China Film Archives is scheduled to present its New Zealand Film Week between July 5 and 7, when five of the best movies from the Pacific island nation will be shown at its Art Theatre.

For most Chinese film-goers, New Zealand films are yet an undiscovered land. But actually the country has a strong film industry that is not inferior to that of other countries.

"The Lord of the Rings," the widely acclaimed blockbuster which was a big hit in China as well as in other parts of the world, was shot in New Zealand and is directed by the country's renowned director Peter Jackson.

Actor Russel Crowe is another of New Zealand's prides. He impressed the world with commanding performances in "Gladiator" and "A Beautiful Mind."

And the nation has much more to offer than just Peter Jackson and Russel Crowe. Over the past years, the film industry in New Zealand has been developing rapidly, with the production of many insightful motion pictures.

The five films that are to be shown are expected to give Chinese movie fans, who are a bit jaded with big Hollywood productions, an initial and impressive taste of New Zealand films.

"Once Were Warriors" was shot in 1994 and has won at least 15 international film awards. It is a powerful and deeply affecting story of a contemporary Maori family in urban New Zealand.

This debut film by Lee Tamahori has been a tremendous success on its native soil, and is the highest-grossing film in the country's history, surpassing "Piano" and "Jurassic Park."

"Scarfies" is the story of five student flatmates who come into unexpected wealth after discovering a marijuana crop in their basement.

"Magik and Rose," directed by Vanessa Alexander, is a very optimistic tale of two women dealing with childbirth. In the small island town of Hokitika, middle-aged Rose has been trying to get pregnant with her husband Stuart for some time. When fortune-teller Magik, who also feels her biological clock ticking, arrives in town, the two women hit it off and become close friends.

But Magik harbours a secret, as she has a 16-year-old daughter living in the town whom she gave up for adoption at birth.

The other two films to be shown are "Jubilee" and "The Price of Milk."

( China Daily June 12, 2002)