Writer Maurice Gee’s experiences growing up in West Auckland during World War II were the basis for this home front drama expertly realised by the producer/director team of Ginette McDonald and Peter Sharp. Twelve-year-old Rex Pascoe (Milan Borich — future singer in the band Pluto) is a war-obsessed schoolboy worried about his father’s black-market dealings. Meanwhile, American soldiers are making their presence felt but not all of their attitudes are welcome. The locals’ prejudices are about to be tested by the arrival of a GI to stay with Rex’s family.

Kim Hill interviews historian and writer Dr Michael King at the time of the release of his acclaimed book The Penguin History of New Zealand, in 2003 (the year before King's death). King talks about his optimism about Māori and Pākehā relations. He says one of the reasons he writes books is because "information dissolves prejudice". He offers a theory that you can have two indigenous peoples in one country - that Māori are our first people and Pākehā are our second people.

Nominated for a Qantas Media Award, this documentary examines prejudices against Asians in New Zealand, as immigration grows (80,000 ethnic Chinese and 20,000 Koreans have arrived in New Zealand since 1988). Directors John Bates and Manying Ip look back at the history of Asian settlement in Aotearoa, from colonial xenophobia and the poll tax inflicted only on Chinese migrants, through ‘ching chong Chinaman’ abuse, to the present day — where 21st century migrants face struggles with discrimination, language barriers and integrating in their new home. 

This teleplay from writer Greg McGee is a satire of prejudice and the market economy set in the grey, divisive atmosphere of early 1980s New Zealand. Kate Harcourt plays the proprietor of Dot's Terminal Cafe, a cantankerous spinster who rails against 'bludgers' and 'foreigners'. One rain-soaked Wellington night, her lumpen clientele decide to stage a small but telling uprising — with the help of a dead mouse. It screened in early 1982, following the breakout success of McGee’s confrontational take on Kiwi conformity: rugby player losing-his-religion play Foreskin’s Lament.

"...I mean to say, shouldn't I be in love with a fella or something?" Mandy (Richard Hanna), a man who dresses as a woman, describes his relationship with transsexual Jewel (future politician Georgina Beyer). Jewel's Darl concentrates on the fine details of their relationship: tea and biscuits in bed, Jewel's belief in staying strong against other people's mockery, and Mandy's memories of a troubled childhood. Nominated for multiple NZ Film and Television awards after finally getting a TV slot, Peter Wells' drama was inspired by an Anne Kennedy short story, which won the 1983 Katherine Mansfield Award. 

In 1982 Eve Van Grafhorst contracted HIV via a blood transfusion she received after being born prematurely. Hysteria about the disease led to Van Grafhorst being cast as a pariah in her Australian community, and in 1986 she and her family fled to Hastings in New Zealand. She became an AIDS poster child and helped shift attitudes to the disease. This documentary, which screened on TVNZ eight months after her November 1993 death, tells her story through the eyes of her mother, who is interviewed by broadcaster Paul Holmes (a friend of Eve).

Peter Wells and Stewart Main’s acclaimed drama screened in primetime and was ground-breaking in featuring AIDS. Wells' script is based on the death of one of his friends — one of the first New Zealanders to die from the disease — but the living are the focus, as Wells creates an intimate “strange and foreign land” occupied by those close to someone who is dying. Andy’s friends confront both their own mortality and the deadly new disease stalking their community, while his conservative family grapples with never having come to terms with his sexuality. The excerpt features the opening 10 minutes. 

Set in rural New Zealand during the 1960s, West of Eden tells the story of two men in love, at odds with the inherent conservatism of their surroundings. Written and produced by Vanessa Riddell, and directed and edited by her husband Alastair Riddell, the film is the couple’s second feature after 2014 romance Broken Hallelujah. Director Riddell had previous artistic success before moving into directing; he had a number one hit as lead singer of band Space Waltz. The film had its premiere on 22 February 2017, as part of the Auckland Pride Festival.

This 1972 documentary captures the pulse of Chinese in New Zealand — "a close-knit, traditionally minded community" concentrated in the cities. Reporter Geoff Walker briefly charts the history of Chinese immigrants, and racist policies spanning 50 years. Jock Hoe criticises New Zealand's immigration policy towards Chinese, and says older Chinese are walking more proudly as China stands on its feet again. Young Chinese-Kiwis reveal that romance with Europeans is possible, but uncommon. Also interviewed: businessman Thomas Doo and future writer Helene Wong.

The Otago goldrush in the 1860s attracted the first wave of Chinese immigrants to New Zealand. They were greeted with fear and suspicion from the white settler community. 130 years later the racist policies of late 19th century New Zealand are gone, but old attitudes linger. This 1993 Frontline report investigates the tension between older Chinese/Kiwi families and the growing number of first generation Chinese and Taiwanese immigrants. Whatever cultural issues divide them, both groups have experienced racism from Pākehā New Zealanders.