DEGANZ Watch List: Heroes and Heroines

From powerful true stories to deeply personal journeys of grief and resilience, this DEGANZ Watch List highlights heroes’ stories.

Editor Francis Glenday (DEGANZ) is behind the upcoming wartime docu-drama Sgt. Haane, which recently dropped its second trailer.

Meanwhile, the smash hit Tinā, edited by fellow member Luke Haigh, is available to stream on Three Now. If you somehow missed it in cinemas last year, now is your chance to see the film that broke local box office records.

Sgt. Haane

Feature Docu-Drama Trailer

Film Editor: Francis Glenday

The second trailer for this gripping WWII docu-drama comes one month before its nationwide premiere.

Haane Manahi of the 28th Māori Battalion is told that taking the enemy desert fortress of Takrouna, Tunisia, will be a cakewalk. It is not. When the chain of command collapses under enemy fire, Haane leads a small band of B Company soldiers – all cousins, all related – up the precipitous cliff face that his commanders had deemed too formidable for thousands of men to take. What follows changes the course of WWII in North Africa. Three generals and a field marshal sign a Victoria Cross recommendation. One anonymous British official strikes it out. Haane’s legacy lives on through his descendants to this day.

Tinā

Drama Feature

Editor: Luke Haigh

A grieving mother becomes a substitute teacher at an elite school after her daughter dies in the Christchurch quakes, where she finds neglected students and steps in to guide and inspire them.

Last updated on 9 April 2026