Bill Direen - A Memory of Others to screen at NZIFF

If there's one music film to see at the NZIFF this year it's Simon Ogston's new doco Bill Direen - A Memory of Others.

Ogston hits the road with NZ writer, poet, indie-rocker Bill Direen as he explores the cultural landscape and presents a series of strikingly diverse live performances.

Simon Ogston has previously directed documentaries about Philip Dadson and the Skeptics. Here he has crafted a lively, insightful portrait of Bill Direen, one of New Zealand’s truly unique, creative, unconventional voices.

For over 40 years Direen has encompassed poetry, rock music, theatre and long-form prose.

A road movie following his first national tour in more than a decade, follows Direen from Dunedin, to Christchurch, to Wellington, to Auckland. In each city he reunites with old bandmates or works with new collaborators to produce a succession of strikingly different performances.

Direen visits seminal places from his past, telling stories and reciting his writings. Homages include Janet Frame in Oamaru, James K. Baxter in Jerusalem, and Michael Joseph Savage in Auckland. It’s an engaging cinematic journey through our geographical and cultural landscape, threaded with interviews and material from Direen’s rich anthology.

There are two screenings at Event Cinema on Queen Street at 1:45pm Friday Aug 4 and 1:30pm Saturday Aug 5. Both Bill Direen and Simon Ogston will be present for Q&A sessions after the screenings.