New Zealand cinema is still one of the film industry's best kept secrets, despite the international sucess of films like Once Were Warriors, The World's Fastest Indianand Whale Rider. Ian Conrich addresses this neglect with an explorative textbook that covers all the aspects of a culturally-rich field. Themes such as law and authority, post-settler identity, neo-colonialism, the scattered population in the Asia Pacific region and the Kiwi Gothic are tackled in this discussion of over 100 films. Conrich also discusses the reworking of American genres in New Zealand film, and analyzes the marketing of these films as well as the wider cultural framework in which the film industry operates.