Bonjour Timothy
Film, 1995 (Excerpts)
Seventeen-year-old Timothy (Dean O'Gorman from Pork Pie) is facing suspension after a misguided prank. His parents hope the French-Canadian exchange student they're hosting will settle Tim down, but when 'Michel' turns out to be 'Michelle' — and spunky — plans go awry. Coming of age and cross-cultural comedy ensues as Tim tries to court his Montreal mademoiselle. Shot around Avondale College, the award-winning NZ-Canadian film got a special mention from the Children's Jury at the 1996 Berlin Film Festival. The cast includes Angela Bloomfield and Milan Borich.
Cam's Kai - First Episode
Chef Cameron Petley was a fan favourite on the 2011 season of MasterChef New Zealand. In 2015 the Putaruru outdoorsman got his own Māori TV cooking show. The 20-part series saw down-home Cam (Tūhoe, Ngāti Ranginui) touring local markets and dining with whānau, providing tips for tasty kai. In this first episode he visits Avondale Markets with Dead Lands actor Lawrence Makoare, and heads home to shuck mussels, talk fusion food (mussel donuts!), and cook Makoare's KFC ("kai for cuzzies") fritters; in return he throws together a duck and watercress salad.
Housiewives - First Episode
Web, 2018 (Full Length Episode)
The first episode of this Kiwi-Pasifika comedy whodunnit introduces us to the extroverted Kala, and her close-knit group of West Auckland housie lovers and churchgoers. Kala and Chaka's pricey fundraiser for the new Avondale church hall has packed them in — but then the night's takings go missing. Kala (played by musician Bella Kololo) feels all eyes and ears are on her as she tries to contain the secret of the missing money. Written and directed by Mario Faumui (Fresh), the web series also features actors Sushila Takao (Filthy Rich) and Stacey Leilua (in an eye patch!)
Peter Gordon's Pacific Harvest
Whanganui-born chef Peter Gordon helmed the Sugar Club in Wellington in the 80s, before moving to the UK and started up a series of acclaimed restaurants, including Providores and Tapa Room (opened shortly after this doco was made). Plaudits as a pioneer of 'fusion' cooking followed. Here the 'kai magpie', takes in everything from paw paw to paua on a homecoming taste trip: raw fish in Rarotonga, Waikato River 'tuna', deer at Wairarapa's Te Parae, Seresin organic olive oil, Marlborough koura, Stewart Island oysters, and more. The one-off special screened on TV One and on BBC2.
Memories of Service 3 - Colin Ramsey
Colin Ramsey was rejected on medical grounds when he volunteered for World War ll, but not long after, he was called up and soon found himself training at Papakura Military Camp. An ambulance driver in the 3rd New Zealand Division, the first part of Colin's war was in the Pacific. The realities of the conflict hit home while serving in the Solomons. He and his comrades were sent to collect the American casualties of a Japanese bombing raid, a grizzly experience. At 93, Colin's memory is sharp as he vividly recalls his experiences.
Journey to Arras
This documentary unearths the story of the soldiers in the New Zealand Tunneling Company, whose daring World War I raids involved digging tunnels through chalk rock, laying explosives underneath enemy lines, and countermining German tunneling efforts. The story is told through the eyes of a New Zealand woman who retraces her grandfather's war story to Arras, France, and sees the Kiwi-tagged cavern 'city' nearly 80 years later. The company played a key role on the Western Front, and was especially recruited in NZ, made up of miners, bushmen and labourers.
Tagata Pasifika - 20th Anniversary Special
Actor Robbie Magasiva and discus champ Beatrice Faumuina oversee this hour-long Tagata Pasifika 20th birthday celebration. Presenters past and present survey changes in the Aotearoa PI community over the show's run: from education, arts and culture (Ardijah, OMC, Michel Tuffery's corned beef bulls and the Naked Samoans), to political pioneers (Mark Gosche, Winnie Laban), and sports heroes (All Black icons Jones, Lomu and Umaga). Among those talking about the show's importance to NZ Pasifika culture are Helen Clark, Annie Crummer and many others.
A dog-goddess effigy possessing aphrodisiac powers is the quarry for a cast of oddball pursuers in this caper comedy — from a cosmetics tycoon to a duo of doctors using retirees as guinea pigs in a quest for eternal youth. The dog's handler is geeky Billy, aided by his girlfriend Gus and their bull terrier Cyclops. The chaotic Auckland romp was the debut feature for Gregor Nicholas (he would go on to helm acclaimed short Avondale Dogs and feature film Broken English). This excerpt features a take on Space Odyssey's docking scene, as interpreted by Benny Hill.
A Civilised Society
This documentary looks at the new right ideology that transformed public education in the 80s and 90s and the schism it caused with teachers. Interviews with parents, teachers and unionists are cut together with archive footage of treasury officials and politicians advocating that schools be run as businesses. There are vexed board of trustees' meetings, an infamous deal between Avondale College and Pepsi, and teachers take their opposition from the classroom to the streets. The film is the third in Alister Barry's series critical of neo-liberal reform in NZ.
Housiewives
Television, 2018
This comedic PI/Kiwi web series offers up a West Auckland whodunnit. Kala and Chaka's church hall fundraiser rakes in the cash, but before anyone can celebrate, the money is stolen from the kitty. The close-knit circle of housie lovers and churchgoers eye each other distrustfully, 'mouths are running', and robbery isn't the only scandalous activity going down in Avondale. Housiewives won funding from Skip Ahead, a joint NZ On Air/YouTube initiative aimed at helping Kiwi storytellers reach new audiences. The cast includes singer Bella Kalolo and actor Shushila Takao (Filthy Rich).