Barry Barclay

Ngāti Apa

1944 - 2008

Barry Barclay was born in Wellington and grew up on hill country farms outside Masterton and Martinborough. He attended primary and secondary schools in the Wairarapa. Between the ages of 15 and 22 he was a seminarian with the Catholic Redemptorist Order in Ballarat, Australia. Barclay returned to the Wairarapa and worked in radio for a year. He then worked as a cameraman for a Masterton film company for four years before joining John O’Shea’s Pacific Films as director of trade films, documentaries and television commercials. A documentary of that period was All That We Need, an energy conservation cinema documentary, which was the opening film at the 1973 Tehran Film Festival. Amongst Barclay’s most significant work of the 1970s was the Tangata Whenua series of documentaries about Māori life in which he worked with Michael King in directing and script writing. In the late 1970s and early 1980s Barclay worked on projects in Sri Lanka, London, Paris and Amsterdam. He returned to New Zealand and wrote and directed The Neglected Miracle which was a feature-length political documentary on plant genetic resources filmed in eight countries over two years. He directed the feature film Ngāti which won best film at the Taormina Film Festival and won four Listener Film and Television Awards. In 1991 he wrote and directed Te Rua - a film about reclaiming Māori artefacts from a Berlin museum. Barclay has written non-fiction articles and a publication on the relationship between film-making and taha Māori. He wrote a ten-page review of Māori theatre which is available at the NZ Film Commission. In 2004 Barclay received the Arts Foundation of New Zealand Laureate Award and in the 2007 Queen’s Birthday Honours, Barclay was awarded Member of the Order of New Zealand (M.N.Z.M).

Biographical sources

  • Interview and correspondence with Barry Barclay August 1992, 21 September 1998, and 12 April 2004.
  • Parke, Erin. "Kiwi film-maker Barry Barclay dies." http://www.stuff.co.nz/4407108a10.html 28 Feb. 2008.

