When it comes to innovative performance, designer and theatre maker Martyn Roberts is something of a quiet tour de force. This season he's been juggling work on no less than five new Aotearoa New Zealand shows for the Dunedin Arts Festival.

Hans Zimmer is one of Hollywood's most prolific film composers scoring more than 100 films. Some of the most beloved iconic soundtracks include Interstellar, Gladiator, Inception and The Lion King. Dr Dan Golding, Andrew Pogson and Nicholas Buc host the podcast The Art of the Score in which they dicuss, analyse, play music and revel in the best film scores. They'll be presenting Art of the Score: The Music of Hans Zimmer alongside the Auckland Philharmonia in Tamaki Makaurau on Friday 4 April. Dr Dan Golding is a critic and academic while Andrew Pogson is a producer, director and the founder of Concert Lab and they both speak to Culture 101's Perlina Lau about celebrating the music of Zimmer and why his sound has become the backdrop of our film lives.

For our regional wrap today we're visiting Nga Motu New Plymouth to catch up with Theresa Tongi - Pacific Program Coordinator at the Govett-Brewster Gallery and co-curator of Lalaga: Le Hui Fono. Lalaga: Le Hui Fono is an exhibition and events committed to deepening relationships with Pasifika artists and community in Taranaki and across Te Moana nui a Kiwa. Theresa Tongi is a multi-media artist, a mother, and also the founder of Autism Connex - Takiwaatanga Whakamaanawatia!

In poet Amy Marguerite's impressive debut collection over under fed she explores, "the peculiar loveliness and specific loneliness of the human condition."

Today many of us have a fancy camera built into the phones in our pockets. These digital cameras do a lot of the creative work automatically for us. Which has led to a resurgence in interest in the opposite: vintage camera lens with a diverse range of glasses, that can be manipulated manually.

Author, writer and speaker Emily Writes has amassed a huge following online and readership. She first found an audience after writing a blog post in 2015 about struggling to settle her newborn baby at 3am in the morning. It clearly struck a chord. Since then, she's written three books about parenting; the first in 2017 called Rants in the Dark which has been turned into a play. Emily now has a twice-weekly newsletter on Substack with more than 19,000 subscribers. She joins Culture 101 for Fast Favourites sharing her favourite newsletters. First she recommends Truly Melody Deeply, poet Tusiata Avia, Melanie Nelson who analyses politics, Te Tiriti and the environment, Melanie Newfield's The Turnstone, which breaks down science to make it accessible and finally, Dr Bex, who writes about social psychology and food insecurity in Aotearoa.

There have been major changes this week at Whanau Marama New Zealand International Film Festival which is set to kick off in just a few months. The board has disestablished the positions of three key staff: executive director Sally Woodfield, Head of programming Michael McDonnell and part-time finance and HR manager Kirsten Dowsett.

What started as a look at the worldwide appropriation, exploitation and debasement of Native American culture, turned into a study of its rich influence on fashion, sports, politics and environmentalism. Or as Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond cheekily asks in 2024 Canadian documentary Red Fever, "Why do they love us so much?!"

Each week Culture 101 puts the spotlight on a different part of the country for our regional wrap. This week we're in the Thames-Coromandel area at Mercury Bay. There's a vibrant hub of artists and a thriving community. Mercury Bay Art Escape started in 2006 as a cultural weekend, but has now developed into a larger event with 57 artists participating this year. Locals volunteer and it's a chance for people to visit the region and artists studios from Tairua to Whangapoua. With many well-known beaches in the region including Cathedral Cove and Cooks Beach, it's a popular tourist spot come summer time. Hot Water Beach local and Mercury Bay Art Escape Trustee Sally Samins speaks to Culture 101.

It's been almost 40 years of the iconic Dunedin label Nom*d. Launched in 1986, the label has proudly stayed based in Dunedin for the past four decades. To mark the occasion a retrospective exhibition is being held at Dunedin Public Art Gallery opening Saturday 29 March alled This is Nom*d. Known for its dark aesthetic, vintage and avant-garde style, the exhibition will feature 20 archival looks showcasing Nom*d's evolution and its legendary influence on New Zealand fashion. It'll also highlight the label's deep ties with artists, musicians and filmmakers. Founder, creative director and designer Margi Robertson spoke to Culture 101's Perlina Lau about Japanese inspiration, the legendary 1999 London Fashion Week and facing challenges in the NZ fashion industry.