NZ on Screen: Christchurch quake documentaries

The earthquake damaged Christchurch Cathedral. Photo / NZH

Opinion

On the eve of the fourth anniversary of the fatal Christchurch earthquake, NZ On Screen Content Director Irene Gardiner looks at some of the documentaries that have been made about the disaster.

In the past four years, the Christchurch quakes have been the subject of several documentaries, as well as the drama series Hope and Wire. Hope and Wire received mixed reviews, with some viewers feeling it was too soon for a drama about the devastation in Christchurch. But documentaries on the quakes have generally been well received.

A new one-off documentary The Day that Changed My Life, directed by Christopher Dudman, is due to screen on TV ONE next Wednesday night.

The first high profile documentary on the Christchurch earthquakes was Gerard Smyth's award-winning When a City Falls, which was made in 2011. It began as a film about the September 4 2010 quake (with thanks given that no-one had been killed) but, as shooting of the recovery continued, the February 22 quake compounded the destruction and claimed 182 lives.

You can see an excerpt from the award-winning documentary here:

Also made in 2011, was the documentary Five Days in the Red Zone. Director and camera operator Pip Wallis had been filming for TV2's Highway Cops series, when the three person rural drink drive squad the crew had been shooting was diverted to help out after the February 22 quake. The footage films the basis for the documentary, made by Greenstone Pictures.

Watch an excerpt from Five Days in the Red Zone here:

Also originally intended to be about the September earthquake and aftershocks, the two-part documentary series A Shocking Reminder ended up being a rather different piece when the fatal earthquake of February 22 occurred. It was made by Christchurch-based production company Paua Productions, and screened in 2012.

View A Shocking Reminder here:

Local Christchurch producers Paua Productions are also the team behind Aftermath - Triumph of the City, a documentary series made in 2013, which looked at the rebuild of the city over five hour-long parts.

You can see an excerpt from Aftermath - Triumph of the City here:

As well as documentaries about the earthquakes, there has also been extensive news and current affairs coverage over the years, including this episode of Media 7 which screened in 2011, and looked at the aftermath of the quakes. The media-focused show featured the CEISMIC Ditigal Archive, the role of media relations in the rebuild, and filmmaker Gerard Smyth talked about the making of When a City Falls.

View Media 7's Christchurch earthquakes special here:

And for a more art film style take on the Christchurch quakes, try musician Blair Parkes' experimental short film Chimney Book. Parkes took bricks from his ruined chimney, painted a letter or symbol on each one, then scanned them into his computer to form the basis of the film.

You can see it here: