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Movies like Aerial New Zealand (2017)

The best movies like Aerial New Zealand (2017) are Earth: One Amazing Day (2017), Naqoyqatsi (2002) and Our Planet: Behind the Scenes (2019). If Aerial New Zealand hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. Earth: One Amazing Day (2017)

    An astonishing journey revealing the awesome power of the natural world. Over the course of one single day, we track the sun from the highest mountains to the remotest islands to exotic jungles.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  2. Naqoyqatsi (2002)

    A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  3. Our Planet: Behind the Scenes (2019)

    Years spent recording footage of creatures from every corner of the globe is bound to produce a bit of drama. Here's a behind-the-scenes look.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  4. A Toxic Love Story (2026)

    A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  5. In the Realms of the Unreal (2004)

    In the Realms of the Unreal is a documentary about the reclusive Chicago-based artist Henry Darger. Henry Darger was so reclusive that when he died his neighbors were surprised to find a 15,145-page manuscript along with hundreds of paintings depicting The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glodeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Cased by the Child Slave Rebellion.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  6. Powaqqatsi (1988)

    An exploration of technologically developing nations and the effect the transition to Western-style modernization has had on them.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  7. Baraka (1992)

    A paralysingly beautiful documentary with a global vision—an odyssey through landscape and time—that attempts to capture the essence of life.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Absolute CinemaMovies like this
  8. Kim Dotcom: Caught in the Web (2017)

    The larger-than-life story of Kim Dotcom, the 'most wanted man online', is extraordinary enough, but the battle between Dotcom and the US Government and entertainment industry—being fought in New Zealand—is one that goes to the heart of ownership, privacy and piracy in the digital age.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  9. National Geographic: Journey to the Edge of the Universe (2008)

    In one single, epic camera move we journey from Earth's surface to the outermost reaches of the universe on a grand tour of the cosmos, to explore newborn stars, distant planets, black holes and beyond.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  10. My Mom Jayne (2025)

    Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Absolute CinemaMovies like this
  11. Harmontown (2014)

    A comedic, brutally honest documentary following self-destructive TV writer Dan Harmon as he takes his live podcast on a national tour.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  12. Drew: The Man Behind the Poster (2013)

    A documentary on legendary movie-poster artist Drew Struzan.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  13. To Kill a Tiger (2023)

    Ranjit, a farmer in India, takes on the fight of his life when he demands justice for his 13-year-old daughter, the victim of a brutal gang rape. His decision to support his daughter is virtually unheard of, and his journey unprecedented.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  14. Made You Look: A True Story About Fake Art (2020)

    A woman walks into a New York gallery with a cache of unknown masterworks. Thus begins a story of art world greed, willfulness and a high-stakes con.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  15. Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story (2025)

    Unravel the case of Utah therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, whose child abuse arrest with parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke exposed a twisted tale of manipulation.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  16. 180° South (2010)

    The film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  17. One Life (2011)

    One Life captures unprecedented and beautiful sequences of animal behaviour guaranteed to bring you closer to nature than ever before, as well as a second disc packed full of never before seen extras including an exclusive making of featurette narrated by Daniel Craig.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  18. Fast, Cheap & Out of Control (1997)

    Errol Morris interweaves the stories of four men, each driven to create eccentric worlds from their unique obsessions, all of which involve animals: a lion tamer shares his theories on the mental processes of wild animals; a topiary gardener devotes a lifetime to shaping bears and giraffes out of hedges and trees; a man fascinated with hairless mole rats; and an MIT scientist who has designed complex, autonomous robots that can crawl like bugs.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  19. Capital in the Twenty-First Century (2019)

    Film adaptation of French economist Thomas Piketty's ground-breaking global bestseller of the same name: an eye-opening journey through wealth and power.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  20. 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible (2021)

    In 2019, Nepalese mountain climber Nirmal “Nims” Purja set out to do the unthinkable by climbing the world’s fourteen highest summits in less than seven months. (The previous record was eight years). He called the effort “Project Possible 14/7” and saw it as a way to inspire others to strive for greater heights in any pursuit. The film follows his team as they seek to defy naysayers and push the limits of human endurance.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  21. The Hockey Film (2023)

    A harsh winter in Canada’s Muskoka, where players face sub-zero temperatures, contrasts with New Zealand, where hockey is just starting to take root. Yet, between these two far-apart nations, there’s one thing they share: a deep love for the game of hockey.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  22. No Service (2017)

