Dame Gaylene Mary Preston (born 1 June 1947) is a New Zealand filmmaker with a particular interest in documentary films.
Early life and family
Born in
Greymouth
Greymouth () ( Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The population of the whole Grey District is , which accounts for % of the West Coas ...
on 1 June 1947, Preston was educated at Colenso High School (now
William Colenso College) in
Napier.
She went on to study at the
Ilam School of Fine Arts at the
University of Canterbury
The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...
from 1966 to 1968, and then the
St Albans School of Fine Art in
Hertfordshire, England, where she completed a Diploma of Art Therapy in 1974.
Preston's sister is the pianist and songwriter
Jan Preston
Jan Preston is a pianist, composer and songwriter, known as Australasia's Queen of Boogie Piano due to her mastery of the 1930s boogie-woogie piano style. Originally classically trained, she has released over ten solo albums, often featuring her ...
.
She has one daughter, the actor
Chelsie Preston Crayford, who was born in 1987.
Career
Preston's first film was ''All The Way Up There''. As a producer she has contributed to the award-winning feature documentaries ''Punitive Damage'' (1999) and ''Coffee, Tea or Me?'' (2001) and ''Lands of our Fathers'' (executive producer). Her feature film ''Home By Christmas'' was a dramatised oral history based on her father's memories of his wartime experiences, contrasted with her mother's perspective. The music for the film was composed by her sister Jan Preston.
Her other feature films include ''Mr Wrong'', ''
Ruby and Rata
''Ruby and Rata'' is a 1990 New Zealand comedy-drama film, directed and produced by Gaylene Preston.
Plot summary
Ruby ( Yvonne Lawley) is an 83-year-old woman who has just failed her driving test and is worried about her ability to cope with da ...
'', and the mini series ''Bread & Roses'' (with producer Robin Laing). She was writer, director and producer of ''
Perfect Strangers'', a
black comedy
Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...
starring
Sam Neill
Sir Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill (born 14 September 1947) is a New Zealand actor. Neill's near-50 year career has included leading roles in both dramas and blockbusters. Considered an "international leading man", he has been regarded as one o ...
and
Rachael Blake
Rachael Morelle Blake (born May 26, 1971) is an Australian actress.
Early life
Blake was born in Perth, Western Australia. At the age of 18 months, she moved to England with her English parents, only to return to Perth at age 11. Blake was b ...
.
In 1982 Gaylene directed a documentary called