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Perfectly Frank the Life of a NZ Writer

Biographer Michael King takes us through the life of pioneering writer Frank Sargeson: from puritanical parents to self-discovery in London, through to decades encouraging an emerging tide of New Zealand writers. The documentary’s most priceless moments are the tales told when four of those writers return to Sargeson’s fabled fibrolite bach, in Takapuna. Kevin Ireland calls it an “oasis, this marvellous place where books ruled supreme”. Sargeson’s purposefully minimalistic writing style, the doco argues, helped NZ literature find its own voice. Released in 1998 made for television.

Dur 60minutes
Bruce Sheridan Writer, Director
Produced by Bruce Morrison with support from NZ On Air

A Portrait of Katherine Mansfield

Katherine Mansfield, a rare New Zealand writer to achieve international renown, left for Europe as a 19-year-old. This documentary examines her complicated relationships with her family and homeland, her turbulent personal life, her writing — credited with changing the course of the English short story — and her early death in France in 1923, at age 34. Shot in five countries and presented by Catherine Wilkin, it includes excerpts from interviews with her companion, Ida Baker (from 1974) and biographer Claire Tomalin. Ilona Rodgers reads from Mansfield’s writings. Released in 1986 made for television.

Dur 60minutes
Julienne Stretton Writer, Director – Geoff Steven Associate Writer.
Produced by Marigold Productions – Sue Kedgley and Dorothee Pinfold