    Films/Video

  • "The Town that Lost a Miracle." Dir. Barry Barclay. 30 min, 1972.
  • 16 mm documentary for television; James McNeish visits the Hokianga in search of the truth about the death of Opo the Dolphin.
  • "All That We Need." By Barry Barclay. Dir. Barry Barclay. 24 min, 1973.
  • 35 mm cinema documentary on energy conservation; a fable film in masks; Jane Campion is among those featured; opened the 1973 Teheran International Film Festival in the presence of the Shar and Empress of Iran; producer John O’Shea attended.
  • "Tangata Whenua. Spirits and the Times Will Teach." 1974.
  • "Tangata Whenua. The Great Trees." 1974.
  • "Tangata Whenua. Turangawaewae, A Place to Stand." 1974.
  • "Tangata Whenua. Waikato." 1974.
  • "Ashes." By Barry Barclay. Dir. Barry Barclay. 50 min, 1975.
  • Dramatised 16mm documentary on resignation based on the T S Eliot poem of the same name. Three women talk about their lives. Sam Neill featured in the role of a priest.
  • "Indira Ghandi." Dir. Barry Barclay. 50 min, 1976.
  • 16mm for television; a pilot program for a proposed series called ‘Women in Power’; filmed in India during the Emergency.
  • "Hunting Horns." By James McNeish. Dir. Barry Barclay. 6x30 min. 1976.
  • Film to tape for television: the late James Bertram tells of his days in China in the 1930s when as a left-wing journalist he met people like Mao and Rewi Alley.
  • "Autumn Fires." By Barry Barclay. Dir. Barry Barclay. 50 min. 1977.
  • 16mm documentary for television; Martyn Sanderson is taken into the pioneer days of the Hokianga harbour in the far north by way of the life and times of his old aunt Olive and a story she wrote about a woman who fell impossibly in love at 90. Losses, departures - and what of a younger generation?
  • "Aku Mahi Whatu Māori" [My Art of Māori Weaving]. By Barry Barclay. Dir. Barry Barclay. 40 min, 1977
  • 16mm film on master weaver, the late Rangimarie Hetet, commissioned by the Arts Council. In a breakthrough move at the time, Barclay takes the camera down into the household, treating the works as part of daily life the way Rangimarie and her family did.
  • "Mahaweli." By Barry Barclay and co-writer. Dir. Barry Barclay. 90 min, 1979.
  • 35mm feature drama shot in Sri Lanka; under the huge Mahaweli River Development Scheme funded by the World Bank and IMF, landless mountain villagers are shifted to the dry zone in the north to farm under the new irrigation scheme; the human cost is shown through the eyes of one young couple. [Political changes within the country forced the abandonment of this project a third of the way through the shoot.]
  • "The Neglected Miracle" By Barry Barclay. Dir. Barry Barclay. 95 min, 1984
  • 16mm documentary on the geo-politics of the genetic resources needed to sustain our major crops. Where do the genes behind potato or wheat come from, for instance? Who owns them? Billions of dollars are at stake. Filmed in Peru, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Italy, France, the Netherlands and central Australia.
  • "Ngāti" Dir. Barry Barclay. 90 min, 1985.
  • 35mm cinema drama; remote village life in a coastal Māori settlement in the 1950s.
  • "Te Urewera" Dir. Barry Barclay. 50 min, 1987
  • 16mm for television; a portrait of one of New Zealand’s national parks, seen through the eyes of the original owners, the Tuhoe people.
  • "Journeys in National Parks. Te Urewera." Dir. Barry Barclay. Prod. Neil Harraway. [Wellington, N.Z.]: BCNZ. Visual Production Unit, Department of Education, c.1987.
  • "Ngāti." c.1987.
  • "The Carving Cries." 1991.
  • "The Great Trees." 1991.
  • "Spirits and the Times Will Teach." 1991.
  • "Waikato." 1991.
  • "Te Rua." By Barry Barclay. Dir. Barry Barclay. Pacific Films. 100 min, 1992. An extract rpt. in Te Ao Mārama: Contemporary Māori Writing. Comp. and ed. Witi Ihimaera. Contributing ed. Haare Williams, Irihapeti Ramsden and D. S. Long. Vol. 3: Te Puāwaitanga O Te Kōrero: The Flowering. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed, 1993. 191-206.
  • 35mm cinema drama; young Māori set out to recover carvings stored in a museum in Berlin.
  • "Tangata Whenua. The carving cries." 1974. Released in 1997.
  • "Tangata Whenua." By Barry Barclay and Michael King. Dir. Barry Barclay. 6x50 min, 1974. The whole of the Tangata Whenua series was released by TVNZ’s ETV in 1998.
  • "Landmark 16mm film series for television in which Māori life is brought to screen in detail for the first time." This was a six-part series with the following programmes: 1. The Spirits and Times Will Teach: in three parts - a conversation with Ngakahikatea Wirihana; a discussion on moko with kuia who were tattooed; Herepo Rongo, kuia at Raglan. 2. The Great Trees: on leadership, shot at Te Teko and in Ngāti Porou. 3. Waikato: the Kingitanga, and a pokai at Waikato Heads. 4. The Prophets (Parihaka) & Ringatu. [Barclay notes that the Parihaka section was withdrawn some years later at the request of the families depicted in it, but the Tuhoe Ringatu section is as available] 5. Turangawaewae: Māori find a standing-place in the cities. 6. The Carving Cries: spiritual values, and the themes of the series brought together. The programmes were first screened in 1974, one programme a week over six weeks. The whole of the Tangata Whenua Series was released by TVNZ’s ETV mid-1997 in 9am screenings. Each programme included lengthy studio sessions featuring Michael King and Barclay being interviewed by Tainui Stephens. Robert Boyd-Bell was the Producer.
  • "The Feathers of Peace." By Barry Barclay. Dir. Barry Barclay. Prod. Ruth Kaupua Panapa. [Auckland, N.Z.,.]: He Taonga Films, c2000.
  • "The Feathers of Peace." By Barry Barclay. Dir. Barry Barclay. New Zealand Film Commission, 2001.

