Artsville - Sunday 4th June, 10.30pm on TV One (after ‘Dancing With The Stars’)
Queen's Birthday Weekend sees the screening of a fantastic new arts documentary from the Gibson Group (makers of
Frontseat).
ASPIRING is the untold story of a grand collaboration between four of NZ's greatest artists.
Led by photographer and film-maker Brian Brake, poet James K Baxter, composer Douglas Lilburn and painter John
Drawbridge ventured into the wild Matukituki Valley to make a radical new film.
They aimed to climb Mt Aspiring but failed, and the footage was lost for 50 years. Baxter wrote his famous Poem In The
Matukituki Valley on this trip, and would have written a verse script for Brake's film.
John Drawbridge returned to the scene (shortly before he died) and describes the creative collaboration on the Ascent of
Aspiring as one of the greatest periods in his life.
With inspiration and script from poet and curator Gregory O'Brien (read the new Listener for more details) ASPIRING is a
truly inspiring documentary about NZ art and landscapes.
(Artsville repeats the following Saturday, June 10th at 12:30pm on TV One)
Regards,
GARY SCOTT, Producer
Please send enquiries to aspiring@gibson.co.nz
of Frontseat’s Autumn season. We’ll see you again in spring after the winter series of TV One’s doco series,
‘Artsville’ (next week featuring Misery, who is extremely cool). THE MUSICIAN VS THE MINISTER: The Government is gifting
the failing 100% NZ music station Kiwi FM (owned by the profitable CanWest network) some new 102FM frequencies. But
those who’ve long championed the idea of a nation-wide Youth Radio Network say these frequencies were set aside for the
young people of New Zealand, not a private commercial operator. New Zealand’s most successful musician, Neil Finn, tells
Josie McNaught why this new development is an embarrassing indulgence.
REMEMBERING ARAMOANA: Making a film about one of New Zealand’s darkest hours is not the easiest of tasks, and the
producers of a movie about the Aramoana tragedy have been hugely sensitive about their project. Now that filming’s over,
Julie Hill speaks to the film’s storytelling team: director Robert Sarkies, writer Graeme Tetley and biographer Bill
O’Brien. Upon the producers’ request, residents agreed not to talk.
RED LIGHTS & RED SPOTS: Gentrification of areas formerly populated by the fringes of society usually happens once artists have made
a place ‘acceptable’. But though Auckland’s most famous red light strip, Karangahape Road, has had a spruce-up, sex
workers still happily ply their trade amongst the new apartments and art galleries. In fact, they tell Steven Oates, the
increase in galleries has only been good for business.
THE LEGACY OF JOHN DRAWBRIDGE: Painter and print-maker John Drawbridge died in Wellington last July. He left behind
oodles of unfinished paintings and completed prints, and his widow Tanya Ashken and son Cameron are now showing in these
in their new South Coast Gallery in Island Bay. The gallery will have a Drawbridge show each year, as well as showcasing
other artists. And Cameron is continuing his father’s work in the meantime.
PLUS: Frontseat is repeated at 8.00am on Saturday morning. This Saturday 6th: The stories behind New Zealand’s Greatest
Painting, ‘Cass’ by Rita Angus; a documentary about Dunedin musician David Kilgour, and the dealer gallery association
double-up.
Best regards,
The Frontseat Team TV One, Sunday Nights Repeat screening 8.00am the following Saturday
ENDS