Movies Similar to A Living Hell: Apartment Disasters

Cutting Corners(2021)

With building collapses happening around the country, activists band together to confront the real estate developers and hold them accountable for the construction destruction, lives they have destroyed, and deaths they have caused.

Abegweit(1998)

A day-to-day record of the construction of the Confederation Bridge linking Prince Edward Island to the mainland, Abegweit reveals some of the innovations that made this mammoth project one of the most impressive engineering feats in Canadian history.

The Hermits(2019)

In the midst of the chaos of México City, a group of eight bachelor millennials who call themselves ´The Hermits´, open the doors to their tiny apartments in the historic Ermita Building, in the yet-to-be gentrified neighborhood of Tacubaya, and share their life experiences in a time when precarity changes the way in which we love, feel and relate to each other. As we explore the homes of these eight neighbors, we also witness their personalities intersect in a Whatsapp chat, a virtual space that functions as a supporting system that helps them face the adversities that living alone in this city brings.

Kim Dotcom: Caught in the Web(2017)

The larger-than-life story of Kim Dotcom, the 'most wanted man online', is extraordinary enough, but the battle between Dotcom and the US Government and entertainment industry—being fought in New Zealand—is one that goes to the heart of ownership, privacy and piracy in the digital age.

Skin Pics(1980)

A bold reveal of a rose tattoo opens this 1980 documentary on tattooing in New Zealand. The potted history includes visits to tattoo parlours on K' Road and Hastings, and the studios of industry legends Steve Johnson and Roger Ingerton. Tattooists discuss public stigma, people's reasons for getting inked, and popular designs: sailors, serpents, swallows and tā moko. Made for documentary slot Contact, Skin Pics chronicles a time when "folk art has become high art".

Gallipoli - The Dardenelles Campaign(1996)

An overview of one of the greatest disasters of the first World War WWI - the Dardanelles Campaign at Gallipoli, Turkey.

Someone Else's Country(1996)

Someone Else’s Country looks critically at the radical economic changes implemented by the 1984 Labour Government - where privatisation of state assets was part of a wider agenda that sought to remake New Zealand as a model free market state. The trickle-down ‘Rogernomics’ rhetoric warned of no gain without pain, and here the theory is counterpointed by the social effects (redundant workers, Post Office closures). Made by Alister Barry in 1996 when the effects were raw, the film draws extensively on archive footage and interviews with key “witnesses to history”.

Rebuilding the World Trade Center(2013)

Chronicling the reconstruction of the World Trade Center and restoration of the New York City skyline, with a focus on the construction workers who made it happen. Thirteen cameras placed throughout the site document eight years of progress with stunning time-lapse imagery, and shadow workers every step of the way as they turn a pile of ashes into a towering testament to imagination and resilience.

All Aboard! New Zealand by Rail, Sea and Land(2020)

Take an epic overland train, boat and car journey through New Zealand’s breathtaking landscapes. The voyage begins in Auckland, but the city soon gives way to rolling pastures, volcanic extremes, tranquil waterways, the snowcapped grandeur of the Southern Alps and the beauty of Fiordland.

Hot Air(2014)

In the years since New Zealand politicians began to grapple with climate change our greenhouse gas emissions have burgeoned. Alister Barry’s doco draws on TV archives and interviews with key participants to find out why.

Quest for the Ring(2001)

Taking Back Our Beach(2023)

This is a film about the response by a community to New Zealand’s largest environmental disaster, seen through the eyes of that community. The film captures the shock, anger and grief driven into the heart of the local community, but also the humour, purpose and overwhelming positivity when people join together with a common goal.

Pirates of the Airwaves(2014)

In 1966 a group of determined young men defied the New Zealand government and launched a pirate radio station aboard a ship in the Hauraki Gulf.

Beyond Conversion(2022)

BEYOND CONVERSION is a deep-dive into conversion therapy in Aotearoa through the eyes of Kiwi conversion therapy survivors.

Niue: This Is Your Land(2003)

A third generation NZ born Niuean Female surfer, visits her Island of heritage for the first time only to discover there is no surf on Niue. But Mella's visit opens her eyes to the island's other beautiful qualities, the magical water, warm people, and clean unpolluted land. However she also discovers the low population has left the countries future hanging by a thread. This documentary is a record of Mella's journey to regaining her identity and first steps at becoming part of the solution in Niue's restoration of itself.

Dame Valerie Adams: More Than Gold(2022)

Olympic Champion, Kiwi Icon, Tongan Leader, Orphan, Mother...winning was just part of the journey.

Redefining China's Family: Women(2008)

10 May 2007 - China's staggering economic growth has overshadowed a more subtle shift in Chinese society. In domestic life, many women are now ignore the advice of their mothers and grandmothers, turning instead to counselling hotlines and, increasingly, divorce.

Kinleith '80(1983)

Covers the 12-week-long strike at Kinleith Pulp and Paper Mill, owned by New Zealand Forest Products in January 1980.

The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari(2022)

A close examination of the Whakaari / White Island volcanic eruption of 2019 in which 22 lives were lost, the film viscerally recounts a day when ordinary people were called upon to do extraordinary things, placing this tragic event within the larger context of nature, resilience, and the power of our shared humanity.

Flare - A Ski Trip(1977)

A short documentary about freestyle skiing made for the New Zealand Tourist and Publicity Department.