  • Non-fiction

  • "The Camera Remains Hidden." Tu Tangata 25 (1985): 41.
  • Barclay articulates his mixed feelings on returning to New Zealand after filming overseas. He is saddened that apart from Merata Mita there are so few Māori working in the film medium. He notes that there are very few Māori film crews and that while Māori are carving and painting, the camera "remains hidden."
  • "Ngāti: A First For the Māori: A Discussion with Director Barry Barclay." Illusions 5 (1987): 2-5.
  • Rongotai Lomas discusses with Barclay different aspects of the filming of Ngāti.
  • "The Control Of One’s Own Image." Illusions 8 (1988): 8-14.
  • This is an extract from Barclay’s publication Our Own Image. This article is addressed to the Chief Dan George Memorial Foundation in Vancouver and is a gift to those who looked after Barclay and Wi Kuki Kaa during their visit to Vancouver in October 1987. Barclay discusses various aspects of Māori film-making.
  • "Festivals: Film Festivals Hit Home." Onfilm 5.3 (1988): 20, 22.
  • Barclay describes his experience attending international film festivals with Ngāti and writes of the response to the film by tangata whenua in other countries. Barclay questions the lack of focus on New Zealand film-making and specialist sections such as "Recent Māori Films", a Polynesian perspective in the New Zealand film festivals.
  • "The Held Image." AGMANZ Journal 20.1 (1989): 4-9.
  • This is an extract from Barclay’s book Our Own Image, in which Barclay discusses working with the Natural History Unit of Television New Zealand and the problems encountered during the production of a 50-minute programme of Urewera National Park.
  • "Un Modo Di Parlare/A Way Of Talking." Written in English with Italian translation. Te Ao Marama: Il mondo della luce: Il cinema della Nuova Zelanda. Torino, It.: [New Zealand Film Archive - Le Nuove Muse (Torino)], 1989. 115-121.
  • This essay is largely drawn from Barclay’s chapter "A Fitting Companion", in his publication Our Own Image. Barclay discusses some of the unique issues he has faced as a Māori film maker and his process of using the camera to serve and respect Māori tikanga.
  • "Housing Our Image Destiny." Illusions 17 (1991): 39-42.
  • Barclay discusses issues surrounding the filming of Te Rua and its focus on "spiritual guardianship", and he notes the implications of a decision by the New Zealand Film Archive, Te Manu Aute, the Film Commission, New Zealand on Air and other film makers in 1990, to introduce the "mana tuturu protocol" into the New Zealand Film Archive.
  • "Amongst Landscapes." Film in Aotearoa New Zealand. Ed. Jonathan Dennis & Jan Bieringa. Wellington, N.Z.: Victoria UP with the assistance of the Film Programme of the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council of New Zealand, 1992. 116-129. Rpt. in The Writing of New Zealand: Inventions and Identities. Ed. Alex Calder. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed, 1993. 265-277.
  • Barclay discusses the different perspectives of landscapes encountered during his filming of various documentaries including The Neglected Miracle, and programmes in the Tangata Whenua series. He also examines the development of Māori film making since the screening of the Tangata Whenua series.
  • "Archives: An Image Treaty." Te Manu Aute 3 (1992): 2-3.
  • "Te Rua in Hawaii." Te Manu Aute 3 (1992). 3, 11.
  • Our Own Image. Auckland, N.Z.: Longman Paul, 1990. An extract rpt. in Te Ao Mārama: Regaining Aotearoa: Māori Writers Speak Out. Comp. and ed. Witi Ihimaera. Contributing ed. Haare Williams, Irihapeti Ramsden and D. S. Long. Vol. 2: He Whakaatanga O Te Ao: The Reality. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed, 1993. 322-329.
  • Barclay states in his Author’s Note that this seven-chapter publication emerged out of talks given during the screening of Ngāti at international film festivals. Barclay provides an indepth study on the relationship between film-making and taha Māori. He looks at definitions of Māori film-making, discusses problems of funding, and describes a four-week film-making training course he taught at the Hawke’s Bay Polytechnic, as well as other training courses in film-making.
  • "Māori Film Images - A Breakthrough?" Artlink 16.4 (1996): 24-25.
  • An article on film archiving and indigenous cultural property rights.
  • "Alistair In The Dreaming - A Personal Reflection On Māori Image Sovereignty." A Century of Film: Papers from the Conference ‘Cinema, Film and Society’, Wellington, October 1996. Ed. Margot Fry. Wellington: Stout Research Centre Occasional Paper 97/1, Victoria U of Wellington, 1998. 13-16.
  • An article about "working ‘within the Dreaming’, in particular, setting up a cinema documentary on Māori film making, and the philosophical frame-work of the Tangata Whenua series (the role in this of Nga Tamatoa, and the reality of non-Māori gate-keepers to funds for Māori work)."
  • "The Vibrant Shimmer." Contemporary Pacific: A Journal of Island Affairs 11.2 (1999): 390-413.
  • Keynote address given at the 22nd Pacific Island Studies Conference, Featuring Paradise: Representations of Pacific Islanders in Film and Video, 11 November 1997 in Honolulu.
  • "Film Schools in the Pacific, Asia and the United States." Nov., 2001.
  • Paper (slightly abridged) appendixed to a submission prepared by Jeannette Paulson Hereniko & Vilsoni Hereniko to the Steering Committee, UH Film School, November 4, 2001.
  • "John O’Shea and Māori: Not Man, Not The Books." Illusions Apr. 2002. No further details.
  • Recalls an incident at the conclusion of the edit of the first of the Tangata Whenua programmes.
  • "Celebrating Fourth Cinema." Illusions 35 (2003): 7-11.
  • A slightly abridged publication of a lecture given by Barclay at Auckland University’s Film and Media Studies Department, 17 September 2002.
  • "An Open Letter To John Barnett." Onfilm 20.2 (2003): 11+.
  • Barclay writes that this is "a response to comments made by Barnett on The Whale Rider in a celebratory interview in December Onfilm."
  • Mana Tuturu: Māori Treasures and Intellectual Property Rights. Auckland, N.Z.: Auckland UP, 2005.
  • "Tama Poata 1936-2005." Onfilm 23.2 (2006): 29.
  • "In Memoriam: Don Selwyn 1935-2007." Onfilm 24.6 (2007): 18-19.
  • "Doing Donuts on the Hokianga." Onfilm 24.7 (2007): 16.
  • "John Dempsey O’Shea: A Tribute." http://www.filmarchive.org.nz/archive_presents/pacificfilms/oshea_bb.html 28 Feb. 2008.

