Aspiring

This documentary revisits six eventful weeks in 1949, and a film that never was. Led by cameraman Brian Brake, a young, all-star art team — poet James K Baxter as scriptwriter, composer Douglas Lilburn and painter John Drawbridge — attempted to make a 'cinematic poem' about their ascent of Mount Aspiring. Baxter's notes on the trip evolved into his poem In the Matukituki Valley. The award-winning documentary features a lost script, Drawbridge's memories (he recalls plans for a snow cave light show) and a surprise ending. View extensive footage of the never-completed film after the documentary.