Medici Lectures 2012 finish this month

The final lecture of the 2012 series at the Medici Cafe will be held this month. The speaker will be Gaylene Preston, film maker whose subject is Adventures with the New Zealand Film Industry.

Having studied for three years at the Illam School of Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury Gaylene travelled to England in 1967 and produced her first films while working with psychiatric patients using art and drama in therapy.

Returning to New Zealand in 1977 she worked for John O’Shea at Pacific Films as an art director. The industry was in the doldrums and she was made redundant after six months. Undeterred  she produced and co-directed her first independent documentary All the Way Up There, which became a short for John Reid’s Middle Age Spread  before going on to short dramas, experimental films, feature films, telefeatures, mini-series, commercials and documentaries.

Her feature films include Perfect Strangers, War Stories, Bread and Roses, Ruby and Rata and Mr Wrong. Documentaries include Lovely RITA, the TIME of our LIVES, Earthquake! Coffee, Tea or Me? Titless Wonders, Getting to our Place, Hone Tuwhare, War Stories, KaiPurakau, Lands of our Fathers, Punitive Damage and Home by Christmas.  Much of her work has been shown at international film festivals.

Gaylene believes that the basic responsibility of New Zealand film makers is to make films principally for the New Zealand audience because “if we don’t no one else will”. She will talk about her experiences and some of the challenges that face the industry.

The cafe opens at 6 p.m. for dinks and nibbles and the talks begin at 7.15. Cost is $20 per evening and bookings are highly recommended as seating is limited. Ph. Cafe Medici 306 9965.