Documentaries
Bellbird Pictures make thought-provoking and compelling documentaries that have appeared in film festivals and on television around the world.
We create memorable screen moments that move audiences, enlighten them, surprise them and make them laugh.
If you have a story that you think needs documenting, we’d love to hear about it.
Sheen Of Gold is a terrific piece of work...the whole enterprise is cut together with a simplicity that belies just how intelligent and perfect the edit actually is.
- Graeme Tuckett, Stuff
I love what Simon has achieved. He trips around, forwards and backwards in time, and pieces it together in a clever way that will be very intriguing to people, even if they aren't fans of my work.
- Bill Direen
Bill Direen - A Memory Of Others (Trailer)
For more than 40 years Bill Direen's extraordinary artistic career has encompassed rock and folk music, poetry, theatre and long-form prose. This lively documentary follows him on a national tour throughout New Zealand's physical and cultural landscape.
Philip Dadson - Sonics From Scratch
A comprehensive portrait of one of New Zealand's great experimental artists. Sonics From Scratch tracks the intersection of Philip Dadson’s art practice with the development of From Scratch over more than thirty years, from his early involvement with Scratch Orchestra in London in the late 1960s through to the present.
Skeptics - Sheen of Gold (Trailer)
A revealing and moving tribute to one of this country's most influential and eclectic rock groups - the incomparable Skeptics. Starting with their unlikely origins in Palmerston North, Sheen of Gold traces the Skeptics' development into a unique and powerful electronic/rock hybrid.
Rumble & Bang!
Rumble & Bang! reintroduces Chants R&B, a short-lived seminal garage rock band that thrived in 1960s Christchurch, proving there was a relevant Kiwi musical underground long before the days of Flying Nun.
Te Haa o te Ao/The Breath of the World
This short documentary follows part of the development of a major new work at the entrance to Kerikeri by internationally renowned sculptor Chris Booth.
Antarctic Angels & the Unknown Blues
Together with their equally-infamous biker mates the Antarctic Angels, the Unknown Blues band made such an impact in 1960s Invercargill they're still talked about in the Deep South decades later.
Gone With The Weird
Squirm were central to Christchurch's vibrant rock scene in the 1990s before fading into obscurity. Gone With The Weird is an affectionate tribute to both the band and to the fertile punk underground that spawned them.
Foraging
A multi-media experience following sound-artist Christoph El Truento as he gathers field recordings around Tamaki Makaurau for an upcoming album.