The catalogue records for a number of new Library DVDs show that they are part of a “Departmental Collection on indefinite loan to Te Puna Toi at Theatre & Film Studies”. They are all non-requestable and have to be viewed in-house at Te Puna Toi.
The 120+ DVDs were sourced from the Centre for Performance Research (CPR) in Wales. This specially curated collection includes recordings of Europe’s most innovative contemporary dance and theatre companies and artists, including: Forced Entertainment, DV8 Dance Theatre, Goat Island, Tadeusz Kantor, Odin Teatret, Cricot Teatr, Need Company, Heiner Goebels, Wim Vandekeybus, Hotel Pro Forma, Bobby Baker, Gob Squad, Quarantine, Jan Lauwers, Societas Raffaello Sanzio, and Pina Bausch. (If you are fortunate enough to have seen Wim Wenders’ Pina, the absolutely stunning 3D film of Bausch’s choreography performed by the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch ensemble, which screened at the Christchurch International Film Festival in August, that would have provided an insight into the outstanding calibre of performance in the CPR collection generally.)
So how did the CPR collection arrangement come about? As the DVDs were funded by the Library, a strong case could surely be made for them to be treated the same way as all our other DVDs and housed within the Library. However, the purchase was made with the intention of locating them in the dedicated Te Puna Toi facilities, as agreed in 2010 between Associate Professor Sharon Mazer (TAFS Programme Co-ordinator) and Gail Pattie and Cynthia Bishell.
Te Puna Toi was originally to be in the Arts Centre, but with the quake devastation forcing the Arts Centre’s closure, Te Puna Toi was relocated to Theatre and Film Studies on campus, at least through 2012 and the indefinite future.
There has been a bit of a saga around these DVDs. When the two boxes of them arrived, they were stored on Level 5 – but before they could be catalogued and processed the February 22nd quake struck, the James Hight building was evacuated, Library people weren’t allowed back in, and the DVDs were to all intents and purposes ‘lost on Level 5’ for half a year or more. Finally, on September 13th, a small but intrepid search party consisting of Simon and Chris from Library Support Services, aided and abetted by myself and under the mandatory supervision of security personnel, managed with no small amount of clambering over things and dogged perseverance to find the boxes hidden amongst the shambolic disarray of Level 5.
The vast majority of the CPR DVDs have now been catalogued (thanks to Nicole and Alison), the technical details of how to deal with them on the system have been ironed out (thanks to Peter K.), and they have been handed over to Te Puna Toi on long term loan. The viewing facilities are in TAFS Seminar Room 10C, on Level 2 of the Fine Arts Complex. Bookings can be made by emailing TePunaToi@canterbury.ac.nz. To browse individual titles, see the browse list on the TAFS guide.
The New Zealand Film Archive Medianet facility will also be accessible at Te Puna Toi. Medianet offers a range of New Zealand documentaries, old television commercials, short films, experimental films, and more.
Max