#1: From interview [NZ On Screen, 2011]

#2: 2010

 

   


LEON NARBEY   NZCS

 

Born: 2 August 1947, Helensville [Auckland], New Zealand.

Education: Elam School of Fine Art, University of Auckland [ESFA] [Sculpture/Installation; one of his teachers was the photographer Robert 'Tom' Hutchins (1921-2007)].

Career: Made light installations for the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth [1970]. Directed music videos.

Member and president of the NZCS.

Appeared in the doc 'Riding the Wave: The Whale Rider Story' [2003, Jonathan Brough; ph: Sian Clement, a.o.].

Awards: As doph: New Zealand Film Award [1994] for 'Desperate Remedies'; New Zealand TV Award [1997] & TV Guide TV Award [1997] for 'Possum'; TV Guide TV Award [1998] for 'Duggan - Death in Paradise'; New Zealand Film Award [2000] for 'The Price of Milk'; New Zealand Film Award nom [2003] for 'Whale Rider'; Air New Zealand Screen Award nom [2006] for 'No. 2'; The Arts Foundation Laureate Award [2010].

As dir: New Zealand Film Award [1988] for 'Illustrious Energy'.


 

 FILMS

1971

Parallax [Leon Narbey] exp film; unfinished

1971

Earthworks - Temporary Instant in the Continuum of Universal Ebb and Flow [seg 'Desert Road New Zealand' dir by Geoff Steven] ?; exp short/12m; 8 seg

1975

Te Matakite o Aotearoa/The Maori Land March [Geoff Steven] 16mm/c; doc/60m

1977

Someday Morning [Leon Narbey] 16mm/c; exp short/3m; made for stage show 'Slaughter on Cockroach Avenue'

1978

Skin Deep [Geoff Steven] c

1978

In Spring One Plants Alone [Vincent Ward] 16mm/c; doc/43m; cph: Alun Bollinger; prod ESFA

1979

The Hammer and the Anvil [: A Trade Union History of New Zealand] [Gerd Pohlmann] c; doc/57m; addph: Steve Newman; prod DFFB

1979

Gung Ho: Rewi Alley of China [Geoff Steven] b&w-c; doc/50m

1979

The Humble Force [Geoff Steven] b&w-c; doc/50m

1979

Bastion Point: Day 507 [Leon Narbey, Merata Mita & Gerd Pohlmann] 16mm/b&w; doc/26m; + ed

1979

Karanga hokianga ki o tamariki [Merata Mita & Gerd Pohlmann] 16mm/c; doc/54m

1980

In Joy [Stephanie Beth] 16mm/?; doc/28m

1980

Queen Street [Martin Blyth] 16mm/c; short/34m

1981

Man of the Trees [Leon Narbey] c; doc/26m; + archive footage (1952)

1981

Patu! [Merata Mita] 16mm/c; doc/112m; co-addph; ph: Barry Harbert

1981

Flight 901: The Erebus Disaster [John Keir] c; doc/51m; cph: Donald Duncan & Dennis Clark

1982

The Bridge - A Story of Men in Dispute [Gerd Pohlmann & Merata Mita] 16mm/c; doc/57m; addph: Steve Newman, Roger Donaldson & Barry Harbert

1982

Australia's First Foreign War: The Waikato [John Laynton] c; doc/25m

1982

O.K., Let's Watch [Mort Schreiber] ?; doc/47m; cph: M. Schreiber & Lynton Diggle

1983

Every Dancer's Dream [Gregor Nicholas] c; doc/25m; cph: Alan Locke & Kevin Hayward

1983

Strata/Figures Beyond Glass [Geoff Steven] c

1983

Trespasses/Omen of Evil [Peter Sharp] c; based on tv-series 'Mortimer's Patch' (1980-81 & 1984)

1984

Other Halves [John Laing] c

1985

Napier: Newest City on the Globe [Peter Wells] b&w-c; doc/28m

1985

Drum / Sing [Gregor Nicholas] c; perf (with music-performance group 'From Scratch')/22m; cph: Alan Locke, Ian Paul & Stuart Dryburgh

1988

Beyond Gravity [Garth Maxwell] c; short/48m; also seg of 'Boys on Film 3'

1988

The Lounge Bar [Don McGlashan & Harry Sinclair] c; short/12m

1989

Just Me and Mario [Greg Stitt] 16mm/c; short/54m

1990

Ruby and Rata [Gaylene Preston] 16mm/c; 2uc: Fred Renata

1991

Red Delicious [Garth Maxwell] 16mm/c; short/15m

1992

Desperate Remedies [Stewart Main & Peter Wells] c

1994

I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry [Michael Hurst] c; short/15m