  • Other

  • "An Open Letter To Don Selwyn, Producer In 1993 Of Three Independent ‘Māori’ Television Dramas Under The Title Nga Puna." Onfilm February (1994): 9-10.
  • Barclay challenges Don Selwyn to employ more Māori directors for the Nga Puna series, and he particularly draws attention to Merata Mita who was the first indigenous woman to make a feature film. This letter closes with a song written by Barclay for Mita on her departure to Los Angeles in 1993.

    • Papers/Presentations

  • "Featuring Paradise: Representations of Pacific Islanders in Film and Video." 22nd Annual Pacific Islands Studies Conference. Centre for Pacific Island Studies, University of Hawai’I, Manoa. 1977.
  • In this address Barclay discussed "how film works by exploring invisibles; invisibles in the script writing and assessment processes; the ‘Geronemo’ factor; indigenous film as a rising gradient."
  • The New Zealand Film Commission and Māori Film-maker, February 1998.
  • Barclay writes that this is "a policy analysis of the Treaty of Waitangi and the Commission, of the non-presence of Māori in Film Commission documents, etc; and a statistical review of the participation of Māori producers, directors, writers, and actors in publicly-funded New Zealand films over the past twenty years". It is available at the NZ Film Commission.
  • Keynote Address. 10th Biennial Australia and New Zealand Film and History Conference. Wellington, N.Z., 2 Dec., 2000.
  • Barclay states that this address focusses on "the idea of ‘own-story’, stories that are ‘so closely ours we know them as ours without even having to think about it. We know they are ours and nobody else’s.’ This thought leading eventually to the idea of there being two own-stories in this country, one Māori, one non-Māori. Colin McCahon’s Urewera Mural is one sort of own-story; a contemporary exhibition of paintings by young Tuhoe artists is another…"
  • Discussion Paper; NZFC Māori Responsiveness Strategy, August 2001.
  • Barclay writes: "A paper to the Film Commission making a number of suggestions regarding its policy towards Māori and Māori projects as presented in its Strategy paper. Suggests renaming the intellectual property rights debate as ‘Tikanga Māori and the use of Māori intellectual treasures in films the Film Commission funds.’ Looks at the application of tikanga during the major film production stages. Concludes with exploration of racism allegedly inherent in the Film Commission Act, which, by not specifically naming Māori as beneficiaries of the fund, creates a race-based imbalance in what may be expected by applicants and what obligations the fund managers understand they have towards them."

