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The Mighty Civic
Television (Excerpts) – 1988
The Mighty Civic offered a delirious and colourful celebration of Auckland's grandest old movie palace, made at a time when the building's future was under threat. The film uses a mixture of stylised sequences, archive footage, personal memories and poetic narration to evoke the spirit of the theatre in its heyday. Director Peter Wells' film galvanised public support, and ultimately the building was saved and refurbished, to remain the crown jewel of Queen Street's cinema district. This clip features the first 10 minutes of the hour long film. Costa Botes writes about the film here.
Key Cast & Crew
See all 11 credits
Produced by
James Wallace Productions
Acknowledgements
Made with funding from the Short Film Fund of the NZ Film Commission, in association with TVNZ Commissioned Independent Productions
Categories
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The Civic features in this excerpt
Constance
The Civic imagined in its heyday
Desperate Remedies
A film co-directed by Peter Wells
The Elegant Shed - 'The Extroverts'
A series on NZ architecture
Good Intentions
A personal postcard of Auckland by Peter Wells
About Face - Jewel's Darl
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One of Them!
Directed by Stewart Main from a Peter Wells story
Georgie Girl
Directed by Peter Wells
A Death in the Family
A drama directed and written by Peter Wells
Auckland City Centenary – Last, Loneliest, Loveliest
A hundred years of New Zealand’s biggest city
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A short documentary on another Auckland institution
The Reel People of New Zealand
A documentary about NZ cinemas
Edifice
A documentary on heritage New Zealand buildings
Heartland - Queen Street
Includes a visit to the Civic Theatre by Gary McCormick
Making New Zealand - Construction
More on the Civic Theatre