1994

Avondale Dogs [Gregor Nicholas] b&w; short/15m; 2uc; ph: Ian Paul

1994

Snap [Stuart McKenzie] b&w-c; short/15m

1996

Topless Women Talk About Their Lives [Harry Sinclair] 16mm/c; ph Ant's Film; ph: Dale McCready; feature version of tv-series

1996

Naya zamana/Modern Times [Mandrika Rupa] 16mm/c; short/10m

1997

Blood [Fiona Copland] DigiBeta/c; doc/47m

1998

Flying [Charlie de Salis] c; short/14m

1998

Savage Honeymoon [Mark Beesley] c

1999

Punitive Damage [Annie Goldson] s16/c; doc/72m; addph: Simon Riera, Ho Yuhang, a.o.; Dili Footage (East Timor, 1991): Max Stahl

1999

Jubilee [Michael Hurst] c

1999

The Price of Milk [Harry Sinclair] s35/c

200?

Like Minds Like Mine [Kevin Denholm] 16mm/?; doc/?m

2000

Camping with Camus [Alan D'Arcy Erson] c; short/11m

2001

Tick [Rebecca Hobbs] c; short/7m

 

[Left] - "Whale Rider"

 

2001

Whale Rider/Te kaieke tohora [Niki Caro] s35/c; vfx ph: Kevin Riley; uwph: Sigmund Spath

2002

Tangi - The Crying [Michael Bennett] ?; short/15m

2003

Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion [Tom Peosay] various-to-35mm/c; doc/104m

2004

Kerosene Creek [Michael Bennett] c; short/13m

2004

Perfect Creature [Glenn Standring] p/c; 2uc: Paul Samuels

2005

No. 2/Naming Number Two [Toa Fraser] s16-35bu/c

2005

The New Oceania [Shirley Horrocks] c; doc/73m; cph: Craig Wright; addph: Matthew Perry

2006

The Tattooist [Peter Burger] scope/c; uwph: Manning Tillman

2007

Rain of the Children [Vincent Ward] 16mm+DigiBeta-to-35mm/c; doc + dram seq/98m; cph: Adam Clark; addph: Rewa Harre; aph: Murray Milne & Blair Monk; uses footage from 'In Spring One Plants Alone' (1978)

2007

Dean Spanley/My Talks with Dean Spanley [Toa Fraser] s16+HD (ARRI D-20)-to-35mm/c

2008

The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls [Leanne Pooley] dv/c; doc/82m; cph: Wayne Vinten; addph: Rewa Harre, John Cavill, a.o.

2008

Dance of the Instant [- The New Dance Group - Wellington 1945-1947] [Shirley Horrocks] b&w-c; doc/80m & 46m; addph; ph: David Paul

2009

Art That Moves [- The World of Len Lye] [Roger Horrocks] c; short/18m

2009

The Man in the Hat [Luit Bieringa] c; doc/75m; 2nd cam (add footage): Martyn Williams

2009

Beat [Virginia Pitts] HD/c; dance short/15m

2009

Va Tapuia/Sacred Spaces [Tauti Tusi Tamasese] c; short/16m

2009

The Hopes & Dreams of Gazza Snell [Brendan Donovan] c; 2uc; ph: Tristan Milani

2009

Eeling [Peter McCully] RED-to-35mm/c; short/11m; uwph: Sigmund Spath

2010

The Winter Boy [Rachel House] scope/c; short/8m

 

[Center] with Tusi Tamasese [right] - "O le tulafale"

 

2010

O le tulafale/The Orator [Tusi Tamasese] c

2012

Giselle [Toa Fraser] HD (ARRI ALEXA + Canon EOS C300)/c; ballet film/104m

2013

The Dead Lands [Toa Fraser] HD (ARRI ALEXA XT + Sony F55) scope/c; addph: Grant McKinnon; filmed 2013-14

2015

Tom Who? The Enigma of Tom Kreisler 1938-2002 [Shirley Horrocks] c; doc/72m; cph: Ron Egozi & Adrian Greshoff

2015

One Thousand Ropes [Tusi Tamasese] HD (ARRI ALEXA)/c

 

 TELEVISION

1974

Rally '...like little boys in a man-size sport' [Tony Williams] doc/44m; co-2uc; ph: Alun Bollinger, Roger Donaldson, T. Williams, a.o.

