Leon Gordon Alexander Narbey (born 2 August 1947) is a New Zealand cinematographer. Born in

Helensville Helensville is a town in the North Island of New Zealand. It is sited northwest of Auckland, close to the southern extremity of the Kaipara Harbour. New Zealand State Highway 16, State Highway 16 passes through the town, connecting it to Waimauk ...

, Narbey was educated at the

Elam School of Fine Arts The Elam School of Fine Arts, founded by John Edward Elam, is part of the Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries at the University of Auckland. Students study degrees in fine art with an emphasis on a multidisciplinary approach. The schoo ...

, specialising in sculpture. Married Anita Janske Narbey (1944 - 2019) in 1966 and they had together two daughters Vanessa and Beatrix. He lectured at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

in 1972, before joining the

New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation The New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (NZBC) was a publicly owned company of the New Zealand Government founded in 1962. The Broadcasting Act 1976 then reformed NZBC as the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand (BCNZ). The corporation was ...

as a news cameraman. In the mid-1970s, he shot the Geoff Steven documentary ''Te Matakite o Aotearoa'', about the 1975

Māori land march The Māori land march of 1975 was a protest led by the group , created by Dame Whina Cooper. The hīkoi (march) started in Northland on 14 September, travelled the length of the North Island, and arrived at the parliament building in Welling ...

. In 1978 he made ''Bastion Point Day 507'' with Merata Mita and Gerd Pohlmann which he also edited and co-produced with them. Later he continued his partnership with Steven on three documentaries shot in China in 1979 including ''Gung Ho'' (about

Rewi Alley Rewi Alley (known in China as 路易•艾黎, Lùyì Àilí, 2 December 1897 – 27 December 1987) was a New Zealand-born writer and political activist. A member of the Chinese Communist Party, he dedicated 60 years of his life to the cause a ...

) and ''The Humble Force''. He co-wrote and directed two feature films, ''Illustrious Energy'' and ''The Footstep Man'', in 1987 and 1992 respectively. In 1990, he shot the comedy-drama '' Ruby and Rata'' for

Gaylene Preston Dame Gaylene Mary Preston (born 1 June 1947) is a New Zealand filmmaker with a particular interest in documentary films. Early life and family Born in Greymouth on 1 June 1947, Preston was educated at Colenso High School (now William Colenso Co ...

. In 1993, he was director of photography on the feature film ''

Desperate Remedies ''Desperate Remedies'' is the second novel by Thomas Hardy, albeit the first to be published. It was released anonymously by Tinsley Brothers in 1871. Plot summary In ''Desperate Remedies'' a young woman, Cytherea Graye, is forced by pover ...

'', for which he won the Best Cinematography award at the

New Zealand Film and Television Awards New Zealand film and television awards have gone by many different names and have been organised by different industry groups. As of 2017, New Zealand has relaunched a standalone New Zealand Television Awards after a five-year hiatus. The film awar ...

in 1994. In the 1990s Narbey worked extensively with documentary director Shirley Horrocks on productions including Pleasures and Dangers, Act of Murder, Flip and Two Twisters, and Early Days Yet. In 2000 he shot the romantic drama ''

The Price of Milk ''The Price of Milk'' is a 2000 New Zealand romantic fantasy film. It was directed by New Zealand actor and director Harry Sinclair. Plot In rural New Zealand, a farmer, Rob (Karl Urban), gets engaged to his love, Lucinda (Danielle Cormack ...

'', the 2002 dramas ''

Whale Rider ''Whale Rider'' is a 2002 New Zealand Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Niki Caro. Based on the 1987 novel ''The Whale Rider'' by Witi Ihimaera, the film stars Keisha Castle-Hughes as Kahu Paikea Apirana, a twelve- ...

'' and '' No. 2'' (2006), the 2007 vampire film ''

Perfect Creature ''Perfect Creature'' is a 2007 New Zealand horror/thriller film from 2007, written and directed by Glenn Standring and starring Saffron Burrows and Dougray Scott, set in an alternate universe New Zealand. The New Zealand release date was 18 Oc ...

'', 2008's ''

Dean Spanley ''Dean Spanley'' is a 2008 British comedy drama film, with fantastic elements, directed by Fijian New Zealander Toa Fraser. Set in Edwardian England, the film is based on an Alan Sharp adaptation of Irish author Lord Dunsany's 1936 novella ''My Ta ...

'' and ''

Rain of the Children ''Rain of the Children'' is a 2008 feature film written, directed and produced by Vincent Ward (director), Vincent Ward. It stars Rena Owen and Temuera Morrison. In ''Rain of the Children'', Ward further explores the subject of his earlier fil ...

'', the 2009

Topp Twins The Topp Twins (born 14 May 1958) are the folk singing and activist sister comedy duo of New Zealand entertainers Jools and Lynda Topp. They are known for their country music influenced style, live shows and television performances. They often ...

documentary '' The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls'', the 2011 Samoan film ''

The Orator ''The Orator'', also known as (Italian), (Etruscan) or (Latin), is an Etruscan bronze sculpture from the late second or the early first century BC. Aulus Metellus was an Etruscan senator in the Roman republic, originally from Perugia or Cortona ...

'', the 2013 drama ''

Giselle ''Giselle'' (; ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (, ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet (" ballet-pantomime") in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, ...

'', ''The Dead Lands'' in 2014, ''One Thousand Ropes'' in 2017 and in 2020 the film ''Whina''.

Awards

* Gold Award New Zealand Cinematographers Society for ''One Thousand Ropes'' (2017) * Silver Award New Zealand Cinematographers Society for ''The Dead Lands'' (2016) * Presented "Services to Cinema" Award at the Rialto Channel NZ Film Awards (2014) * Awarded the Arts Foundation of New Zealand "Laureate Award" (2010)

References

External links

* 1947 births Living people New Zealand cinematographers New Zealand film directors Elam Art School alumni University of Canterbury faculty People from Helensville {{NewZealand-film-bio-stub