Barry Ronald Barclay,
MNZM
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for those ...
(12 May 1944 – 19 February 2008) was a
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
filmmaker and writer of
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
(Ngāti Apa) and
Pākehā
Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non-Māori New Ze ...
(European) descent.
Background
Barclay was born in
Masterton
Masterton ( mi, Whakaoriori), a large town in the Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand, operates as the seat of the Masterton District (a territorial authority or local-government district). It is the largest town in the Wairarapa, a r ...
and raised on farms in the
Wairarapa
The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service ...
. He was educated at
St Joseph's College, Masterton.
[Stuart Murray, ''Images of Dignity: Barry Barclay and Fourth Cinema''](_blank)
Huia, Wellington, 2008, pp. 7-8. He spent six years from the age of 15 in
Redemptorist
The Redemptorists officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer ( la, links=no, Congregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris), abbreviated CSsR,is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brother ...
monasteries in Australia and had begun training to be a Catholic priest in that order
when he returned to New Zealand and embarked on a lengthy career in film, television and media. Later in life, he was based in
Omapere, Hokianga, New Zealand before his death from a stroke at the age of 63.
Films
His early career in radio, then in film and television led to great recognition as a documentary maker in the 1970s and 1980s. His early experimental short documentaries ''Ashes'', ''The Town That Lost a Miracle'', and ''All That We Need'', led to an invitation to direct ''Tangata Whenua'', a six-part television documentary series that presented the language, culture and politics of New Zealand's Maori people to a mainstream prime-time audience (in 1974) for the first time. The series was made in collaboration with producer
John O'Shea
John Francis O'Shea (; born 30 April 1981) is an Irish professional football coach and former player. He was known for his versatility in playing several positions on either side of the pitch or the centre.
Born in Waterford, O'Shea joined Man ...
of
Pacific Films
Pacific Films is a film production company in New Zealand.
It is not to be confused with other companies with the name, including the film company in Hawaii that produced Phantom Below''.
History
The Pacific Film Unit was established in Welling ...
and historian and writer
Michael King. Barclay wrote and directed
''The Neglected Miracle'', a feature-length political documentary on the ownership of plant genetic resources.
The project was shot over two years in eight countries.
After this success, Barclay left New Zealand for a time to live in Europe. He returned to make ''The Neglected Miracle'', a documentary on the legal and societal challenges presented by assertions of ownership of genetic material, especially seed stocks, and an eponymous documentary on
Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...
, then-
Prime Minister of India
The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...
. After these documentary projects, Barclay collaborated with screenwriter
Tama Poata
Tama may mean:
Languages
* Tama language, the language of the Sudanese Tama people
* Tama languages, a language family of northern Papua New Guinea
Music
* Tama Drums, a Japanese brand manufactured by Hoshino Gakki
* Tama (percussion), a type of ...
on the feature film, ''
Ngati
''Ngati'' is a 1987 New Zealand feature film directed by Barry Barclay, written by Tama Poata and produced by John O'Shea.
Production
''Ngati'' is of historical and cultural significance in New Zealand as it is the first feature film written an ...
'' (1987), produced by John O'Shea. ''Ngati'' featured veteran Maori actor
Wi Kuki Kaa
Wi Kuki Kaa (16 December 1938 – 19 February 2006) was a New Zealand actor in film, theatre and television. He was from the Māori iwi of Ngati Porou and Ngati Kahungunu.
Family
Kaa was born in Rangitukia on New Zealand's East Cape. His fa ...
in the lead role of 'Iwi.' The film was well received at several international film-festivals, and attracted critical acclaim.
Barry's second feature film ''
Te Rua'' (Pacific Films 1991), concerns an iwi's attempts to repatriate stolen carvings from a German museum back to their rightful place in Aotearoa. ''Te Rua'' was a German/New Zealand coproduction, and is acknowledged as a more complex and less successful film than ''Ngati''.
The issues raised in ''Te Rua'' - of 'ownership' versus
'guardianship' would form the basis of much of Barry's subsequent work.
From the 1990s on, Barclay completed ''
The Feathers of Peace
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'', a documentary about the peaceful response by the Moriori people to invasion of the Chatham Islands, as well as ''The Kaipara Affair'', on the wide-ranging implications of dwindling fish populations and the effects from development in the Kaipara harbour.
His first book was ''Our Own Image'' (1990), about his film-making practices and the creation of Indigenous cinema. His second book, ''Mana Tuturu'', (2005) makes proposals about Indigenous intellectual property rights.
Recognition and Laureate Award
In 2004, Barclay received an
Arts Foundation of New Zealand
'The Arts Foundation of New Zealand Te Tumu Toi is a New Zealand arts organisation that supports artistic excellence and facilitates private philanthropy through raising funds for the arts and allocating it to New Zealand artists.
The concept ...
Laureate Award.
In the
2007 Queen's Birthday Honours, Barclay was appointed a
Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...
, for services to film.
After his death, Barclay's body was returned to Whangaehu Marae near Whanganui on Wednesday, 20 February 2008. His ''tangi'' (funeral) was held on Saturday, 23 February 2008.
Documentary on Barclay (2009)
A documentary on Barclay's life and work,
''Barry Barclay: The Camera on The Shore,'' (duration 102 minutes) directed by Graeme Tuckett and produced by Anne Keating, was completed in February 2009. It screened at international film festivals, and on
Maori Television Service in 2009 and 2012.
Filmography
As Director:
* ''The Kaipara Affair'' (2005)
* ''
The Feathers of Peace
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' (2000)
* ''
Te Rua'' (1991)
* ''
Ngati
''Ngati'' is a 1987 New Zealand feature film directed by Barry Barclay, written by Tama Poata and produced by John O'Shea.
Production
''Ngati'' is of historical and cultural significance in New Zealand as it is the first feature film written an ...
'' (1987)
* ''The Neglected Miracle'' (1985)
* ''Aku Mahi Whatu Maori'' (''My Art of Maori Weaving) (1977)
* ''Ashes'' (1973)
* ''Autumn Fires'' (1975) TV
* ''Hunting Horns'' (1975) TV
* ''Indira Gandhi'' (1975) TV
* ''Tangata Whenua'' (1974) TV Series
* ''The Town That Lost a Miracle'' (1972) TV
As Writer:
* ''
The Feathers of Peace
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' (2000) (screenplay)
* ''
Te Rua'' (1991)
* ''Aku Mahi Whatu Maori'' (''My Art of Maori Weaving'') (1977)
Books
* ''Our Own Image'' (1990, Longman Paul, Auckland)
* ''Mana Tuturu: Māori treasures and intellectual property rights'' (2005, Auckland University Press)
References
External links
Arts Foundation Profile PageFirst Nations biography page*
"Film maker Barry Barclay Dies" ''New Zealand Herald'', 19 February 2008. Online version of this article retrieved 5 June 2008.
*Drinnan, John (2008)
''Variety'' webpage posted 18 February 2008 (retrieved 5 June 2008).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barclay, Barry
1944 births
2008 deaths
Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit
New Zealand film directors
New Zealand writers
People from Masterton
People from the Hokianga
New Zealand Māori writers
Ngāti Apa people
Indigenous filmmakers in New Zealand
People educated at Chanel College, Masterton
Māori-language film directors