‘To Be or Not to Be’ is an 11 min documentary Directed by Jing Chen, the 11-minute “conversation” takes its title from one of the songs from Hurley’s 1994 album Reha.

He describes meeting the documentary makers as “wonderful serendipity”, saying they approached him while he was out busking in Auckland. “As we were working on it, I was amazed at how they were able to understand where I was coming from.”

The full story is featured in the Stuff entertainment section just last week.

Veteran Kiwi musician Luke Hurley the focus of a new short documentary

“The documentary also allows Hurley to pay tribute to the influence of his father Donagh. “He was very unusual. He had this whole middle-class cred because he was a surgeon but, at the same time, he was often heard to say that if he had had a choice he would rather have been a painter. I was very fortunate to have been brought up by someone who said, ‘if you want to be a musician Luke, go ahead and do it’.”

Hurley says he’s excited that, after more than 40 years, his father’s manuscripts are just about ready for publication, while he’s nearly finished his own latest acoustic album, which, he says, was “recorded in a shed in the middle of a field with a friend of mine”.

To Be Or Not To Be will debut as part of the Documentary Edge Film Festival’s shorts programme The Launchpad on Saturday, May 12 at 2.30pm at Wellington’s Roxy Cinema. It will also screen during the Auckland-leg of the festival on June 2. For more information, see docedge.nz