Shirley Horrocks is director, producer and screenwriter of Paul Callaghan: Dancing With Atoms screening at this year's NZ International Film Festival.
What was the best birthday present you ever received, and why?
On my 10th birthday my parents gave me Prince, a blue roan cocker spaniel, and that little dog remained my best friend until I got married (at the age of 18).
What smell do you find irresistible?
A smell I particularly like is Daphne, which I also associate with childhood, since there was a Daphne bush outside my bedroom window.
What is your least favourite thing about humanity?
Racism, which takes so many forms, and persists in so many parts of the world.
What is one strong childhood memory?
The first film I saw (taken as a treat by my parents) was Walt Disney's Bambi. I was terrified by the scene where Bambi lost his mother, and for weeks I had bad dreams about that!
What is your message?
In my film Paul Callaghan: Dancing with Atoms, I have two messages: first, that my subject was an extraordinary New Zealander who ought to be a household name. What a personality and what an amazing life!
Underlying that is another idea, that science is an absolutely fascinating subject, if someone as eloquent as Callaghan is on hand to explain its mysteries to us; for example, to introduce us to the strange dance of atoms.
