Hugh MacDonald

One morning, as kids are stealing apples from an old man’s orchard high above a seaside town, an earthquake hits. No one is hurt, and the townsfolk are non-plussed, but the old man is agitated: he alone is aware of the imminent tsunami and tries to warn the village. Based on a classic Japanese fable, The Orchard was made by one-man band Bob Stenhouse, who had been nominated for an Academy Award the previous decade for pioneer tale The Frog, The Dog and The Devil. Fans of the animator will recognise his lush, luminous hand-drawn style.

The movie that wowed audiences at Expo 70. The film combined scenic images including aerial cinematography with rousing classical music such as Sibelius' Karelia Suite. Using then ground-breaking technology, the film required three separate but synchronised 35mm film projectors which projected their images onto an extra-wide screen. In 2004/2005 Archives New Zealand commissioned a restoration at post production facility, Park Road Post. Hugh Macdonald, the original director, was involved in the restoration and Kit Rollings, the original sound mixer assisted with the updated soundtrack. The remastered film was released for sale on DVD in 2014.

This impressionistic, late 1960s survey traces Auckland from volcanic origins to a population of half a million people. Produced by the National Film Unit, it finds a city of "design and disorder" growing steadily but secure in its own skin as its populace basks in the summer sun. A wry, at times bemused, Hugh Macdonald script and an often frenetic, jazzy soundtrack accompany time honoured Queen City images: beaches and yachting, parks and bustling city streets, and an unpredictable climate given to humidity and sudden downpours. Awards: 1970 Edinburgh Film Festival - Certificate of Merit 1968 Pacific Asia Travel Association Conference (Taiwan) - Third Prize 1967 Venice Film Festival - Lion of St Mark Plaque 1967 Tourfilm Festival (Czechoslovakia) - Tourism Film Prize

Eighth Wonder of the Industrial World

Welcome to Expo '70 in Osaka Japan, with 70 plus countries showing what they are made of. This National Film Unit documentary combines an overview of the expo, with a closer look at the New Zealand presence.

The candid record of a unique 14-day theatre school, held at the village of Manutuke by the New Zealand Maori Theatre Trust.

In Hugh Macdonald’s fascinating and inspiring doco, his cousin, writer and illustrator Sheila Natusch retraces a long life dedicated to sharing her understanding and love of New Zealand’s nature and history.

The tuatara is the sole survivor of a reptile species that has been extinct for 135 million years. This nocturnal creature which once lived world-wide, is now confined to a few off-shore islands in New Zealand. Tuataras grow up to 60 cm (two feet) in length, live to 150 years of age and have survived virtually unchanged since primeval times. The film is set on tiny Stephen's Island, a wildlife sanctuary which is a home for 100,000 of these unique reptiles.