Standing Room Only for Sunday 5 March 2017

12:16 The Maoriland Film Festival

There are the famous A-List Festivals of Europe - Cannes, Berlin and Venice.  There's the equally prestigious Sundance Festival of Utah, the champion of smaller, independent films.  Now there's growing interest in "indigenous" films - and, as Simon Morris discovered, their festival is surprisingly close to home.  March 15 sees the fourth annual Maoriland Film Festival, showing in the "Los Angeles of the South Pacific", Otaki. 

Incidentally, that's not a cheap crack - the original Maoriland Film Company launched itself early last century with that as a by-line!  Today's Maoriland Festival is an ambitious attempt to encourage and focus on, not just young Maori talent, but indigenous film-makers around the world.  It's the brain-child of film-maker Libby Hakaraia, and runs from March 15-19.

12:44 The Canterbury Earthquake Memorial

When the new Canterbury Earthquake Memorial was revealed last month, something unusual happened for a work of public art. It was universally appreciated!  Christchurch filmmaker Rick Harvie has documented the two year long project from seeking submissions though to the official ceremony.  Rick tells Lynn Freeman he's about to put his now finished documentary, including footage of the ceremony and feedback from a range of people, online.

1:10 At The Movies

The Oscars 2017, upcoming sequels on the horizon and T2 - Trainspotting.

1:34 The Central finally arrives at Christchurch's Arts Centre

It's been a long, long wait but Christchurch's Arts Centre finally has a contemporary art gallery space again - and it's just opened. It's the latest 'reveal' in the Arts Centre post-earthquake rebuild. The new gallery's called The Central and is housed in the original Canterbury College Library. Four Christchurch families and gallerist Jonathan Smart have made it happen and artists including local sculptor Neil Dawson, photographer Peter Peryer, glitter specialist Reuben Patterson and painter Dick Frizzell are in the mix for the opening group show.

There are some new names there too. Lynn Freeman speaks to The Central's Jonathan Smart and Ngai Tahu artist Lonnie Hutchinson who has work in the opening show.

1:42  Sioux-Tongan artist and musician Juliana Brown Eyes-Kaho

Juliana Brown Eyes-Kaho has an unusual background - she's Sioux-Tongan.  She's also a photographer, an artist, a musician and an activist. Juliana was one of the first to protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline, planned to run almost 2-thousand kilometres from Iowa to North Dakota. Her aunt's land is being dug up as part of the 4-billion dollar crude oil pipeline. The protesters managed to get the project suspended last year, but this month, with President Donald Trump's backing, things are back in motion.

Right now she's far from the protest action - she's in Auckland on the Tautai Contemporary Pacific Arts Trust 2017 Artist Residency.  Lynn Freeman asks about her whakapapa and what's happening at her home.

2:06 The Laugh Track - actor Roy Ward

Roy Ward is about to bring back his one-man show Resident Alien, about the life and times of the iconic gay figure of the late 20th century, Quentin Crisp.   It opens at Auckland's Basement Theatre on March 21.

Roy's picks include Paul Sinha, Alan Partridge, the TV series Roseanne, the film To Be Or Not To Be, and Quentin Crisp and John Hurt.

 

2:26  Irish actress Sorcha Cusack, Father Brown and being part of a theatrical dynasty

Great Britain has many famous acting dynasties - the Redgraves, the Foxes, the Wests and the Cusacks. Actors Cyril and Maureen Cusack had three daughters - Sinéad, Sorcha and Niamh  all of them respected actresses on stage and screen, and married to actors. They performed in Chekhov's Three Sisters in Dublin in 1990, with Cyril appearing as the Doctor.  

These days Sorcha is best known in the TV series Father Brown, playing the priest-turned detective's opinionated and interfering Irish parish secretary.  The long running BBC series is based on a character created by G K Chesterton. Lynn Freeman asked Sorcha what keeps attracting her to the role - the fifth series starts this week on UKTV..

 

2:44 Photographer Martyn Roberts' Wounds of Love

These days when we see bruises - especially on children and women - the first thought might be suspicion they've been abused. Bruises, cuts and gashes - both real and artiticial - feature in the latest work by Dunedin photographer Martyn Roberts. He's created a body of 'wound' work for the Dunedin Fringe festival, called Bright Chrysalis, with the help of make up artist Zoe Armstrong. Lynn Freeman asked Martyn and Zoe where the idea for photographing injuries came from:

Bright Chrysalis opens on the 10th of March at Mint Gallery in Dunedin, as part of the city's Fringe Festival.

 

2:52 The Performance Arcade - Thinking Inside the Box

Are they crazy? This year organisers of Wellington's Performance Arcade are putting shipping containers on top of each other along the waterfront, to act as artist venues. The city's windy, and prone to tremors, and there's a shortage of containers this year, but that's where logistical thinkers like architect Alex Sawicka-Ritchie come in.  Lynn Freeman talks to Alex, a key member of the team behind the free arts festival which attracts more than 40-thousand visitors a year. The Performance Arcade starts on the Wellington Waterfront this Friday

3:06 Drama at 3 - Meeting Jeff by Philip Braithwaite

A RNZ production of a story of a friendship between two guys from opposite sides of the track.

Music played in this show

Artist:Steve Lawrence
Song: Pretty Blue Eyes
Composer: Weinstein-Randazzo
Album:  Teenage Crush
Label: Ace
Played at: 12.12

Artist:  Bill Sevesi
Song: Maori Brown Eyes
Composer: Kapakui-Noble
Album:  The Great South Seas Cruise
Label: Rajon
Played at: 12.40

Artist: The War On Drugs
Song: Red Eyes
Composer: Granduciel
Album: Lost In The Dream
Label: Secretlycanadian
Played at: 12.58

Artist: Suzy Bogguss
Song: No Green Eyes
Composer: Bogguss-Bunch
Album: Something Up My Sleeve
Label: Liberty
Played at: 1.10

Artist:  Van Morrison
Song:  Brown-Eyed Girl
Composer: Morrison
Album: T B Sheets
Label: Columbia
Played at: 1.58

Artist:  Roy Hudd
Song:  Two Lovely Black Eyes
Composer: Coburn
Album: Those Music Hall Days
Label:  Castle
Played at: 2.04

Artist:  Ladyhawke
Song:  Blue Eyes
Composer: Brown-Gabriel
Album: Anxiety
Label: Modular
Played at: 2.36

Artist: Kelly Clarkson
Song:  Behind These Hazel Eyes
Composer: Clarkson-Gottwald
Album:  Breakaway
Label: RCA
Played at: 2.58

Artist:  UB40
Song:  Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain
Composer: Rose
Album:  Getting Over The Storm
Label:  Virgin
Played at: 3.04

Artist: Bruce Springsteen
Song:  Sad Eyes
Composer:  Springsteen
Album:  18 Tracks
Label: Columbia
Played at: 2.58