Lights, camera, action… for VIVA LA VIDA
Lights, camera, action… for VIVA LA VIDA
Film events, 6
April - 22 April, 2000
City Gallery Wellington is marking the final month of VIVA LA VIDA with a series of events that will appeal to film buffs and the general public alike.
Image Sound Politics: Sunday 9 April,
3pm
Acclaimed film-maker Annie Goldson (Punitive Damage,
Seeing Red) talks about the parallels between Diego Rivera
and Palmerston North ‘communist’ Cecil Holmes.
“They were both big men, controversial in their lifetimes, who worked around about the same period,” says Goldson.
“They seem to negotiate a similar and complex path: attempting to reconcile their deep commitment to Communism with their artistic vision.”
Holmes returned to New Zealand after World War II with similar visions of rebuilding his homeland to Rivera, who had returned to a Mexico shattered by the Civil War.
Working for the National Film Unit in Wellington, Holmes was black-listed as a Communist in the ‘satchel snatch’ scandal of 1948 and left for Australia.
Using archive footage, Goldson will reflect on the art of the two men and the context within which they worked.
Annie Goldson is currently an Associate Professor at the Centre for Film, Television and Media Studies at the University of Auckland.
Her first feature documentary, the award-winning Punitive Damage, has been shown in festivals around the world. Free event.
* QUE VIVA
MEXICO! : Thursday 6 April, 8pm
This is a rare
opportunity to see one of the great ‘lost’ films of world
cinema, directed by Sergei Eisenstein.
The Russian director’s planned Mexican epic never eventuated but the legacy of his visit to the country is this mesmerising film.
Introduced by Jonathan Dennis, National Radio’s film critic, this film is presented by The New Zealand Film Archive in association with City Gallery Wellington.
Tickets $7.50. Doorsales only, Gallery Cinema.
[There is
some Russian narration which will not be translated.
Explanatory notes will be available].
* FRIDA: NATURALEZA: Tues 11, Fri 14, Sat 15, Tues 18, Fri 21, Sat 22 April, 2pm. This impressionistic film of the life of Frida Kahlo is directed by Mexican-born Paul Leduc.
Kahlo’s life story is told in surreal deathbed flashbacks resembling her haunting paintings.
“The dreamy, montage format of
this movie is hypnotic,
giving you tastes and smells
rather than narration,” wrote one critic.
Kahlo is played by the striking Ofelia Medina. Free event.
Other events
in April:
* Sun 2 April, 3pm
Woman, Nature, Culture
& Nation in the work of Frida Kahlo
Gallery talk by
Pamela Gerrish Nunn. Free.
* Wed 5 April, 12pm
Gallery
talk by photographer Peter Bush Free with admission.
* Fri
7; Mon 10; Sun 23 April, 3-5pm
Guided tours by His
Excellency Mr Jorge Alvarez, Ambassador to Mexico.
* Sat 8
April, 3pm
Artiface & Authenticity: Albert Wendt in
Conversation. Free.
* Sun 16 April, 3pm
Up Close &
Personal: The Intimate Artist
Panel Discussion with
Elizabeth Knox, Fiona Pardington, Seraphine Pick, chaired by
Kate De Goldi. Free.
* Fri 28 Apr & Sat 29 Apr, 8pm
Here I Paint Myself Solo show by Jillian Tipene
Tickets $15 & $12.
Doorsales only.
VIVA LA VIDA
has been brought to New Zealand through the generous
sponsorship of :
Telecom New Zealand; Ernst & Young, and
Russell McVeagh.
City Gallery Wellington
acknowledges the generous support of:
The Vergel
Foundation, New York
Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y
las Artes (Conaculta).
Instituto Nacional de Bellas
Artes (INBA)
Embassy of Mexico
Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and Trade
New Zealand Embassy in
Mexico
Totally Wellington
The Dominion
The Evening
Post
The Chartwell Trust
VIVA LA VIDA is a New Zealand
Festival 2000 event.