This 1972 documentary explores the world of a dying generation of Māori female elders or kuia — “the last of the Māori women with tattooed chins”. The film pays tribute to the place of the kuia in Māori culture, and of wahine tā moko. Among those on screen are 105-year old Ngahuia Hona, who cooks in hot pools, rolls a cigarette, and eats with whānau, and “the oldest Māori” Nga Kahikatea Wirihana, who remembers the Battle of Ōrākau during the land wars, and has outlived four husbands. Into Antiquity was an early documentary from veteran director Wayne Tourell.

This documentary presents insight into the man most New Zealanders know as the Māori radical with a moko. Delving beyond the sensational headlines, it presents Tame Iti in the context of his whānau and beliefs. Iti tells his own story: from growing up in his beloved Urewera, and his role in organisation Ngā Tamatoa, to heroes (Rua Kenana, Che Guevara), moko, match-making and a late-starting art career. Iti’s children reflect on an activist father who “is a kid at heart”. Chelsea Winstanley's documentary screened on TV2, before Iti’s arrest during the infamous 2007 ‘Urewera raids’.

Tā Moko is a half hour documentary on Māori tattoo, including rare footage of internationally acclaimed Māori artist George Nuku getting a full-face moko via traditional tattooing techniques. The documentary follows the journey of Tā Moko from its use and status in traditional Māori culture, to its appropriation as gang insignia, and its revival as an expression of Māori identity and pride in the modern world. Directed by Kim Webby, Tā Moko screened on TVNZ, and was a finalist at the 2007 NZ Media Peace Awards. 

NZ On Screen’s Top 10 most viewed titles of 2015 features two All Blacks, a pair of animated favourites, a number of guitars, the debut episode of Outrageous Fortune, and a documentary about moko. Check out the top 10 list below, and find out more about the top 10 here.   

Mai Time was an influential magazine show for Māori youth, screening for a decade on Saturday mornings on TV2. This episode looks at the place of ta moko (tattoo), interviewing Robert Ruha, a 27-year-old with a full-face moko. Mai Time crew visit Otara Music Arts Centre, a Matariki exhibition at Whaingaroa (Raglan), and then artist Lisa Reihana finds “more mean art by the sea”: Brett Graham and Rachel Rakena’s Aniwaniwa exhibition at the 52nd Venice Biennale. Aptly, the artwork explores the 1947 flooding of the village of Horahora for a hydroelectric scheme.

This 2016 Loading Doc introduces a heavily-tattoed Englishman living in Rarotonga. Croc Coulter is an unlikely master of the traditional art of tātatau (tattoo); the documentary follows Coulter as he teaches the art form to an apprentice, Moko Smith. Coulter also lives with cystic fibrosis. It was directed by Robert George, who has Cook Islands Māori and Māori heritage, and a background as both a painter and in post-production work for the screen. The mini documentary was shared internationally; it also featured on National Geographic's Short Film Showcase.

In this documentary, Tā moko artist and kapa haka teacher Sacha Utupoto Keating rode the Whanganui River on a journey to discover his whakapapa. Director Howard Taylor followed Sacha's personal story and the wider histories of the awa, weaving reconstructions, archival footage and lush river images into a rich story of people and place. "Taylor's investigation of the mythical, historical, ecological and spiritual aspects of the Whanganui River is deeply moving." said Grant Smithies in the The Sunday Star-Times."You're left entertained, enlightened and politicised."

Marae DIY is a long-running Māori Television series that brings a tangata whenua twist to the home renovation reality format: "marae knock out their 10-year plans in just four days". This Qantas Award-winning episode heads to Manutuke Marae (south of Gisborne) mid-winter in 2006. Marae DIY creator Nevak Rogers (aka Nevak Ilolahia) has Rongowhakaata whakapapa. Alongside co-presenter Te Ori Paki, Rogers plays cheerleader as her whānau rally to meet the goals: from french doors for the kitchen, to makeovers for the nannies (including a moko by Derek Lardelli).

Wellington band The Black Seeds present the debut episode in this TV series profiling creative Kiwi culture. They begin by going behind the scenes on their action-packed music video Hey Son (with Bret McKenzie donning a Captain Cook meets Freddie Mercury number). There’s an early profile of Auckland graffiti/ streetwear artist Misery (complete with cycle interview, and cameo from artist Elliot 'Askew' O'Donnell), London-based Ta Moko artist Te Rangitu Netana talks about life away from home, and tattooing Robbie Williams; and there’s a piece about skateboarding mag Manual.

A bold reveal of a rose tattoo opens this 1980 documentary on contemporary Kiwi tattooing. Then, a potted history of the practice punctuates visits to parlours on K Road and Hastings, plus the studios of industry legends Steve Johnson and Roger Ingerton. Interviews with tattooists and their canvases roam from stigma, the perils of permanence, and motivations for inking; to design tropes (sailors, serpents, swallows) and tā moko. Commissioned by TVNZ for the Contact documentary slot, the Geoff Steven film chronicles a time when “folk art has become high art.”