The Shorts (preview) - Loading Docs

2019

Powerful people. Powerful stories. Eight insightful short documentaries from strong New Zealand voices. Discover stories of family, fate, the fight for indigenous rights and the price of viral fame.

My breakup with God Copy

A devoted Christian slams the door on the Church - against her parents’ hopes - and pursues a path of sexual freedom and love.

Meme Me

The ‘Nek Minnit’ guy confronts the meme that defined him. Get ready to challenge your own perceptions of virality.

He hekenga tūhura

Just weeks before his passing, Sir Hector Busby discusses a legacy of celestial navigation and waka carving, considering who will carry the knowledge after he’s gone.

Operation Rambu!

After a party-fuelled decade of B-list action movies, the ‘Indonesian Rambo’ abruptly disappeared from the silver screen. Can destiny provide the stage for this Kiwi’s triumphant return?

Meet Munch Jr.

A father’s love inspires an autistic teen to express himself by bringing his cartoon character to life.

Bird’s eye

Petra Leary takes her hidden superpower to the sky, focusing her lens on becoming the world’s top aerial photographer.

Water baby

Freediving royalty William Trubridge and actress Sachiko Fukumoto will do anything to bring their baby into their world, the ocean.

Mana Wahine

As the indigenous land occupation of Ihumātao hits global headlines, Pania Newton must decide: face down the bulldozers or give up the fight.

2018

The theme for 2018 is ‘impact’. The short documentaries feature explorational journeys of social inequality, personal discovery and missions to fix wrongs in our lands. Provoking, inspiring and awakening your curiosity.

Hear me out

Mojo Mathers, Aotearoa’s first deaf MP, has one last chance to open the door for people with disabilities to fully participate in democracy.

The Barter Barber

An intrepid barber confronts his own mental health challenges when he travels the country on a mission to get men talking.

John the baptist

Heeding God’s word, an Englishman travels to New Zealand to learn Māori so he can spread God’s love in te reo.

Kārearea

Fern, a sassy kārearea (New Zealand falcon), worried about the future of her species, is on a mission to change her whānau’s bad reputation.

She Speeds

In the exhilarating world of dirt track racing, female stock car driver Brooke smashes through every barrier to do what she does best.

The Crossroads: Le Māgafā

Reflecting on the four elements influencing his life journey, Samoan hip-hop artist Kas Futialo, aka Tha Feelstyle, seeks to inspire the next generation.

The Cube of Truth

Exposing the dark side of animal agriculture, a daring young couple take a surprising message of violence to the streets.

What Logan did

A tenacious young inventor, Logan Williams (Ngāi Tahu), concocts an ingenious scheme to battle the invasive algae didymo killing New Zealand’s rivers.

Soldiers Road

Connecting young Māori to their culture through art, Soldiers Road Portraits seek to reframe identity in an empowering way.

2017

The theme for 2017 is ‘diversity’. The short documentaries feature stories of sex, death, love, loss, hope, friendship, culture and identity. Every story is different. Every story needs watching.

He Kākano Ahau – From the spaces in between

A courageous takatāpui (Māori LGBTQI) activist is fighting for true diversity in our Gay Pride celebrations.

Luckie strike

Hundreds of metres below the earth’s surface two men struggle to discover a new entrance into one of New Zealand’s most spectacular caves.

Surreal estate

An artist and his real-estate agent alter ego clash over the age-old problem of art versus commerce.

Asian men talk about sex

Eight Asian men challenge stereotypes and bare all as they speak candidly about sex, love and dating.

Ajax the kea conservation dog

A passionate conservationist and his canine companion fight together to save New Zealand’s kea.

East meets east

The honest musings of a Chinese grandmother brings an unseen community into the spotlight.

Kotuku Rerenga Rua

A larger-than-life Māori academic is returned to the land of the living by the power of love and the strength of his culture.

#losing

While preparing for a live performance, a poet reflects on his losing battle with a degenerative bone disease.

The Coffin Club

A group of rebellious, creative Kiwi seniors give death the finger, one crazy coffin at a time.

Union

A young Māori outsider living in Japan tackles cultural isolation using the universal language of rugby.

2016

The theme for 2016 is ‘change’. The short documentaries explore this theme in a variety of ways. Some share personal stories of dramatic change, others address major social, political and environmental changes, and all have the potential to change the way viewers think and feel.

The colourist

As one of the original colourists for White’s Aviation in the 1950’s, Grace Rawson reminisces and revives the forgotten art of hand-tinted photography for the first time in over fifty years.

