Watch the Day One Shorts 2025 Trailers

Introducing the Day One Shorts 2025 trailers. Day One Shorts are made by talented young filmmakers who are interested in exploring stories about cultural, social and political issues. They are boldly taking story risks, pushing the envelope, and looking to the future.

Series Trailer

Gloss Finish.

Gabi wants to take a dance class, but is too haunted by her excessively sweaty hands, so she sets out to find a clammy dance partner who shares in her glistening plight.

Ata Pūao.

Amid the nightlife of a new city, a young Māori trans woman reckons with safety, isolation, and the fragile bonds of old friendships outgrown — as the promise of belonging rises just beyond the horizon.

Frozen - My Eggs and Me.

Single and approaching a mid-thirties birthday, Shamin, a first generation New Zealander, confronts the question she's long been avoiding: should she freeze her eggs?

Fearlessli.

After her gender identity was denied in her homeland, Lee Li, a transgender asylum seeker, embarks on a journey toward belonging, freedom, and self-empowerment.

Maysa.

A quiet visit forces Maysa and her stoic Iraqi mother to confront what’s long been left unspoken.

Devil in the Gat.

Desperate for his big break, an aspiring musician discovers a forgotten country singer at a nightclub who may hold the key to his dreams—but the answers come with a dark price.

monster & me.

Motmot lives a monotonous life until one day he meets an unknown creature, a human boy.

O Alofa Nei, O Alofa Nā.

Manaia, a young woman caught between expectation and self-acceptance, finds herself confronting her repressed sexuality when a chance reunion with her first love stirs old feelings.

Day One Shorts was made possible by our funders NZ on Air and Te Māngai Pāho, in collaboration with our two screen partners; RNZ and Whakaata Māori / Māori+.