This winter, study film and creativity where they happen, across New Zealand and Australia's most iconic landscapes and cultural sites. In two interconnected courses, we’ll explore how filmmakers like Jane Campion, Taika Waititi, and Peter Jackson use place to tell stories, while discovering how Māori and Aboriginal peoples turn creativity into cultural survival and power.

Start with preparation at GCC, and then spend three weeks traveling from Auckland's urban Māori centers to Hobbiton’s fantasy realm, from Rotorua’s geothermal landscapes that inspired The Piano to Queenstown's dramatic vistas. In Australia, you’ll engage with Aboriginal knowledge keepers at Hanging Rock and trace cinematic history through Melbourne’s world-class museums and galleries.

You’ll learn why every breakthrough—scientific, technological, social—begins with creative thinking: the ability to see differently, connect unexpectedly, and persist despite constraints. You’ll create visual stories, interview local artists, analyze films at their actual locations, and build a portfolio of creative work.

Earn six transferable units while developing skills that drive breakthroughs and growth: cultural literacy, creative problem-solving, cinematic analysis, and the ability to see constraints as opportunities, differences as resources, and unfamiliar perspectives as catalysts for your own innovation. 

New Zealand/Australia 2027: Preliminary Shell Itinerary

Itinerary Note: While abroad, expect changes and go with the flow.

*Excursions and class session times TBA.  Some events will be subject to weather conditions.

$4,795 based on a minimum of 20 students

* Inquire about scholarships for regularly enrolled GCC students

Prices are based on the current USD exchange rate with New Zealand and Australia.  The price would need to be adjusted should there be a significant change in this foreign exchange rate.

Program Fee Includes:

• Accommodations in centrally-located locations with Wi-Fi and air conditioning:
  • Five nights in Auckland with daily breakfast.
  • Two nights in Rotorua with daily breakfast.
  • Six nights in Queenstown with kitchen facilities.
  • Six nights in Melbourne with daily breakfast.
• Group airport transfers (must arrive in Auckland and depart from Melbourne at the same time as the group).
• Transfers while abroad:
  • Coach service from Auckland to Rotorua
  • Coach service from Rotorua to Auckland Airport
  • Economy-class flight from Auckland to Queenstown
  • Economy-class flight Queenstown to Melbourne
• Entry fees to selected sites as part of the program itinerary. These include the Auckland War Memorial Museum, the Auckland Art Gallery, Hobbiton movie set, the Koorie Heritage Trust, and ACMI Melbourne.
• Public transportation in Melbourne.
• Maori cultural performance and dinner in Te Pa Tu.
• Transfers to and from Glenorchy and Paradise Bay.
• Transfers to and from Hanging Rock, Victoria, with a guided tour.
• Welcome meal in Auckland.
• Afternoon tea at the Green Dragon Inn.
• Farewell dinner in Melbourne.

Not Included:

• Airfare from U.S.A. to Auckland and from Melbourne back to U.S.A. (estimated under $1,600 if purchased by August 2026)
• GCC tuition for six units of coursework (non-residents are required to pay out-of-state fees)
• Single room option ($2,500, subject to availability)
• Mandatory travel insurance (estimated $50 depending on coverage limits and age)
• Textbooks (if necessary)
• Most meals and beverages
• Visas (needed for most travelers)
• Any quarantine expenses (if required following a positive Covid test while abroad)
• Personal expenses
• Excursions and entry fees beyond the official program itinerary
• Anything not specified as “included”

Notes: 

• Students who will be enrolling at GCC during the Fall 2026 semester may be eligible to apply for one of several scholarships typically ranging from $500-$1000 or more. Details to follow.
• If you cancel, all payments are considered non-refundable. However, if we find a qualified replacement for your space, a refund will be issued minus any non-recoverable costs.
• Additional charges may be incurred for late payments or returned checks.

As part of this program, students must enroll in these courses (six credit units):

FTVM 106 (Great Filmmakers) 3.0 Units

This course brings film study to life through screenings, discussion, and immersive travel. Students will explore how major filmmakers from New Zealand and Australia—such as Taika Waititi, Jane Campion, Peter Jackson, Niki Caro, Lee Tamahori, Gillian Armstrong, Phillip Noyce, and Peter Weir—use cinema to examine identity, power, history, and cultural belonging.

From Māori stories woven through New Zealand landscapes to Australian films that confront colonial legacies, Indigenous perspectives are central to the course. Students will visit iconic filming sites and cultural landmarks, engaging with the physical and cultural geographies that shape cinematic storytelling.

Through hands-on creative projects and critical conversations, this program invites students to experience film as a powerful bridge between land, people, and story—deepening their understanding of cinema’s role in culture and society.

Transfer Credit: UC, CSU credit. Cal-GETC Area 3A.

HUMAN 117 (Creativity, Culture, and Society) 3.0 Units

Creativity isn’t just for artists; it’s how humans solve problems, bridge differences, and imagine new futures. This course reveals creativity in action across New Zealand and Australia, where we will witness how constraint sparks innovation, how cultures preserve knowledge through art, and how landscape itself becomes a creative force.

We will document “creative survivals” at Māori cultural centers, design interventions at colonial museums, and create visual responses at film locations from The Piano to Whale Rider. You’ll interview locals, design museum interventions, take sound walks through urban and sacred spaces, and build a personal portfolio of creative responses to place and culture.

Through daily fieldwork and collaborative projects, we’ll move from abstract theory to lived experience and learn not just about creativity but how to practice it, developing skills that transfer across disciplines while gaining deeper understanding of innovation, adaptation, how creativity functions as resistance, renewal, invention, and memory.

Transfer Credit: UC, CSU credit. Cal-GETC Area 3B.

Kevin Mack, History and Philosophy
Phone: 818-240-1000 ext. 3523/5718
Email: kmack@glendale.edu

• Students are required to complete a formal application. The application may require a character reference, an academic reference, and personal information. Complete applications with the required deposits are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.
• Most participants will be 18 years or older.  On certain programs accommodations can be made for those under 18 with parental permission and recommendation from a counselor or the equivalent.
• A pre-departure conference with each student by the Study Abroad Director and/or program faculty director must be held.
• Students are required to have a minimum GPA of 2.0 and no history of disciplinary action at GCC or any other campus. Exceptions may be granted by the Study Abroad Director.
• Students will be notified promptly in writing should they not be accepted into a program.
• Program participants will be required to read and sign liability forms as part of a General Release Form Packet.
• Students do not need to have a declared major in the classes they are taking abroad, and there are no language prerequisites for the programs unless a specific course has its own requirement.
• Students do not need to be current GCC students or have taken classes at GCC previously.