    • Performing Arts

  • Potiki. April 1991. Adapted by Barry Barclay. A Screen Adaptation of Patricia Grace’s novel of the same name. Stored in Film Archive.
  • Te Rua. Stored in Film Archive.

  • Poetry

  • "Upon Hearing Gaylene Preston Is Making A Film On Hone Tuwhare." Onfilm 12.10 (1996): 6.
  • An evocative portrayal, written in the form of a dialogue between two Māori men at one in their culture and their dilemma of other cultural perspectives portraying Māori taonga.

    Other

  • "Barry Barclay." Internationale Hofer Filmtage 21 28 Okt-1 Nov 1987. Central-City-Casino-Cinema. Veranstalter: Cine Center-Hof e.v. Central Theatre:35-36.
  • Bennett, Kirsty. "Fourth Cinema And The Politics Of Staring." Illusions 38 (2006): 19-23.
  • Drinnan, John. "Barclay Plans New Feature Film, Te Potiki." Dominion 12 July 1991.
  • Edwards, Sam. "Cinematic Imperialism and Māori Cultural Identity." Illusions 10 (1989): 17-21.
  • Jokl, Gabriele. "Aspects of Māori Film-Making: Strategies of Indigenous Cinema and the Work of Barry Barclay." MA Thesis, U of Auckland, 1999.
  • May, Sue. "No More White-Wash." Onfilm Feb. (1984): 13-15.
  • Sue May interviews Barclay.
  • McNaught, Josie "Two Sides to Our Stories." Sunday Start Times 14 Nov. 2004: C15.
  • Norman, Gil. "Ngāti Director on Trail again at Cape Palliser." Dominion 10 May 1990: 1.
  • Reid, Graham. "Present Tense, Future Perfect." New Zealand Herald 10 Dec. 2001: B6.
  • "Six Northlanders Are Royally Recognised." Northern Advocate 4 June 2007: 1, 3.
  • Smith, Patrick. "The Life of Barry." Southern Skies Jan. 1992: 26-30.
  • Tuckett, Graeme. "The Camera on the Shore: Barry’s Legacy." Press 1 Aug. 2009: C.7.
  • Wakefield, Philip. "Barry Barclay: Answering the Call of Celluloid." Evening Post 6 Jul. 1991: 23.
  • Drinnon, John. "Filmmaker Barry Barclay dies: ‘Ngati’ director was 63." http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117981103.html?categoryid=25&cs=1 28 Feb. 2008.
  • Parke, Erin. "Kiwi film-maker Barry Barclay dies." http://www.stuff.co.nz/4407108a10.html 28 Feb. 2008.