Mr & Mrs Gock

When New Zealand gave two young Chinese refugees citizenship in the 1940’s they found an unlikely way to return the gift - by saving the almighty kumara.

Mister Sunshine

Meet the millionaire who became a shoeshine man peddling goodwill and cheer throughout Auckland.

Bludgeon

Knight-in-waiting Martainn must battle his inner demons if he is to rise to the occasion and lead the mighty Steel Thorns in his beloved sport of full contact medieval combat.

Blood sugar

Four-year-old Dahlia takes us into her bittersweet world of blood, needles and sugar.

Street smart

Ten years on, Regina Tito looks back at her life on the streets and delivers an image society desperately needs to see.

Imagine the World is Ending

Do today's young people have a right to be angry about the world they've inherited? Two schoolboys use poetry and a selfie stick to confront the problems facing the world.

‘Aka’ōu: Tātatau in the cook islands

An unlikely master of the traditional Polynesian art of Tātatau, Englishman Croc Coulter must pass on his knowledge to a new apprentice.

Water for gold

Water for Gold tells the alarming story of how international trade law is leading us to trade our most basic rights to clean, safe water for access to gold.

Same but different

Best mates must re-calibrate their friendship when one transitions from a man to a woman.

2015

The theme for 2015 is ‘connection’. The short documentaries explored various aspects of a common theme. An eclectic bunch of stories comprised by an outstanding line-up of new and experienced filmmaking talent.

Dancing in the Dark

Dancing in the Dark sheds light on the transformative power of dance.

Waihorotiu

A watery portrait of our urban landscape reveals that when it comes to our cities there is more than meets the eye.

Kusuda

A cyclone threatens to destroy the harvest of Japanese winemaker Hiro Kusuda, forcing him to reflect on the fragility of life.

Madness made me

Down the end of the long polished corridor, Mary O'Hagan comes face to face with the condemning words written about her in her psychiatric files.

Tihei

As the beat drops can Tihei find his words? Redemption comes unscripted.

Gina

A woman suffering an extreme genetic disorder argues for her right to choose when and how she dies.

Fantasy cave

A group of cave dwellers beaver away night and day to create an immersive fantasyland, but is it really for the children?

Please Open

Cultural icon and cinematic relic The Crystal Palace fights to hold off the final curtain call.

Conversations with Pets

Imagine if you could have a conversation with your pet... Faye Rogers can.

Wilbur force

Wilbur Force, the former king of NZ pro-wrestling, is provoked to break out of the cage of his worst self and reconnect with his glory days of battle.

2014

The theme for 2014 is ‘home’. The short documentaries are the first offering of the Loading Docs initiative in its inaugural year, showcasing some of New Zealand’s finest filmmakers. These distinctive and original 3-minute documentary shorts were then made freely available online.

Today

Today follows the passing of time for residents and workers of a South Auckland rest home and offers an intimate and evocative insight into a place many New Zealanders call 'home'.

The road to Whakarae

Deep in the Urewera Ranges, Māori elder Beam Titoko puts on his best cowboy hat, digs out his old guitar and sings a song of home. Made by Tūhoe filmmakers, this affectionate portrait of a community pays tribute to the strength of the families who keep Tūhoe’s home-fires burning.

Wayne

Wayne, a man with limited communication skills learns the harsh reality of love and romance. Nigel, his support worker and friend guides him through this puzzling human condition, but Wayne has ideas of his own.

The jump

In 1980 with a healthy mix of imagination, balls and roughly remembered Newtonian physics, a Kiwi bloke jumped off a bridge and started a worldwide phenomenon. ‘The Jump’ reveals unearthed footage of Bungy’s beginnings and tells the amazing tale of its unsung creator, Chris Sigglekow.

Stop/go

Be it in scorching sunlight or sideways snowfall Bernie’s out on the road. On site in New Zealand’s beautiful McKenzie Country, this veteran worker shares his view from the other side of the stop/go sign.

Living like kings

The Christchurch Earthquake left the majority of its population devastated, but for a small group of homeless people, disaster brought about new and luxurious living opportunities - a taste of what it’s like to live like a King.

Homing

An unusual journey through a New Zealand home on a summer’s day, this peaceful work initiates contemplation on what humans choose to have in their homes, and the natural and man-made symphony that surrounds us all.

BABA

An elderly Turkish migrant now living in New Zealand recounts memories of his early days as a refugee in Auckland, as told to his grandson Joel.

Queer Selfies

In a private tent at Auckland’s Big Gay Out festival, a diverse range of the queer community share moving, humorous and intimate stories of home.