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The Tauranga edition of this year’s New Zealand International Film Festival has arrived.
It’s always a bittersweet moment for film-lovers as the smaller Tauranga iteration, while offering many treats, inevitably loses gems we know screened at the Auckland festival.
It does rather reflect the view that Tauranga is a middle-of-the-road place.
Thus we get ‘Anchor Me’, about Don McGlashan, but not ‘Life In One Chord’ exploring Straitjacket Fits’ somewhat spikier Shayne Carter. Of Auckland’s two films by director Richard Linklater, we get ‘Blue Moon’, about popular composers Hart, Rogers, and Hammerstein, but not ‘Nouvelle Vague’, his playful take on challenging French filmmaker Jean-Luc Goddard.
Not that I don’t highly recommend ‘Anchor Me’ and ‘Blue Moon’. There are a number of other worthwhile documentaries.
Don McGlashan. Photo / Supplied
John & Yoko
‘One to One: John & Yoko’ explores the couple’s life in 1970’s New York City complete with priceless footage from John Lennon’s 1972 concert at Madison Square Garden. Also on the documentary front is ‘Not Only Fred Dagg’, a film made by John Clarke’s daughter Lorin about New Zealand’s greatest humourist and writer of at least two of our greatest songs.
John and Yoko. Photo / Supplied
And one more without musical connection: Gaylene Preston’s ‘War Stories Our Mothers Never Told Us’, made in 1995. It’s an amazing film. It does exactly what the title says, interviewing seven extraordinary ordinary women and it’s a heartbreaking joy. Oh, and Gaylene is Jan Preston’s sister so there is a musical connection.
John and Yoko. Photo / Supplied
The festival runs until September 7 at Luxe Cinemas Tauranga.
Don McGlashan. Photo / Supplied
Circling back to Don McGlashan, as well as the documentary, his new album ‘Take It To The Bridge’, a live set with violinist Anita Clark, has just been released, the first live album of his long career. His filmed concert last month with Clark at the RNZ Studio is on YouTube; search for ‘Don McGlashan – Full Performance (Live at RNZ)’.
Don McGlashan. Photo / Supplied
Richard O’Brien
Meanwhile, Katikati’s star of stage and screen Richard O’Brien has been popping up all over the film world, what with ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ turning 50 this year. In June it shared the cover of the UK’s ‘Sight & Sound’ magazine with 1975’s biggest hit ‘Jaws’. There’s also his son Linus O’Brien’s documentary ‘Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror’ which is doing the rounds of documentary festivals.
Richard O’Brien. Photo / Supplied
So let me quietly hip y’all to what must be the bargain of the year, especially if you live near Te Puna. Each month at the charming White House restaurant O’Brien has a new artwork for sale, what he calls his “doodles”, framed A3 colour pencil drawings. They are delightful and whimsical, reminiscent of children’s book illustrations. Just write your offer on the sheet of paper, bids start at $40 and are donated to Starship Children’s Hospital.
Full disclosure: I got last month’s doodle, a fat cat lying on a sofa. It cost $100 and is sitting on the piano right now. I couldn’t be happier. There you go! A chance to own an original Richard O’Brien artwork. Don’t say you never get the good oil from Winston.
Hear Winston’s latest Playlist: https://tinyurl.com/22hy3ne4