Image: Len Lye in his studio, 1930s. Courtesy of the Len Lye Foundation Collection, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre.
New Zealand's museum of contemporary art, the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, has unveiled its expanded cinema programme for 2017 with a new partnership with the British Council of New Zealand.
Taking the Len Lye Centre Cinema into new territory, the Govett-Brewster welcomes the British Council's extensive film programme to New Plymouth through the John Grierson Documentary Touring Programme.
Recognising the pioneering work of documentary filmmaker John Grierson (1898-1972), the Council has partnered with The Grierson Trust to showcase British documentary making to international audiences.
Films in the programme include John Pilger's The War You Don't See; Asif Kapadia's Senna; and Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman's Soundtrack for a Revolution.
Govett-Brewster curator Paul Brobbel says the Govett-Brewster is thrilled to bring this programme, free of charge, to its audiences in the Len Lye Centre Cinema.
"In doing so, it recognises the historic connection between Len Lye's (1901-1980) pioneering experimental cinema and John Grierson's acclaimed role as director of the British Post Office Film Unit," says Brobbel.
"Lye's career as a filmmaker flourished in London during the 1930s through Grierson's vision, bringing Lye's avant-garde techniques into his stable of documentary filmmakers at the GPO Film Unit."
The programme screens in the Len Lye Centre cinema on the penultimate Sunday of each month (March through November), with individual films selected by the Govett-Brewster. The programme can be viewed and tickets reserved online. Tickets are free.