  • Reviews

    Ngåti
  • Edwards, Sam. "Cinematic Imperialism and Māori Cultural Identity." Illusions 10 (1989): 17-21.
  • Ngāi
  • Gosden, Bill. "After Ngāti, the World..." Onfilm 4.4 (1987): 19-23.
  • Lomas, Rongotai. "A First for the Māori: Ngāti." Illusions 5 (1987): 2-5.
  • Martin, Helen. "Timeless Ebb and Flow." Listener 26 Sept. 1987: 71.
  • "Ngāti." Internationale Hofer Filmtage 21 28 Okt—1 Nov 1987. Central-City-Casino-Cinema. Veranstalter: Cine Center-Hof E.V.Central Theatre. 37-39.
  • "Ngāti: First Prize at Taormina." NZ film 32 (1987): n.pag.
  • "Ngāti Opens in Australia." NZ film 36 (1989): 7.
  • O’Shea, John. "Location Report: Brown for White." Onfilm 3.3 (1986): 42-44.
  • Parekowhai, Cushla. "Te Poho o Paikea: Barry Barclay and Ngāti." Art New Zealand 45 (1988): 75-77.
  • "‘True Original’ say Canadians." NZ film 35 (1988): 8.
  • Cahiers Du Cinema 397 (1987).
  • Listener 3 Oct 1987.
  • Our Own Image
  • Cleave, Peter. "Calling a Hui on the Communications Marae." Illusions 15 (1990): 45-46.
  • Poata, Tama. "Our Own Image." Te Iwi o Aotearoa 42 (1991): 11.
  • Tsoulis, Athena. Broadsheet 184 (1991): 43-44.
  • Tangata Whenua
  • Tangata Whenua. "Tangata Whenua." Internationale Hofer Filmtage 21 28 Okt -1 Nov 1987. Central-City-Casino-Cinema. Veranstalter: Cine Center-Hof E.V. Central Theatre. 40-41.
  • Te Rua
  • Te Rua. "A Feast of Films at Festival." Auckland City Harbour News 11 July 1991.
  • Te Rua. Baillie, Russell. "Passion but No Power." Auckland Star 15 July 1991.
  • Te Rua. Botes, Costa. "Pays to Be Early for Cinematic Exotica." Dominion 8 July 1991.
  • Review of 20th Wellington Film Festival and a discussion of Te Rua.
  • Te Rua. Calder, Peter. "Festival Gems Sparkle." NZ Herald 12 July 1991.
  • Te Rua. Calder, Peter. "Getting Away With It." NZ Herald 22 Nov. 1991: 3,5.
  • Te Rua. Chuah, Tony. "Home and the World: on Location of Te Rua." Illusions 14 (1990): 8.
  • Te Rua. Frewen, Tom. "Between the lines: Spin in Your Grave, Larry." NBR Weekly Magazine 26 July 1991: 38.
  • Te Rua. Knowles, Mark. "Fantasy and Reality Merge in International Festival Gem." Dominion Sunday Times 28 July 1991.
  • Te Rua. Mahy, Penny. "Ownership Question on Film." Christchurch Star 25 July 1991: 19.
  • Te Rua. McDonnell, Brian. "Viewing: Films Must Be Judged As Films." North South Oct. (1991).
  • McLennan, Peter. "My Life at the Movies Or How I Nearly Went Blind Watching Sixty Eight Movies in Sixteen Days." Stamp (July 1991).
  • Interview with Bill Gosden- Film Festival Director. Brief discussion of Ngāti and Te Rua.
  • McLennan, Peter. "Close to Home." Stamp 25 (1991): 10-11.
  • Menzies, Steve. "Barclay’s Te Rua Breaks Further from Tradition." Evening Post 31 Aug. 1989: 25, 26.
  • Morris, Deborah. "Lost Heritage is Latest Theme for Ngāti’s Director." Evening Post 6 Oct 1990: 18.
  • Munro, Robin. "Barclay’s ‘Te Rua’ Breaks New Ground." The Press 24 July 1991: 19.
  • "Passionate Thriller Set in Berlin and New Zealand." NZ Film 37 (1989): 8.
  • "Political Message in New NZ film." Auckland Sunday Star 30 June 1991.
  • Selwyn, Don. "The Passion of Te Rua." Onfilm 8.7(1991): 16, 18.
  • This includes reviews of Te Rua from other papers.
  • Thompson, Alastair. "Screen Dreams of a Latent Activist." Dominion 23 Nov. 1991: 9.
  • Wakefield, Philip. "Explosive Chemistry." Onfilm 8.6 (1991): 15, 17.
  • Wakefield, Philip. "Winter Festival for Film-Goers." Evening Post 14 June 1991.
  • Wakefield, Philip. "Feast of Movies to Be Savoured at Festival." Evening Post 4 July 1991.
  • "World Premiere for Mt Vic Director." Southern News 17 July 1991.
  • The Feathers Of Peace
  • Read, Lynette. "The Feathers of Peace." Illusions 31 (2000/2001): 2-6.