    The reception ebbs and flows as the unfamiliar landscape whirls by the window of a plane or train or car. Communication is delayed, fragmented, interrupted. Memories of a distant country.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  23. Niue: This Is Your Land (2003)

    A third generation NZ born Niuean Female surfer, visits her Island of heritage for the first time only to discover there is no surf on Niue. But Mella's visit opens her eyes to the island's other beautiful qualities, the magical water, warm people, and clean unpolluted land. However she also discovers the low population has left the countries future hanging by a thread. This documentary is a record of Mella's journey to regaining her identity and first steps at becoming part of the solution in Niue's restoration of itself.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  24. Kodiak: Island of the Great Bear (2006)

    Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska is home to the largest bear on earth, the Kodiak Bear. At least 2,500 bears live on the island and the animal is regarded as the world’s biggest land predator, reaching an impressive four meters in height when standing on its hind legs. Film maker Stefan Quinth spent three years filming the Kodiak Bear and the wildlife of Kodiak Island. His film is a dramatic story about bear and salmon, beavers and eagles. But it is also a film about the thrill of meeting the giant bear eye to eye in its natural habitat.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  25. Dust to Glory (2005)

    An action-adventure documentary chronicling the most notorious and dangerous race in the world--the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000. Rivaling the Indy 500 and 25 Hours of Daytona, the race across Baja's peninsula is unpredictable, grueling and raw--just like the uncharted American West of yesteryear.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  26. Stones and Flies: Richard Long in the Sahara (1988)

    In the fall of 1987, Philippe Haas accompanied the sculptor Richard Long to the Algerian Sahara and filmed him tracing with his feet, or constructing with desert stones, simple geometric figures (straight lines, circles, spirals). In counterpoint to the images, Richard Long explains his approach. Since 1967, Richard Long (1945, Bristol), who belongs to the land art movement, has traveled the world on foot and installed, in places often inaccessible to the public, stones, sticks and driftwood found in situ. His ephemeral works are reproduced through photography. He thus made walking an art, and land art an aspiration of modern man for solitude in nature.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  27. Paint Until Dawn: a documentary on art in the life of James Gahagan (2020)

    Seeing is to painting what listening is to politics. Survival as an artist demands both. Paint Until Dawn is a documentary on art in the life of James Gahagan (1927-1999), who painted all night to push the limits of vision. His life and thought reveal a correlation between art and activism through an interesting angle: the creative process itself.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  28. The Sanctity of Space (2022)

    Seventy-five years after Brad Washburn, one of the greatest aerial mountain photographers of all time, first shot Alaska’s Denali Mountain from the open door of an airplane, climbing buddies Renan Ozturk, Freddie Wilkinson, and Zack Smith look at some of his mountain photographs and have this crazy idea. Rather than go up, their dream is to go sideways across the range’s most foreboding peaks, the Moose’s Tooth massif. It’s a fresh new way to explore the same landscape Washburn first discovered. As the group endures rough conditions, disintegrating ropes, and constant rockfall, their desire to be the first to complete the audacious line grows into an obsession. But friendships begin to fray when Renan suffers a near-fatal brain injury, forcing all three partners to decide what’s most important to them.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  29. Hot Air (2014)

    In the years since New Zealand politicians began to grapple with climate change our greenhouse gas emissions have burgeoned. Alister Barry’s doco draws on TV archives and interviews with key participants to find out why.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  30. Lord Howe Island: Pacific Eden (2006)

    A place of biological superlatives with a flora and fauna that have only just begun to be researched: Lord Howe Island, between Australia and New Zealand. This is the first documentary on what may be the most isolated nature reserve on the planet.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

Like Aerial New Zealand and something else?

Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like Aerial New Zealand?

The closest matches to Aerial New Zealand are Earth: One Amazing Day (2017), Naqoyqatsi (2002) and Our Planet: Behind the Scenes (2019). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after Aerial New Zealand?

Start with Earth: One Amazing Day (2017), the closest match to Aerial New Zealand.

What is the highest-rated movie like Aerial New Zealand?

Baraka (1992), rated 8.2/10 by 735 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like Aerial New Zealand?

A Toxic Love Story (2026) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there English movies like Aerial New Zealand?

Yes: Earth: One Amazing Day (2017), Naqoyqatsi (2002) and Our Planet: Behind the Scenes (2019).

How are movies similar to Aerial New Zealand chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Aerial New Zealand, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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