‘A beatnik, introverted, smoking, drinking student culture was well established out at Ilam by the time I arrived. The artist took a back seat in society, and so did we.’ Gaylene Preston’s Ockham New Zealand Book Awards longlisted memoir, Gaylene’s Take, is more than a story about filmmaking in Aotearoa New Zealand. It’s about the making of an influential artist, and the challenges and sometimes heartbreak that come with ambition. Here’s how fellow filmmaker Jane Campion described it: ‘part liar, part cowgirl, mouthy and determined Gaylene grows up in Greymouth and migrates into the wild 70s, ending up in the tough-asgumboots world of New Zealand film’. The writer-director of enduring classics such as Mr Wrong, Ruby & Rata, War Stories Our Mothers Never Told Us and My Year With Helen, talks about going where others feared to tread with Michelle Langstone.

Supported by Platinum Patrons Susan & Gavin Walker.

AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL 2023, WAITUHI O TĀMAKI FRIDAY 19 MAY 2023 – 2.30-3.30PM KIRI TE KANAWA THEATRE, AOTEA CENTRE