This is a groundbreaking history of 'film culture' in a small post-colonial country. It traces the story of film culture and in New Zealand from the 1920s to the present day. It is a must-read for anyone interested in film theory and cultural history. In this innovative work of cultural history Simon Sigley approaches cinema as a form of social practice. He examines the reception of international film theories and discourses, and shows how these ideas helped to shape distinct cultural practices, including new forms of reviewing; new methods of teaching; and new institutions such as film societies, art-house cinemas, and film festivals. This study of New Zealand film history begins in the 1920s with the creation of the Auckland Film Society and continues to the present day tracing the emergence of the full range of activities and institutions associated with a sophisticated film culture - including independent distribution and exhibition networks, film archives, university courses, a local feature-film industry and liberalized film censorship. Rather than focusing on the work of individual filmmakers, this book studies the cinema as a form of social practice and so makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the myriad ways film can shape our thinking, our icons, our institutions, and our conversations.