ScreenTalk

Ainsley Gardiner (Te-Whānau-a-Apanui, Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Awa) fell in love with the magic of the big screen while growing up in Whakatane, where you could find her most Fridays at the local cinema catching the latest release. Her first formal foray into film and television came in 1995 when she joined producer Larry Parr at Kahukura Productions, eventually producing low budget feature Kombi Nation (2003) and co-producing the 26-part comedy/drama TV series Love Bites (2002).

Following the demise of Kahukura, Gardiner teamed up with Taika Waititi to work on Oscar-nominated short film Two Cars, One Night. Soon after that she established Whenua Films with actor/producer Cliff Curtis. Together the trio struck creative gold with World War II short Tama Tū, Waititi’s debut feature Eagle vs Shark and box office hit Boy.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Gardiner reveals:

• How great early experiences at Kahukura set her up for her successful career
• The highs and lows of low budget film production on Kombi Nation
• The challenges involved in dealing with TV networks
• Her feelings on the liquidation of Kahukura Productions
• Her thoughts on Taika Waititi’s early scripts, and how their working relationship developed
• Her reaction to their Oscar nomination
• Her strategies in producing Eagle vs Shark
• How the script for Boy was developed
• The challenges involved in casting Boy
• How the Boy soundtrack came about
• Plans for her next feature project, a horror movie

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.

Producer Larry Parr talks to NZ On Screen about the business and art of film and TV production. Parr discusses:

• His unconventional path into the industry: “I wasn’t like Geoff [Murphy], Ian [Mune], or Bruno [Lawrence] …” Parr had started out as a lawyer in a bank.
• Early days working to raise the money for, and market, the iconic Roger Donaldson-directed films, Smash Palace and Sleeping Dogs.
• Raising the finance for a slew of eighties features (Bridge to Nowhere, Starlight Hotel, Queen City Rocker, Constance, Came a Hot Friday, Pallet on the Floor).
• The landmark 1989 Māori drama series E Tipu E Rea which he produced and which launched the careers of a remarkable number of Māori filmmakers (Lee Tamahori, Riwia Brown, Rawiri Paratene, Anzac Wallace, Wi Kuki Kaa and more). “The series was all Māori crew and cast except for three DoPs”.
• His time as head of production at TVNZ’s Avalon studios.
• The failure of Kahukura Productions and the “time in purgatory” he served between its collapse, and joining Māori Television in 2005 as Head of Programming.
• Finishing his directorial debut Fracture and helping Taika Waititi complete his Oscar-nominated short film Two Cars, One Night.
• The achievement of Māori Televsion: “creating a receptive audience [for Māori stories].”
• His new role at Te Māngai Pāho and his vision for a bi-lingual Aotearoa and the promotion of te reo on our screens: “just imagine what sort of country New Zealand would be if everybody had grown up since 1840 speaking both languages … we’d be unstoppable!”

Through the ups and downs of a colourful career in independent and network filmmaking Parr reflects on his most satisfying moments, ultimately settling on the 2006 ANZAC Day broadcast on Māori Television, which changed the “social and political landscape and ensured MTS’s place in the broadcasting landscape.”

This interview is available to download or distribute on YouTube.

Also see: Maori Television and Te Māngai Pāho

Credits: Direction and Interview – Clare O’Leary, Camera and Editing – Leo Guerchmann