When a City Rises

Christchurch quake documentary When a City Falls won awards, and screened in the city's cinemas for months. For the sequel, director Gerard Smyth combined new footage and old to chronicle ambitious, arguably rushed, government plans to destroy and rebuild much of central Christchurch. Locals offer their take on the pros, cons, and white elephants of the city's rebirth. In The Spinoff, Christchurch academic Erin Harrington praised the documentary as "necessary and frequently moving", although she felt that the TV version moved too quickly from catastrophe to hope (the cinema cut is 25 minutes longer).

No, no, no, no. But I kept filming over the years. And I think I’d probably have 600 hours, but there’s probably heaps more footage and stories that we could go through.

– Writer/director Gerard Smyth on whether he planned to make a sequel to When a City Falls, Stuff, 4 February 2021

Key Cast & Crew

Ben Woods

Composer

Anita Clark (aka Motte)

Composer

Gerard Smyth

Director, Writer, Cinematographer, Producer

Ben Edwards

Composer

Oliver Dawe

Editor, Drone Camera Operator

Jacob Bryant

Drone Camera Operator, Cinematographer