A Grasp of Wind: screening, live soundtrack and Q&A
A rare chance to see this short 1982 surrealist NZIFF Aotearoa New Zealand film with a new live score, followed by a Q&A session with the director and producer.
Thursday 10th Oct
6 – 7 pm
Newtown Community centre
Free
Some scenes in the film may be unsuitable for children and parental guidance is advised.
Featuring a full screening of this Aotearoa New Zealand surrealist jewel with a new score, performed live.
The screening will be followed by a Q&A session with artist director Robèrt Franken and Producer Professor Russell Campbell.
Soundscape composition and performance by Neil Johnstone, Sam Leamy and Patrick Fisher Evans.
A Grasp of Wind is a surrealist fable set in Wellington, which is intriguing and beautiful in a quiet, contemplative way that explores the symbolic interrelationship of creatures and their environment.
A fisherman climbs a hill and starts to encounter fish in a forest; the higher he goes, the bigger the fish he encounters. He has entered a mysterious realm – from which only a total metamorphosis will deliver him.
Robèrt Franken is an internationally known artist who moved to New Zealand in 1967. Born in The Hague, he has exhibited frequently in the Netherlands, as well as in Japan, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Australia and many New Zealand galleries. A Grasp of Wind is his only film.
Photo Sally Jackman all rights reserved.
Dr Russell Campbell is an award-winning filmmaker whose work includes the documentaries Wildcat: The Struggle for Democracy in the New Zealand Timberworkers Union (co-directed), Rebels in Retreospect, and Sedition: The Suppression of Dissent in World War II New Zealand. He is also the author of seven books, including Codename Intelligentsia: The LIfe and Times of the Honourable Ivor Montagu, Filmmaker, Communist, Spy and Investigating Simenon: Patriarchy, Sex and Politics in the Fiction. He is currently Adjunct Professor of Film at Te Herenga Waka/Victoria University of Wellington.
Neil Johnstone emigrated to New Zealand in 2017, having widely exhibited his multimedia artworks in galleries and workshops throughout Europe and the United Kingdom.
His output has a solid audio component, including three UK album releases and several acclaimed collaborations with kiwi artists mainly on the multi award winning Rattle Records, Shearwater Drift (2018), Panthalassa (2019), Chalk Dogs (2020) Collapsed Clouds ( 2022) and Arriving in the Oceans of Different Views (2023) on the East Cape Calling label.
Sam Leamy is a composer and multi-instrumentalist whose work spans many genres and musical platforms. He sat his Bachelor of Music Composition (specialising in Instrumental Composition and Sonic Arts) and Master of Fine Arts (Creative Practice) at Victoria University, and has since composed contemporary works for a variety of instrumental ensembles. Sam has been a member of numerous bands over the last 15 years, including the avant-garde pop duo Spork, and atmospheric rock heavyweights Opium Eater. As a performer he specialises in textural guitar playing, aided by the use of effects pedals.
Patrick Fisher-Evans is a multi-instrumentalist hailing from Taranaki, N.Z. and Hereford, U.K. Before coming to Wellington City Libraries, Patrick worked variously as an itinerant music teacher and at Vinyl Countdown, a record shop in New Plymouth. Patrick has been in several bands spanning jazz, orchestral and rock settings. He is currently recording an album inspired by his favourite progressive rock groups, such as Yes, King Crimson, Caravan, and Soft Machine.
You can see our previous interview with Robèrt Franken below.