Play Stuff

A young lawyer is asked to serve legal documents in a case she knows nothing about and realises she might be more culpable than she hoped.

A young Kiwi fed up with dating falls in love with a two-dimensional character from his favourite anime show.

When a seven-year-old new migrant is ostracised at school for his homeland-style lunches, he chooses to eat alone - and starts to resent his mother's cooking.

A young New Zealander and his father explore their family's refugee story as survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime.

Kicking off in an inner city laundromat, this K' Rd Story travels strange places indeed. An unassuming man is going about the business of getting some clothes washed, when he realises that his clothes have disappeared mid cycle.

Through a family connection our documentary crew were granted special access into the Christchurch branch of the top-secret Social Cyberspace Agency on the condition that it would not be released for two years… It has now been two years.

This morbidly funny short, made by students of Auckland's Media Design School, depicts the demise of 26 alphabetical and animated animals at the hands of nature's greatest enemy - the human. The film won acclaim at festivals worldwide.

A starry-eyed plus size teenager actively reimagines the world around her as she experiences first love and first heartbreak.

Anna is a young woman on the Autism spectrum. When someone takes her seat on the bus, she must cope with this unexpected change in her routine.

This episode is billed as a "love story that's not as simple as boy meets girl". Aroha begins with Jade being stood up at a bar on the iconic strip, before being consoled by a bartender.

Isabelle is determined not to spend her 65th birthday alone. She invites herself into the home of a neighbour, a struggling mum in the middle of a nervous breakdown.

A young New Zealander and her mother live with grief in a toxic environment - can the river and their relationship be saved?

When countless new tenants show up in his apartment, introverted Blue Ecks fights to preserve his privacy and keep his cactus alive.

Jamie unexpectedly finds herself being the live-in nurse for the person she despises most – her father. Can the pop hits of the 90s help her overcome the betrayal from her past?

A light take on unfortunate circumstances, Broke offers the simple story of a not-so-simple mission to buy milk. Armed with only the meagre change he can scrape from his messy apartment, Billy is affronted by a homeless man asking for spare coins.

A single woman in her fifties has a rocky first date with a disagreeable bachelor.

A young man begins to unravel from the stress of living next to a family stuck in a violent relationship.

A woman running an Auckland laundromat finds herself accosted by a drug addict. A frustrated customer struggles with a machine that is out of order and ruining her expensive clothes. Somewhere across the city police are on their way to a drug bust.

A young woman in a desperate situation finds unexpected compassion on a remote stretch of coastline.

Das Tub kickstarted an award-winning run of CGI short films for Media Design School students working under their 3D animation tutor James Cunningham. Part live-action, part CGI, its tale of a German U-boat crew pays homage to classic Das Boot.

A love story gone awry, about a lonely food deliveryman who falls in love with a customer.

An intimate insight into the perspectives of New Zealanders who have lived with disordered eating.

A girl is waiting for her bus in suburbia when a boy comes along. An unconventional romance unfolds as the girl tries to get his attention.

Armed with his trusty ray gun and protected by his pith helmet, Lord Broadforce's exotic species search on an alien planet is going swimmingly - until the dame gets colonial angst.

Shakespeare as you've never seen her: remixed, remastered, and rediscovered.

A grieving suburban teenage girl attempts to escape her family by allowing herself to be drawn into a charismatic church.

The kitchen might seem an ordinary place to most, but if you're a snail like the ones in this short film, untold horrors await. When five snails accidentally find themselves in a salad, they must embark on a great escape.

When a city made entirely from cardboard catches fire, it is up to the local fire chief and his brave deputies to save its citizens from impending doom.

This live-action CGI short attempts to find the answer as to why UFO sightings have been in decline recently. The film was made by students in the 3D Productions course that director James Cunningham teaches at Media Design School.

Flo's love for her new home is tested when her papa changes the menu at his traditional Chinese restaurant.

A teenage outcast discovers the cast on her broken arm can be a way to make new friends.

Two teens in an earthquake damaged city go on a journey to rediscover the life in the cracks.

After overhearing a parental argument which shows no signs of ending, a young boy decides to wander out onto the streets. Soon he is caught up in the K Road nightlife, clutching his sushi.

This 2016 short film follows a young woman (Florence Noble, from The Jaquie Brown Diaries) as she deals with debilitating panic attacks. On a road trip to a beach party, a friend (Jordan Vaha’akolo) sympathises with her struggles.

When encouraged to return to their Marae, a gentle non-binary person decides to go back to their tūrangawaewae despite uncertainty that they’ll be accepted for who they are.

A solo father is driven by his dark past to find an alternative way of parenting and discovers an answer in his Māori roots.

It’s a moment of nostalgia for a father and son as they try to make amends at the mudflats. But is it too late?

A happily married woman (Aidee Walker), with a busy family life, struggles to find an intimate moment with her partner. She discovers orgasmic pleasure in an unlikely place.

An unexpected encounter connects a Filipino-Kiwi daughter and her migrant father, causing them to confront their ongoing grief in the face of impending further loss.

A lonely rural motelier befriends one of her guests. For one night, the lives of someone who can't move, and another who can't stop intersect.

In the wake of a painful break up a group of friends band together to help the former couple move out of their old room.

MJ is a teenage boy with OCD living in Ōtara, New Zealand. An inspiring story of friendship that connects Pasifika culture, LGBTQI awareness, overcoming bullying and anxiety disorder.

