The first full-length study of New Zealand cinema, this book explores a series of recurring themes and issues - law and authority, post-settler identity, neo-colonialism, Asia-Pacific diasporas, the Kiwi Gothic, and the reworking of American genres - across more than a hundred years of NewZealand film history. It presents critical readings of a diverse range of films - shorts, features, and documentaries - and considers the work of directors, producers, cinematographers and actors.The marketing of New Zealand film is addressed and is part of a wider cultural framework that approaches this national cinema through consumption, control and regulation, cultural policies and local and international media. Drawing on a private archive of pre-cinema New Zealand, this book alsoincludes a study of stereoviews and magic lantern slides. Films discussed include: Whale Rider, Utu, Vigil, Once Were Warriors, Sione's Wedding, In My Father's Den, and Black Sheep.