This edition of the long-running National Film Unit series documents the curriculum at Manutahi Native District School in Ruatōria in 1947. The roll of 300 primarily Māori students, travel to the rural school on bus, foot and horse to learn everything from the alphabet to preparing preserves. Set in the post-war baby boom period, the male students learn to build a cottage while the girls learn ‘home economics’ (cooking and running a household). The first principle of the schooling is “learning by doing” and for the rural kids “the whole land is a classroom.”

For nine years TVNZ's Top Half brought local news to Auckland and the upper North Island. In these excerpts there's a tantalising before and after glimpse of a David Bowie concert at Western Springs; the people of Ponsonby worry that their suburb's character is being lost to developers; Dylan Taite finds country rockers The Warratahs busking on Ponsonby Road; and in K Road, there is coverage of a multicultural street festival, and concerns about how encroaching sleaze is affecting local retailers; plus a cute story about a baby orangutan and a camera-shy mother.

In Poppy two Kiwi soldiers discover a baby in a muddy WWI trench. For Paddy it will lead to redemption amidst the hell of war. From a David Coyle script — based on his great-grandfather’s war story — Poppy was another successful computer-animation collaboration between producer Paul Swadel and director James Cunningham (Infection, Delf). CGI evokes a bleak Western Front landscape on which the (motion-captured) human drama unfolds. Cunningham spent over 4500 hours making Poppy; the result was acclaim at Siggraph, and invites to Telluride and SXSW festivals.

This trio of 1990s-era commercials features a pre-Xena Lucy Lawless — who is more fiscally responsible mum than warrior princess — while the doting Dad is played by Erik Thomson (Packed to the Rafters). The two are promoting the “your future bank” concept by extolling the benefits of banking with ASB, and securing the financial future of their baby Stan. Actor and nature presenter Peter Hayden's smooth tones and power suit launch the campaign. The following decade, ASB bank's ad campaign featuring fish out of water lawyer Ira Goldstein began a remarkable 11 year run.

Framed by the distinctive burr of influential Scottish thinker RD Laing, this 1977 doco questions how the Western medical system handles childbirth: in Laing's view, "one of the disaster areas of our culture." Supported by arresting hospital footage and impassioned interviews with mothers, the film argues that women are often deliberately sidelined during the process of birth, and babies' needs ignored. Screenings in the UK and US saw it contributing to a debate about newborn care; one that remains ongoing. Birth won a Feltex award for best documentary.

The Stolen follows English migrant Charlotte Lockton (Alice Eve, from Star Trek: Into Darkness) as she sets out to track down her kidnapped baby in gold rush era 1860s New Zealand. En route she meets gamblers, hustlers, prostitutes and Māori warriors. Bringing the era to life are Scotsman Graham McTavish (The Hobbit), Brit James Davenport (as the romantic interest), Rocky Horror Show creator Richard O’Brien, Cohen Holloway and singer Stan Walker. Produced and originated by London-based Kiwi Emily Corcoran, the film was directed by Brit Niall Johnson (comedy Keeping Mum).  

In this 2015 short film, work tensions spill over at the offices of a baby and parenting magazine. But the real drama is far closer to home. Debbie (Denise Snoad)  is sick of picking up the slack for Aroha (Anoushka Berkley), who seems to have her mind elsewhere. When Aroha mucks up a shipment, Debbie takes it to the boss. Writer/director Cathy MacDonald pits two seemingly disparate women against each other, only for the two to discover they're grappling with different sides of the same situation. Willa O'Neill (Scarfies) cameos as the boss. 

Karen and Mark, who are both intellectually disabled, are expecting a child. In this episode from stripped back documentary series First Hand, the couple become a family when baby Terry arrives. Terry's birth means the usual support they receive from IHC must be ramped up, and a new caregiver steps in to help Karen and Mark cope with the 24/7 responsibilities of parenthood. It's a story full of hope and love, but no one close to the couple is under any illusions about the amount of support needed to successfully parent Terry.

The physical and mental demands of competitive kickboxing and Muay Thai ramp up considerably in the weeks leading up to big fights. Made to mark 125 years of women's suffrage, this Vice documentary follows preparations by female fighters for the Lethal Ladies tournament in Panmure, Auckland — where 28 fierce women try to punch and kick their way to victory. Wendy Talbot, a 'street fighter' who's given everything to her sport is pitted against 'dark horse' Kelly Broerse. Legendary fighter turned coach Baby 'The Pitbull' Nansen also features.

This final edition of the 1992 celebration of New Zealand Rugby runs from grand slam success to the cusp of the professional era. But in-between, rugby and politics combusted. When the Springboks, representing apartheid South Africa, toured NZ in 1981, barbed wire, flour bombs and riot police were match fixtures. Kiwis were either for or against. The tour’s aftermath and public disillusionment with the sport found relief in 1987, when the All Blacks won the first Rugby World Cup; three undefeated years followed. Three NZRFU centennial tests close the series.