This Simmonds Brothers short film tells tells the real-life story of a kindergarten's beloved but ill-fated rooster. The early-rising cockerel's waking up of the neighbourhood sees complaints made to the council. The 2001 shooting made national news.

Lala Rolls wrote and directed this short film, which gives a view of family life from a child's perspective. A young girl is disturbed from sleep by the sound of adults arguing. She tries to shut out this grown-up world by pretending to be "adult".

A intimate portrait of a young mother who becomes trapped in her bathroom battling an uncontrollable attack of OCD.

On an evening stroll in 1996, two elderly Paekakariki twins suddenly encountered a ropey bull. Using an audio recording in which Pearl Mills retells the experience, the Simmonds Brothers utilise animation to bring the whole homely tale to life.

Two horse loving best friends are confused by their step-dad's emotional reaction when they bring home a gift from their teacher.

A story following the journey of Jerome Kavanagh, a young Maori practitioner of taonga puoro (traditional instruments used in sacred, ritual and healing ceremonies) as he revives ancient ancestral practices in our contemporary world.

Jane Sherning Warren's satirical portrait of the artist as a young woman was one of a series of short films exploring life on the colourful K Road strip.

Grace must prove to the world that her pray-away-the-gay dog therapy works by trying to "cure" Fergis the pug of his homosexuality.

Having lost almost everything he has known, a young refugee begins his future in a provincial New Zealand town.

An adult son returns home to India from California, and must confront an awkward intimacy while caring for his aged father.

Kevin works in a sardine factory, but dreams of becoming a sailor. He begins to build a fantastical boat in his backyard, much to the disdain of his family and friends.

In this episode, Dan and Dwayne are 'two lovable hustlers with an entrepreneurial spirit trying to scratch a living on the fringes of K Road'. The pair try to gain entry to the Las Vegas strip club, set up a pop-up tinny shop, and find a girlfriend

Shoes is a refugee's story told with rhythm and shoes. A woman seeking shelter in a new country arrives at a railway station troubled by turbulent thoughts of her past.

As history trickles down the bloodlines and onto the production line, spoken word poem Blackbird speaks to the struggles of the minimum wage labour.

Two kids post Covid lockdown discuss what matters most... to them! A charming, funny and socially distanced playdate.

A five-year-old boy is haunted by a silent masked monster as he tries to locate his missing father.

A trio of mysteriously bloody and bruised women order tea in a cafe in Auckland's St Kevin's Arcade. The sugar debate gets a K Road twist as they talk boobs, revenge porn, and wonder if the sugar bowl has drugs hidden in it.

In this 2012 short film, young Samoan Kiwi Suni (Beulah Koale) has to choose between his family - and its traditional values - and gang life. His wayward cousin pressures him towards the gang. Suni Man is inspired by a true story.

In the midst of her first period, a quiet resilient young girl must choose between a surprise for her beloved little brother or buying pads for herself.

In this dark comedy, Con decides that the perfect way to cheer up her depressed and bedridden partner Bella is to call a clairvoyant phone line.

Taiao explores how and why we use Aotearoa’s natural environment the way we do, presenting a snapshot of the times we live in without spoken word.

During a fraught car trip, Tama, a deaf Maori boy, must rise up to confront his family. The story culminates in an electrifying silent performance of the haka.

A New Zealand-born Samoan professional rugby player reflects on what truly shaped him to be the man and father he is today while living on the other side of the world with his young family.

Waking up with a vicious hangover after a big night out, Seff wanders Karangahape Road in need of keys to get into his house. Seeking only his flatmate and a flat white, Seff finds himself harassed by all about a lewd act he has no memory of.

Biscuits dance, food flies, dead chickens walk ... come closing time, the shelves of a dairy come to life. Four years in the making, this showcase of stop motion effects is based loosely on a classic poem by Goethe.

Wellington rockers Paselode certainly weren't the first band to conquer, argue, then combust; but this film offers an unusual view on the group's internal dynamics. Inspired by the legendary Creature Comforts films by Aardman Animation.

A young Samoan man has been chosen as the next leader of his community, but first he must confess his true desire.

Finn, desperate to escape his nightmarish high school disco, finds an unlikely safe-haven in the boys' bathroom. When confronted with harsh reality he is forced to make a heart-breaking sacrifice.

Eight-year-old Jesse is stuck in a tiny caravan with his grief stricken father, until his accidental friendship with a V8-driving transsexual unlocks the means for their liberation.

The adage that in a long-term relationship things can get a little like clockwork is given a twist in Time for Change. A simmering feud between two wooden figurines on the town clock of an Austrian village, comes to a head with unexpected results.

One evening Alisi climbs a huge tree and won’t come down. As night falls and we discover her secret, Alisi must decide whether to bow to tradition or find a new path - with or without her family.

Josh Thomson and Robyn Malcolm star in this buddy movie about a grown man, his imaginary friend, and his mum who are all having a particularly challenging day.

Our aunties, mothers, grandmothers - our tinā. The women around us: they raise us, they nurture us, they teach us, they care for us and care for each other.

This award winning short film tells the story of a Chinese migrant family in 1980s New Zealand that is at the point of breaking apart.

A waitress finds herself unable to speak up when put in a harmful situation by a customer in a position of power.

Three young poets navigate their identity through spoken word poetry.

A rugby-mad father fears his son might not be recruited into the national Under 20's team when he insists on bringing his boyfriend to practice.