Allie Eagle and Me
In the 1970s, New Zealand artist Allie Eagle identified herself as a lesbian separatist and radical feminist. Her often uncompromising work included pro-abortion painting This Woman Died I Care, which was inspired by a photograph of a woman who died from an illegal abortion. In the 1980s, Eagle became a christian. Made in 2004, Briar March's first, feature-length documentary sees Eagle reflecting on her past with a more moderate outlook — she now has mixed feelings about her earlier stance on abortion.
Ally Xue
An optometrist by training, Ally Xue won public attention through her work as an actor. In 2010 she appeared in Gibson Group disaster tale Eruption, before joining forces with fellow actors Perlina Lau and JJ Fong — along with director Roseanne Liang — to create web series Flat3. The comical series is based around the occupants of an Auckland flat, with Xue playing the more reserved flatmate. After three seasons they followed up with Friday Night Bites — a collection of one-off stories based around the same characters. Xue's acting CV also includes short film Sugar Hit and TV's Harry and Runaway Millionaires.
JJ Fong & Ally Xue - Funny As Interview
Keen to create new acting roles for Asian women and work with friends, JJ Fong and Ally Xue teamed up with fellow actor Perlina Lau and director Roseanne Liang to create web series Flat3 and Friday Night Bites. Fong and Xue talk in this Funny As interview about taking on comedy, multitasking on set and other subjects, including: Meeting each other (and fellow Flat3 star Perlina Lau) while acting in a children's play at university Asking Roseanne Liang, who'd just given birth to her second child, to write and direct Flat3 Creating new acting roles for themselves after being sick of being offered gigs as prostitutes or dragon ladies Giving comedy a go for the first time on Flat3 — "...we were like, let's just do it guys. We didn't even know if we were funny either" Taking a gamble to release Flat3 on YouTube at a time when web series were a new concept How they became political and topical in follow up series Friday Night Bites Next goal is to make a programme for television as "we have finished doing online web series now"
The Wahine Disaster
On a Tuesday evening in April 1968, the ferry Wahine set out from Lyttelton for Wellington. Around 6am the next morning, cyclone-fuelled winds surged in strength as it began to enter Wellington Harbour. At 1.30pm, with the ferry listing heavily to starboard, the call was finally made for 734 passengers and crew to abandon ship. The news coverage and documentaries in this collection explore the Wahine disaster from many angles. Meanwhile Keith Aberdein — one of the TV reporters who was there — explores his memories and regrets over that fateful day on 10 April 1968.
Nuclear-free New Zealand
On 8 June 1987 Nuclear-free New Zealand became law. This collection honours the principles and people behind the policy. Prime Minister Norman Kirk put it like this: "I don't think New Zealand's a doormat. I think we've got rights — we're a small country but we've got equal rights, and we're going to assert them." In the backgrounder, journalist Tim Watkin explores the twists and turns of Aotearoa's nuclear history.
NZ Fashion On Screen
This collection, launched to honour 10 years of NZ Fashion Week, celebrates Kiwi fashion on screen. From TV showpieces (B&H, Corbans) to docos on designers; Gloss to archive gold, from Swannies to Split Enz, taniko to foot fetish ... take a stroll down the catwalk of our sartorial screen past. Beauties include ex-Miss Universe Lorraine Downes and a teenage Rachel Hunter.
Gallipoli: The New Zealand Story
This documentary tells the stories of the New Zealand soldiers who were part of the identity-defining Gallipoli campaign in World War I. In the ill-fated mission to take a piece of Turkish coastline, 2721 New Zealanders died with 4752 wounded. As part of research, every one of the then-surviving Gallipoli veterans living in New Zealand was interviewed, with 26 finally filmed. Shot at a barren, rocky Gallipoli before the advent of Anzac Day tourism, this important record screened on Easter Sunday 1984, and won a Feltex Award for Best Documentary.
Pacific Viewpoint - Paddy Walker interview
In this episode of Pacific Viewpoint, Pacific women's advocate Eleitino 'Paddy' Walker is interviewed about the success of P.A.C.I.F.I.C.A, an organisation she helped set up in 1976. While at the fourth Pacific Allied (Womens) Council Inspires Faith in Ideals Concerning All conference, she talks about giving members a "sense of belonging" and fulfilling the group's goal to unite Pasifika women. The Samoan-Kiwi was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 as part of the 1000 women project, and became the first Auckland City councillor of Pacific descent. Walker died in 2015 at age 98.
The Gravy - Series Four, Episode 12 (Paint)
This fourth season edition of the award-winning arts series is all about paint. Host Ross Liew meets three artists who are exploring the medium's expressive possibilities in diverse ways: Ally Maher uses paint to portray corrosion, patina and the breaking down of surfaces; he reveals the work he did on the now-scuppered vessel Manuia for Peter Jackson’s King Kong. Helen Calder uses gravity, coaxing paint off the surface to make new shapes and Glenn Burrell encases objects in paint to form a skin and removes the original object, leaving a paint replica.
A Soldier's Tale
In the wake of the Allied invasion of Normandy, US soldier Saul (Usual Suspect Gabriel Byrne) meets Belle, alleged to be a Nazi collaborator. He offers to stay in her cottage as Résistance accusers circle. The tragic tale of moral ambiguity during wartime was adapted from a novel by Kiwi MK Joseph. Filmed in France in 1988, director Larry Parr’s feature debut was troubled by the withdrawal of a French partner and bankruptcy of the US distributor; after film festival showings it screened on NZ television in 1995. French actor Marianne Basler won a 1992 NZ Film Award as Belle.