMAND
Duckrockers
Inked
Jiayue Qiu (Lisa Zhang) isn’t exactly living a lie. She just hasn’t told her father Rong (Gang Du) that she has no interest in finishing off her medical studies and that her real dream is to become a tattoo artist. Add in a recent break-up, a string of debts, and a secret apprenticeship at a tattoo parlour that’s not exactly thriving and Jiayue’s got a lot on her plate, especially as each episode of this eight-part series only clocks in at around 15 minutes. As NZ’s first Chinese-English TV series (there are four different Chinese dialects spoken), this sharply observed and warmly authentic dramedy is a ground-breaking show tackling universal themes.
STREAM FREE AT SBS ON DEMAND
Inked - Season 1 Episode 1
Mahana (AKA The Patriarch)
Once Were Warriors director Lee Tamahori reteams with his star Temuera Morrison for a powerful tale of curdled masculinity as two feuding Maori families face off in the North Island’s sheep country in the 1960s. Tamihana Mahana (Morrison) rules his family with an iron grip that his teenage grandson Simeon (Akuhata Keefe) constantly chafes against. The Pota family, led by Rupeni (Jim Moriarty) are their lifelong enemies, which makes Simeon’s growing love for a Pota girl a terrible risk. Times are changing, a new generation is rising; while the women here – especially matriarch Romana (Nancy Brunning) – see what’s coming, Tamihana’s rage and pride blind him to the future.
Mahana is screening on SBS World Movies Tuesday, 26 September at 9.30pm, and is also streaming at SBS On Demand:
STREAM FREE AT SBS ON DEMAND
Mahana
Educators
Inept teachers, students running amok, angry parents and a principal who’s into cage fighting; it’s just your ordinary (fictional) Auckland secondary school. But Educators is a comedy series with a difference: it’s all improvised. With no scripts and real students, leads Tom Sainsbury, Ana Scotney and Josh Thomson are constantly on the back foot, giving a real sense of frantic comedic invention to a trio of characters who are barely hanging on in a riotous world where chaos is a way of life.
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Educators - Season 1 Episode 1
