RAIL:LINES
Our small stories are precious and this is what we have to do, so we will do it.
Three poets, three bikes, five nearly forgotten old halls and the Central Otago Rail Trail
This documentary follows poets Laura, Liz & Annabel as they ride the rail trail and perform in the historic town halls along the way.
In late 2020, performance poets Liz Breslin, Laura Williamson and Annabel Wilson set out on their e-bikes on the Otago Central Rail Trail on a ‘spoke’n’word tour’ (see what they did there?).
They packed amps, mics and notebooks into trailers and pedalled the length of the Rail Trail, performing in the historic halls along the way. It was a poetry tour like no other: emission-free, muddy and rowdy, against a backdrop of otherworldly landscapes.
rail: lines the film is a documentary tour of their experience, with footage (why do they call it footage?) of the shows in each hall and of the landscapes of the Rail Trail, overlaid with conversation, with poems and with original music by Laura Williamson and Angela Mote. It will spin your wheels.
Rail:lines: Doco-Short
Release date: November 2021
Director: Joe Murdie
Producer: Erin Murdie
Cinematographer: Joe Murdie
Editor: Joe Murdie