WWII projections extended until Anzac Day

Auckland War Memorial Museum extends WWII projections until Anzac Day

Auckland War Memorial Museum’s outdoor projections of rare archival footage curated by filmmaker Gaylene Preston are being extended by three nights due to the flood of requests to see the film centred on the 24th NZ Infantry Battalion.

The footage captures the journey of the 24 Battalion as they left New Zealand and carried out their war service on the battlefields of North Africa, Greece and Italy.

The 12-minute short film of archival footage and stills was commissioned by the museum as part of the 24 Battalion Association honours marking the end of the post-war organisation 65 years after it began.

Originally scheduled to run for over the weekend, the projections will now screen across the front wall of Auckland War Memorial Museum from tonight through to Wednesday night to commemorate Anzac Day. The projections will start from 6.30pm every evening and run on repeat through until 10pm.

Preston says although the brief was to make a film that captured the story of the wider Battalion, the story became very personalise through the use of still images of the Battalion members which are woven through the footage.

"This film causes us to relook at the images we're become so familiar with. Looking at the young faces of the men of the 24 Battalion, panning over the footage of the tanks rolling in, you can't help but wonder which of these boys came back," says Preston.

"It also brings home how foreign the whole experience must have been for these young men, transported from their life in New Zealand to another world in the midst of a war."

"This film recalls the sacrifices that were made and the bonds that were forged in war and that have, for many of these men, lasted a lifetime."

Preston, who is no stranger to using the medium of film to bring to life the stories of war on the big screen, says it was a real privilege to make this film for such a massive canvas.

"It's a rare privilege for a filmmaker to see their work on this scale. I hope the film offers the audience some insight into what those young men faced, which in most of our lives is just unimaginable."

"It's been a very rewarding project for me. I normally start with a personal story and go from there but in this case I was starting with the idea of telling the story of the whole Battalion, and yet, as we wove in the faces of the men, it became very personal."

The 24th Infantry Battalion was established in 1940 and during the following five years, around 3500 men - most from the upper North Island - served with it in North Africa, Greece and Italy.

The Battalion lost 522 men in fighting and more than 1500 men were wounded.

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