After a career spanning 60 years, British film-maker Mike Leigh is considered the godfather of British cinema.

He's got experience as an actor, producer, screenwriter and director - and he's used his platform to explore the struggles of ordinary people and their real-life problems.

His latest feature, Hard Truths, is set to hit theatres in the coming days.

"We've got the film, the budget's in place, we know how much time there is - and then I invite actors to take part, I usually have quite extensive auditions...most of the actors in Hard Truths are new to me."

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After a career spanning 60 years, British film-maker Mike Leigh is considered the godfather of British cinema.
He's got experience as an actor, producer, screenwriter and director - and he's used his platform to explore the struggles of ordinary people and their real-life problems.
His latest feature, Hard Truths, is set to hit theatres in the coming days.
"We've got the film, the budget's in place, we know how much time there is - and then I invite actors to take part, I usually have quite extensive auditions...most of the actors in Hard Truths are new to me."
LISTEN ABOVE

News, opinion, analysis, lifestyle and entertainment – we’ve got your Sunday morning listening covered with The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin on Newstalk ZB.

The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

Mike Leigh: English director talks about his 60 years in the industry - and latest film Hard Truths

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/b8c8929d-a86d-4f51-aac4-b29b0006290d/transcript

British newcomer Robert Aramayo was the talk of this year's BAFTA awards after he walked away with the Best Actor victory.

The leading role that saw him beat out Leonardo DiCaprio, Timothee Chalamet, and Michael B. Jordan was his depiction of  Scottish Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson in I Swear. 

Robert Aramayo and director Kirk Jones explained why it was important to tell Davidson's story in the most authentic way.

"I think it was a shared responsibility, really. We all felt that we wanted to make a good, authentic version of his life."

LISTEN ABOVE

British newcomer Robert Aramayo was the talk of this year's BAFTA awards after he walked away with the Best Actor victory.
The leading role that saw him beat out Leonardo DiCaprio, Timothee Chalamet, and Michael B. Jordan was his depiction of &nbsp;Scottish Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson in I Swear.&nbsp;
Robert Aramayo and director Kirk Jones explained why it was important to tell Davidson's story in the most authentic way.
"I think it was a shared responsibility, really. We all felt that we wanted to make a good, authentic version of his life."
LISTEN ABOVE

Kirk Jones and Robert Aramayo: director and lead actor of I Swear on the film's impact

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/3e3d2bc5-1c8a-4edd-968d-b41c000aa63d/transcript

The life and journey of former Prime Minister Helen Clark is set to be explored in a new play set to hit Auckland's ASB Waterfront Theatre this April.

Helen Clark in Six Outfits will trace her journey from the farm in Waikato where she grew up all the way to taking on the top role in the Beehive.

The play was written by Kiwi actress and writer Fiona Samuel - and she says she worked to find the story in the facts about the former Prime Minister's life.

"I did know that there was going to be humour in it, but I thought - humour alone won't get you through an evening in the theatre, you've got to have some substance. So what is the substance here? What are the moments, what are the other characters?"

LISTEN ABOVE

The life and journey of former Prime Minister Helen Clark is set to be explored in a new play set to hit Auckland's ASB Waterfront Theatre this April.
Helen Clark in Six Outfits will trace her journey from the farm in Waikato where she grew up all the way to taking on the top role in the Beehive.
The play was written by Kiwi actress and writer Fiona Samuel - and she says she worked to find the story in the facts about the former Prime Minister's life.
"I did know that there was going to be humour in it, but I thought - humour alone won't get you through an evening in the theatre, you've got to have some substance. So what is the substance here? What are the moments, what are the other characters?"
LISTEN ABOVE

Fiona Samuel: Kiwi actress and writer on her new play Helen Clark in Six Outfits

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/c4123716-8e79-4acf-9b97-b41c00032330/transcript

The Truth About Ruby Cooper by Liz Nugent. Liz Nugent is particularly good at writing about dysfunctional families - I first loved Lying in Wait and the more recently, Strange Sally Diamond. In this new one, Ruby and her sister Erin live a sheltered life in Boston, but when Ruby’s 16, something awful happens which sends shockwaves through the family and tears them all apart. Ruby builds a new life in Dublin where she spends decades trying to outrun the past, but it’s never far away and someday, somehow, there just might be a reckoning.

The Secret Society of Librarians by Kate Thompson. Historical fiction, based during WW2 with much of the story being recreated from actual events. It’s about a group of librarians from various places in England and Poland, who trained together and became very good friends - in particular, two of them - Joyce in London and Dorotha who’s incarcerated in a Polish ghetto, Despite everything which is going on around them, they’re determined to keep getting books into the hands of readers as a means of escapism and of comfort. 

LISTEN ABOVE

The Truth About Ruby Cooper by Liz Nugent. Liz Nugent is particularly good at writing about dysfunctional families - I first loved Lying in Wait and the more recently, Strange Sally Diamond. In this new one, Ruby and her sister Erin live a sheltered life in Boston, but when Ruby’s 16, something awful happens which sends shockwaves through the family and tears them all apart. Ruby builds a new life in Dublin where she spends decades trying to outrun the past, but it’s never far away and someday, somehow, there just might be a reckoning.
The Secret Society of Librarians by Kate Thompson. Historical fiction, based during WW2 with much of the story being recreated from actual events. It’s about a group of librarians from various places in England and Poland, who trained together and became very good friends - in particular, two of them - Joyce in London and Dorotha who’s incarcerated in a Polish ghetto, Despite everything which is going on around them, they’re determined to keep getting books into the hands of readers as a means of escapism and of comfort.&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE

Whitcoulls Recommends: The Truth About Ruby Cooper and The Secret Society of Librarians

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/c028153f-f6cf-4636-99ca-b41b01883b89/transcript

Mike Leigh: English director talks about his 60 years in the industry - and latest film Hard Truths

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