A jandal-shod journey through Kiwi pop culture. Kiwiana takes a light-hearted look at the fashion, art, architecture, attitudes, and icons (Buzzy Bees, Edmonds, Swanndri, Pavlova etc) we call our own. Directed by Shirley Horrocks, and shot by Leon Narbey, it featured personalities Gary McCormick, Ginette McDonald, John Clarke, Peter Jackson, and others. Screening at a time (1996) when New Zealanders were just beginning to appreciate these neglected everyday objects as ‘collectibles,' it rated highly, and inspired a sequel, Kiwi As.

This excerpt from TV One's 6.30PM News shows a famous photo opportunity from the 1983 Royal Tour downunder by Prince Charles and Princess Diana (with the recently issued baby William in tow). The scene of the doting parents and wee Will sitting on the lawn of Government House in Auckland was broadcast around the world. In front of the paparazzi George's future father bites on the iconic antenna of a Buzzy Bee, the heir apparent’s hair is still on his head, and a winsome Diana’s collar is perhaps not of the style that would later typify the 'People's Princess'.

Kiwi icon Lyn of Tawa (Ginette McDonald) — she of mangled vowel fame — goes on the prowl in search of the ultimate Kiwi bloke. The girl-from-the-suburb's mission takes in the gamut of masculine mythology, from Man Alone to mateship, as Lyn provides manthropological reflections ("can a woman ever be a mate?"). Made when the good keen man was facing up to the challenge from SNAGs, the documentary travels from the West Coast (for sex education) to a men's club, from rugby scrums to rabbit culls, and meets hunters, lawyers, students and gay ten-pin bowlers.

Gregor Nicholas explores the outer edges of obsession in this deliciously fruity comedy. The syncopated medley of music, strange noises and varied eccentrics doing their special thing shares similarities with a fondly-recalled scene in cult film Delicatessen; though Delicatessen was yet to emerge when this short film first debuted. Rushes played in multiple festivals, including the prestigious Clermont-Ferrand. The soundtrack is by ex Techtones guitarist Steve Roach. Director Nicholas followed this with another oddball romp: his feature debut User Friendly.

New Zealand's beloved Goodnight Kiwi has been through a number of incarnations since debuting on South Pacific Television (later TV2), in the mid-70s. TVNZ, aware that many Kiwis still held "a tremendous affection" for the kiwi and his cat, commissioned three animated spots to mark the 2008 Christmas holiday season. Auckland animator Tim Hunt was given the job of updating the originals, while still retaining the hand-drawn, 2D look. Of the three clips, the one above most closely follows the original Goodnight Kiwi sign-off which ran for over a decade. 

The intrepid Ice TV trio — Jon Bridges, Nathan Rarere and Petra Bagust — head to Nelson to host the Montana New Zealand Wearable Art Awards. They meet the creators of the fantastic fashion catwalk extravaganza, whose garments are inspired by everything from Alice in Wonderland, roadkill, x-rays, birds, and the Buzzy Bee, to taniwha and Pasifika. The 'Illumination Illusion' section (designed to be seen in ultravoilet light) is a highlight. Nathan and Jon revel in going behind the scenes of the 'bizarre bras' section, and Petra tries on a possum-skin bikini.

The Marching Girls is the seven-part story of a Taita social marching team who decide to have a crack at the North Island Championships. This pioneering series was conceived by actor-writer Fiona Samuel out of frustration over the dearth of challenging female roles: she declared that it was about time the Kiwi "alienated macho dickhead" shared some screen time with women. Synth-rock soundtracks, ghetto blasters, Holden Kingswood taxis and chain-smoking abound in this feminist-Flashdance-in-formation 80s classic.

In 1986 Footrot Flats: The Dog's (Tail) Tale and its theme song ‘Slice of Heaven’ were huge hits in New Zealand and Australia. The adaptation of Murray Ball's beloved Footrot Flats comic strip marked Aotearoa's first animated feature. There were a lot of big questions to answer: Will Wal become an All Black? Will Cooch recover his stolen stag? Will the Dog win your hearts and funny bones? Punters answered at the box office. This John Toon-shot trailer doubled as a promo for the Dave Dobbyn-Herbs song, and smartly leveraged both. Tony Hiles writes about the film's making here.

Created by Fiona Samuel, The Marching Girls follows a Taita social marching team who decide to have a crack at the North Island champs. In the first episode of this feminist-Flashdance-in-formation 80s classic, young whippersnapper Leonie tries to modernise the girls' routine by getting them to march to the heavy metal tunes of Ironlung ("they're really big in Australia!"). This proves too much for Mahara (Patupatu Ripley), who's got enough on her plate with her new role as hesitant union spokesperson for her fellow workers down at the factory.

This beautifully-shot documentary is a social and architectural history of the great NZ bach (or crib, for those south of the Waitaki). Maggie Barry tracks their evolution from workers’ cottages to a fully fledged icon in danger of extinction: as the blind eye turned by councils that made them possible becomes a thing of the past, and the coastline becomes too valuable to allow ‘just anyone’ to erect a shack on it. The Kiwi spirit that created the building is celebrated. The bach enthusiasts interviewed include Sam Hunt, Keri Hulme, Karl Stead and Rawiri Paratene.