Soup & A Seat

Posted by Ant Stone on May 24, 2010 in Attractions, Cinema, Showcase | 0 comments

It’s well-known that the WiW team love homemade soup, and that we adore cinema. So imagine our surprise when one of our favourite organisations began a series entitled — wait for it — “Soup & A Seat”. It’s fair to say, the moment The Film Archive in Wellington unveiled their 2010 series, we sobbed with joy over our daily croûtons.

The Film Archive

The Film Archive is an iconic venue, stitching together the corners of Ghuznee and Taranaki Streets in central Wellington. It’s popular among various circles, but we feel it’s consistently unsung by the tourism sector. The fact is, if you’re interested in local culture and history, The Film Archive should be among your first ports of call.

Tickets are half the price of mainstream cinemas, but the core appeal of the Archive is that it promotes an ethos to collect, protect and connect the global community with New Zealand’s heritage, via its vast archive of New Zealand-focused films, and television footage.

Between Wednesday and Saturday expect a plethora of captivating titles, plus an occasional discussion event considering niche topics. Inside the bright and modern facility, the intelligible crew run an incorporated café, and provide free access to their online research libraries.

Film Archive: Soup & A Seat Screenings

Throughout the winter of 2010, The Film Archive are showing eight films designed to fit into a regular lunch-hour. Hence, all the films are fifty minutes or under, and include a cup of warm, homemade soup which is served with a smile (and often a quip) within seconds of securing the $8 ticket.

12.15pm, Friday 6 August *Manhattan Maori* (Kiwa Productions, 2002, 45 mins) Five young Maori aged 23-29 discuss the prusuit of business, sporting and artistic success in New York, the most competitive city in the world.	12.15pm, Friday 3 September *Il Maggiore – My Father’s War in Italy* (Communicade, 2001, 45 mins) Political cartoonist Malcolm Evans journeys to Italy, retracing his fathers attempted escape from a WWII prison camp while examining his war-time diaries and films.
12.15pm, Friday 13 August *Dagg Sea Scrolls* (Huntaway Films, 2006, 50 mins) Comedian John Clarke looks back at the inspiration for his 1970s comic character ‘Fred Dagg’ and revisits his favourite sketches.	12.15pm, Friday 10 September *Try Revolution* (Spacific Films, 2006, 50 mins) South African perspectives on the protest movement in New Zealand that disrupted the 1981 Springbok rugby tour.
12.15pm, Friday 20 August *Nude Zealand* (Ninox Films, 1999, 45 mins) Kiwi nudists talk about their clothes-free lifestyle and we look back to the first NZ nudist club established in 1933. Hint/Warning: Contains Nudity.	12.15pm, Friday 17 September *Flightless. Bill Hammond’s cure for being Kiwi* (Hector Ltd, 2007, 40 mins) Experiencing a midlife crisis Kevin McManus seeks refuge in the Christchurch Public Art Gallery but is driven to psychic meltdown by the haunting birdpeople in Bill Hammond’s painting ‘The Fall of Icarus’ .
12.15pm, Friday 27 August *Allan Wilson: Evolutionary* (George Andrews Productions, 2008, 45 mins) A documentary about a New Zealand scientist whose research traced the evolution of the human race back to one African woman who lived 150,000 years ago.	12.15pm, Friday 24 September *The Real Office* (Greenstone Pictures, 2006, 45 mins) The Real Office interviews office workers about the hidden world of office bullying and romance while sending in a young actor to wreak havoc: “It’s a land-based love boat” says one interviewee.

Where is The Film Archive?

You can find The Film Archive by following the warming fragrance which drifts through the CBD on wintry Fridays. Or. Head to the corner of Taranaki and Ghuznee Streets (clue: face the reverse bungy at the top of Courtenay Place, and head away from the water. In about five minutes you’ll be clawing your paws on the Archive’s glass-glazed façade).

For more information visit The Film Archive website, hit them up on Twitter or Facebook or if you’re feeling really nostalgic, give them a call on +64 (0)4 384 7647.

[descending image credits:Looseends]