1979

China's Patriot Army [Geoff Steven] doc/20m

1980

The Greatest Run on Earth [Sam Pillsbury] doc/?m; co-addph; ph: John Phillpotts

1985

A Fitting Tribute [Greg Stitt] tvm/29m; ep #3 of 7-part series 'About Face' (1986)

1985

Return Journey [Shereen Maloney] tvm/29m; ep #5 of 7-part series 'About Face' (1986)

1987

Kai Purakau/The Story Teller [Gaylene Preston] doc/28m/16mm; for Thames-tv

1990

A Little Film About Tivaevae: Cook Island Quilting [Meg Sheffield] doc/24m; cph: Darryl Ward; for BBC-tv (Open University)

1990

Linda's Body [Harry Sinclair] tvm/24m

1991

Pleasures and Dangers [: Artists of the '90s] [Shirley Horrocks] doc/52m

1993

Act of Murder [Shirley Horrocks] doc/48m/16mm; ep series 'Work of Art'

1993

Expressions of Freedom [Kerry Fowler] doc/?m; ep series 'Work of Art'

1994

Flip & Two Twisters [Shirley Horrocks] doc/b&w-c/46m; ep series 'Work of Art'

1994

Peter Peryer: Portrait of a Photographer [Greg Stitt] doc/b&w-c/29m; ep series 'Work of Art'

1995

Putting Our Town on the Map [Shirley Horrocks] doc/43m/v

1996

Kiwiana [Shirley Horrocks] doc/46m

1996

Kiwiana - kiwi as! [Shirley Horrocks] doc/43m; sequel to 'Kiwiana'

1996

Transformers [Shirley Horrocks] doc/30m; ep series 'Work of Art'

1996

Coal Face/Coalface [Greg Stitt] tvm/47m/BetaSP

1997

Possum [Brad McGann] tvm/19m

1997

Velvet Dreams [Sima Urale] doc/b&w-c/46m/DigiBeta; ep series 'Work of Art'

1997

Duggan [ep #0 'Death in Paradise' dir by Yvonne Mackay] tvm/s16; 2uc: Sean O'Donnell & James Cowley

1998

Duggan [ep #1 'Sins of the Father' dir by Yvonne Mackay] tvm/s16; 2uc: Sean O'Donnell & Waka Attewell; 12-part series, 1998-99

1999

Duggan [ep #3-4 'A Shadow of Doubt, Part 1 & Part 2' dir by Yvonne Mackay] see 1998

2000

Clare [Yvonne Mackay] tvm

2001

Early Days Yet [: A Profile of the Poet Allen Curnow] [Shirley Horrocks] doc/73m; addph: Craig Wright, Alan Locke & Stephen Delaney

2004

Marti: The Passionate Eye [Shirley Horrocks] doc/73m; co-addph; ph: Craig Wright

 

With dir Paul Swadel [right] - "Colin McCahon: I Am"

 

2004

Colin McCahon: I Am [Paul Swadel] doc/b&w-c/72m/16mm+s8+mdv+DigiBeta-to-?; cam Australian crew: Andrew Wallace & Craig Donaldson

2005

Who Laughs Last? [: A Documentary About Roger Hall] [Shirley Horrocks] doc/25m; cph: Stephen Press, David Paul & Matthew Perry

2005

Reflections - Gretchen Albrecht [John & Karen Bates] doc/70m; addph; ph: Swami Hansa; ep TV One 'Artsville'-series

2007

The Big Picture [: A History of New Zealand Art] [Paul Swadel] 6-part doc series; cph: Andrew Commis; for TV One

2007

Questions for Mr Reynolds [Shirley Horrocks] doc/64m/dv; cph: Craig Wright; ep TV One 'Artsville'-series

2007

The Comics Show [Shirley Horrocks] doc/50m; cph: Craig Wright; addph: Matthew Perry & Frederic de Poncharra; ep TV One 'Artsville'-series

2008

Life's a Riot [Ian Mune] tvm; ep series 'Sunday Theatre' (2009)

 

 MISCELLANEOUS

1975

The Games Affair [Bruce Clark; 6-part tv-series] co-c.asst; ph: Paul Leach

1993

Bread and Roses [Gaylene Preston; 4-part tv-miniseries & feature film] co-c.op; ph: Allen Guilford

2013

Restoring Hope [Eugene Carnachan & Julia Parnell; tv-doc/52m (for Māori-tv)] co-c.op; ph: Dominic Fryer

 

 FILMS AS DIRECTOR

1968

Room One [exp short/4m; + ed] ph: Rodney Charters; based on a light installation by L. Narbey; prod ESFA

1968

Room Two [exp short/5m] ph: Rodney Charters & Robert Hutchins; based on a light installation by L. Narbey; prod ESFA

1970

A Film of Real Time: A Light Sound Environment [exp short/9m] ph: Robert Hutchins; prod ESFA

1971

Parallax [+ ph] unfinished

1977

Someday Morning [+ ph] see Films

1979

Bastion Point - Day 507 [co-d: Merata Mita & Gerd Pohlmann; + ph/ed] see Films

 

 

1981

Man of the Trees [+ ph] see Films

1987

Illustrious Energy/Dreams of Home [feature; + co-scrpl] ph: Alan Locke

1991

The Footstep Man [feature; + co-scrpl] ph: Allen Guilford

1996

Visible Evidence [tv-doc/47m] ph: John Christoffels; ep series 'Work of Art'