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. State Highway 16 passes through the town, connecting it to Waimauku to the south, and Ka ...

, 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 University of Auckland Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries, Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries at the University of Auckland. It offered the first Bachelor of ...

, specialising in sculpture. He 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 (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

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. In 1978 he made '' Bastion Point: Day 507'' with

Merata Mita Merata Mita (19 June 1942 – 31 May 2010) was a New Zealand Filmmaking, filmmaker, producer, and writer, and a key figure in the growth of the Māori people, Māori screen industry. Early life Mita was born on 19 June 1942 in Maketu in New Ze ...

and Gerd Pohlmann, which he also edited and co-produced. 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 Aìlí, 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 an ...

) and ''The Humble Force''. He co-wrote and directed two feature films, ''Illustrious Energy'' (1987) and ''The Footstep Man'' (1992). 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 ...

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

Desperate Remedies ''Desperate Remedies'' is the first published novel by English author Thomas Hardy. It is considered a sensation novel because it contains themes of bigamy, murder, illegitimacy, blackmail, and impersonation. It was released anonymously by ...

'', 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 awa ...

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). Ho ...

'', the 2002 dramas ''

Whale Rider ''Whale Rider'' is a 2002 New Zealand 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-year-old Māori girl whos ...

'' and '' No. 2'' (2006), the 2007 vampire film '' Perfect Creature'', 2008's '' Dean Spanley'' and '' Rain of the Children'', 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 ofte ...

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 Cort ...

'', the 2013 drama ''

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

'', ''

The Dead Lands ''The Dead Lands'' is a 2014 New Zealander action film directed by Toa Fraser. It was number 1 at the New Zealand box office when it was released. It was screened in the Special Presentations section at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festiv ...

'' 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 Academic staff of the University of Canterbury People from Helensville {{NewZealand-film-bio-stub