''Prime Minister'' is a 2025

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

about

Jacinda Ardern Dame Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern ( ; born 26 July 1980) is a New Zealand politician and activist who was the 40th prime minister of New Zealand and Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, leader of the Labour Party from 2017 to 2023. She was ...

, the prime minister of New Zealand from 2017 to 2023. The film is directed by Lindsay Utz and Michelle Walshe. It premiered in January 2025 at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

Synopsis

The 102-minute film documents the five years of Ardern's tenure, including both her political and private life. It contains audio recordings of the Political Diaries project of the

Alexander Turnbull Library The National Library of New Zealand () is charged with the obligation to "enrich the cultural and economic life of New Zealand and its interchanges with other nations" (National Library of New Zealand (Te Puna Mātauranga) Act 2003). Under the ...

and home videos recorded by Ardern's husband

Clarke Gayford Clarke Timothy Gayford (born October 1976) is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster, presenter of the fishing documentary show ''Fish of the Day''. He is the husband of Jacinda Ardern, who served as prime minister of New Zealand from Oct ...

. The film includes information on the

Christchurch mosque shootings Two consecutive mass shootings took place in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 15 March 2019. They were committed by a single perpetrator during Friday prayer, first at the Al Noor Mosque in Riccarton, at 1:40p.m. and almost immediately afterwards ...

, the 2019 Whakaari / White Island eruption and the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Production and release

After Ardern resigned from her role as prime minister in 2023, Dark Doris Entertainment asked Ardern for permission to create a documentary about her. Ardern agreed and Dark Doris Entertainment was given Gayford's recordings for use in the film. She later said that "I was sometimes a reluctant participant". Ardern has said that she supports the film because it did not use funding by the

New Zealand Film Commission The New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC; ) is a New Zealand government agency formed to assist with creating and promoting New Zealand films. It was established under the New Zealand Film Commission Act 1978 (as amended in 1981, 1985, 1988, 1994 a ...

. The documentary was publicly announced in June 2024, and premiered in January 2025 at the

, where it won the Audience Award for World Cinema Documentary. The film was co-produced by the companies MWM and Dark Doris Entertainment. It was directed by New Zealander Michelle Walshe and American Lindsay Utz and produced by Cass Avery, Leon Kirkbeck,

Gigi Pritzker Gigi Pritzker (born 27 July 1962) is an American billionaire and film producer who is a member of the Pritzker family. Pritzker is co-founder of the film production and financing company Odd Lot Entertainment, producing several films including ' ...

, Rachel Shane and Katie Peck. Gayford has also been named a director of photography but was not involved in the directing or the editing. In May 2025,

Magnolia Pictures Magnolia Pictures LLC is an American independent film distributor and production company, and is a subsidiary of Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner's 2929 Entertainment. Magnolia was formed in 2001 by Bill Banowsky and Eamonn Bowles, and specializes in ...

HBO Documentary Films HBO Documentary Films is an American production and distribution company and a division of the cable television network HBO that produces non-fiction feature films and miniseries. The division releases between 10 and 15 documentaries per year fo ...

and CNN Films acquired distribution rights to the film, setting it for a 13 June 2025 release in the United States. The release date for New Zealand has not yet been announced.

Reception

The film received positive reviews. After watching the film, Ardern said that "I cried through most of it, and I'm not sure if that's equivalent to laughing at your own jokes. I was very emotional watching it. I credit the storytellers for it." She has also said that " he film-makerstook the opportunity to tell the whole story – the highs, the lows, the good, the bad, and the ugly". Film critic

Caryn James Caryn James is an American film critic, journalist, university lecturer, and writer. Biography She grew up in Providence, Rhode Island, and obtained her doctorate in English literature at Brown University. She began working as a freelance jour ...

wrote for ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' that "It would be a bit of an exaggeration, but just a bit, to say it trolls

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

... it includes deliberate, pointed contrasts that position Ardern as the American leader's exact opposite in their approaches and objectives."

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 34965625 2025 films 2025 documentary films 2020s American films 2020s English-language films American documentary films about politics Documentary films about women in politics English-language documentary films Films about prime ministers Films scored by Drum & Lace Films set in New Zealand Jacinda Ardern Magnolia Pictures films HBO documentary films CNN Films films Sundance Film Festival award–winning films American collage films Films with archival recordings