Film director and producer Dame Gaylene Preston has been an inspirational and groundbreaking force in New Zealand culture for more than four decades.
From the 2010-2011 Christchurch earthquakes and Helen Clark’s bid for the top job at the United Nations, to her own parents’ wartime stories and her feature films, Preston has battled to tell the stories that haven’t been told.
Now Preston can add author to the CV. Lively and smart memoir Gaylene’s Take jumpcuts across time, from her Greymouth childhood and formative times conducting drama therapy in a British psychiatric institution, to being a trailblazer in a male dominated industry.
This month NZ on Screen have also launched The Gaylene Preston Collection, making available online for free some 48 items, from feature and short films and documentaries to television series and commercials.
Dame Gaylene joins us to play some favourite songs.
Photo: Ebony Lamb
