Prime Minister (12A)

This documentary about New Zealand’s former PM, records a shrewd but likable leader who did without the usual politician’s defences, showing an actual human being in charge, for once.

Jacinda Ardern was the target of misogyny, but never seems hardened, embittered or even changed all that much. The film, with intimate access, tracks her life with broadcaster (and future husband) Clarke Gayford as she became the smart and personable new leader of the New Zealand Labour party in 2017 and then, in short order, prime minister – first in coalition and then on her own, the world’s youngest female elected leader.

The bulk of the docu mixes archive footage and backroom discussions with intimate video shot by Gayford. One highlight includes how Ardern dealt with the Christchurch mosque shootings with utter sincerity and compassion; she spent her political capital shrewdly at that moment by banning assault rifles. The world loved her for it.

Offering an eye-opening insider perspective that comes as a reminder of what conviction politics looks like when it is maintained even under extreme pressure, Prime Minister holds appeal well beyond New Zealand’s shores.