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The Green Chain

Aug 20, 2011

0h 53m

★ 0.0

A Maori community afflicted by industrial chemical poisoning searches for truth and justice

Overview

This homegrown Erin Brockovich story follows former Whakatāne sawmill worker Joe Harawira and his long battle to reveal the impact that workplace toxins have had on his community. In the '80s after being afflicted by health issues, Harawira noticed co-workers getting sick. In 1988 he helped found SWAP (Sawmill Workers Against Poisons) and began investigating the effects of exposure to dioxins, a byproduct of timber treatment.

Genres

Documentary

Production Companies

Scottie Productions

The Green Chain Trailers

No Trailers found.

Cast

Self

Joe Harawira

Max Gimblett: Original Mind documents the life and process of eccentric, creative genius Max Gimblett. One of New Zealand’s most successful and internationally prominent living painters, Gimblett has been working in America since 1962. The filmmakers spent a week in Gimblett’s Soho loft where he and his devoted studio assistants generously revealed the techniques and philosophy behind his beautiful art.

7.0

Erebus: Operation Overdue

Jul 13, 2014

On 28 November 1979, an Air New Zealand jet with 257 passengers went missing during a sightseeing tour over Antarctica. Within hours 11 ordinary police officers were called to duty to face the formidable Mount Erebus. As the police recovered the victims, an investigation team tried to uncover the mystery of how a jet could fly into a mountain in broad daylight. Did the airline have a secret it wanted to bury? This film tells the story of four New Zealand police officers who went to Antarctica as part of the police operation to recover the victims of the crash. Set in the beautiful yet hostile environment of Antarctica, this is the emotional and compelling true story of an extraordinary police operation.

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Pirates of the Airwaves

Jul 27, 2014

In 1966 a group of determined young men defied the New Zealand government and launched a pirate radio station aboard a ship in the Hauraki Gulf.

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0.0

Kea - Mountain Parrot

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This documentary tells the story of the inimitable kea. The 'Clown of the Alps' is heralded as the world’s smartest bird (its intelligence rivals a monkey’s). Kea are famous on South Island tracks and ski fields for their insatiable (and destructive) inquisitiveness. Curiosity almost killed the kea when it was labelled a sheep killer, and tens of thousands were killed for a bounty. After shots of baby kea being fed, there is extraordinary night footage in clip four of the 'avian wolf' in action. The award-winning film makes a compelling case for the charismatic kea as a national icon.

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Marlon Williams: Two Worlds

Jun 1, 2025

Follow the charming Aotearoa New Zealand singer-songwriter on a life-changing journey of self-exploration as he embraces his roots and creates his first album in te reo Māori.

0.0

Hot Air

Jul 31, 2014

In the years since New Zealand politicians began to grapple with climate change our greenhouse gas emissions have burgeoned. Alister Barry’s doco draws on TV archives and interviews with key participants to find out why.

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Lord Howe Island: Pacific Eden

Dec 31, 2006

A place of biological superlatives with a flora and fauna that have only just begun to be researched: Lord Howe Island, between Australia and New Zealand. This is the first documentary on what may be the most isolated nature reserve on the planet.

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Office Safety: The Thrill Seekers

Jan 1, 1983

A satire about “thrill seekers” who recklessly ignore basic safety rules when it comes to workplace safety.

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0.0

Proof

Nov 15, 2021

Two years ago Guyon Espiner stopped drinking. Now, the award-winning journalist and podcast-maker has made a documentary about New Zealand's drinking culture and the alcohol industry.

10.0

The Hollow Men

Jul 7, 2008

The 'stolen' insider emails that informed Nicky Hager's best-selling account of National's 2005 election campaign return in Alister Barry's (Someone Else's Country) new film - just in time to caution us against campaigning politicians in 2008. Addressing each other like schoolboy Machiavellis, party leader Don Brash and his advisors spelled out how they'd copy the big boys in Australia and the US in order to win the votes of people who'd never support the kind of policies such men are widely presumed to represent. The dividing and conquering began at Orewa.

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But They Did: The Re-entry Of The Pike River Mine

Nov 19, 2025

Anna Osborn and Sonia Rockhouse were forever changed when the Pike River Mine Disaster stole their loved ones, but instead of sitting down, they stood up! But They Did tells Anna and Sonia's story, following them through the period of time before and during the re-entry of the mine.

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Māori

Jul 25, 1981

This 1981 NFU film is a tour of the contemporary world of Aotearoa’s tangata whenua. It won headlines over claims that its portrayal of Māori had been sanitised for overseas viewers. Debate and a recut ensued. Writer Witi Ihimaera felt that mentions of contentious issues (Bastion Point, the land march) in his original script were ignored or elided in the final film, and withdrew from the project. He later told journalists that the controversy showed that educated members of minority groups were no longer prepared to let the majority interpret the minority view.

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Dread

Jul 26, 1996

An East Coast community in Ruatōria, New Zealand attempts to live in autarchy according to the tenets of their movement. Bob Marley, a prophet of our electronic age, is the soundtrack to the everyday lives of these Māori who feel closer to their own roots by observing a blend of Afro-Carribean Rastafarianism and the Ringatū faith. Merata Mita's camera respectfully portrays this singular cultural dialogue. The outsider cultures of Jamaicans, Ethiopians and Māori have come together, vibrating to a common cosmic chord. They find an underground brotherhood, across continents and seas.

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Stan

Mar 25, 2018

A documentary following acclaimed Kiwi musician and actor Stan Walker as he opens up his world to the public, sharing his most intimate moments over the last nine months.

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Until Proven Innocent

Feb 8, 2009

In 1993 David Dougherty was found guilty and imprisoned for the abduction and rape of his 11 year old neighbor. It took two trials, two high court appeals, a petition to the Governor General and 3 years, 6 months and 1 week in prison before David finally won his freedom and was found not guilty of the crime he didn't commit. But it wouldn't have happened without the unrelenting efforts of three individuals - a journalist, a lawyer and a scientist - who put their own personal and professional lives on the line in order to prove that David Dougherty was innocent.

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Spellbound

Oct 5, 2020

Wingsuit BASE jumping is often presented as a thrill seeking adrenaline rush. Spellbound takes us deeper into the more contemplative aspects of jumping, as David Walden and friends venture into the mountains around his home in New Zealand. Beautiful scenery and hypnotic cinematography eject us from our daily lives into a world of air, earth and flight.

0.0

Set In Stone

May 16, 2017

The race to save the world's only dedicated Māori World War One Memorial from collapse reveals an unknown soldier's heroic story to the community he was once part of.

7.0

Saul's 108th Story

Apr 20, 2018

As a teenager in 1950 Brooklyn, all Saul wanted to do was hang out with his friends and go to the beach. Instead, he got roped into a dangerous new job, and Saul got in a little over his head.

7.0

Fascinating New Zealand

Jun 12, 2019

There are landscapes that hardly anyone has entered or seen: this film takes the viewer through New Zealand from the southern edge to the northernmost tip. High-quality images from the air, on land and in the water bring paradise to the other end of the world.

6.4

Belief: The Possession of Janet Moses

Jul 28, 2015

This impressive doco disperses the fog of shame and sensationalism to shed light on the tragedy that made international headlines in 2007 when a young Wainuiomata woman died during a mākutu lifting.

The Green Chain

Overview

Genres

Production Companies

The Green Chain Trailers