South Pacific Pictures is New Zealand’s largest production company with an international reputation for producing world-class television and film.
The company is in its 34th year of operation and to date has produced more than 6000 hours of programming. South Pacific Pictures' cornerstone production is the primetime nightly serial drama Shortland Street, which celebrated 30 years on air in New Zealand in May 2022.
The current production slate includes the 10th anniversary series of murder mystery show, The Brokenwood Mysteries, premium drama Far North, reality game show The Traitors NZ and a second season of popular reality cooking show, Snack Masters NZ 2. Past productions include Westside, Travel Guides NZ, Sione’s Wedding prequel, Duckrockers, 800 Words, Forensics NZ, Nothing Trivial, Go Girls, The Almighty Johnsons and Outrageous Fortune.
South Pacific Pictures’ most recent feature film was This Town, a dark comedy written and directed by David White. The story follows a young man acquitted of a terrible crime trying to rebuild his life in a small Kiwi town and stars Robyn Malcolm, Rima Te Wiata, David White and Alice May Connolly. This Town was the first film released directly after the Covid-19 lockdowns and brought in almost half a million dollars at the box office despite adverse circumstances. The film is now on Apple TV.
In 2013, South Pacific Pictures released feature film White Lies, starring Antonia Prebble, Rachel House and Whirimako Black. The story was based on Witi Ihimaera’s short tale ‘The Medicine Woman.’ The film was submitted as the official New Zealand entry for consideration for Best Foreign Language film at the 86th Academy Awards.
South Pacific Pictures’ other feature film highlights include Sione’s 2: Unfinished Business and the 2002 Oscar-nominated feature film starring Keisha Castle-Hughes Whale Rider, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2022.