Kiwi film-maker Barry Barclay dies (+video)

Fairfax Media

PIONEER: Kiwi film-maker Barry Barclay has died aged 63.

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Prominent New Zealand film-maker Barry Barclay - the first Maori to direct a feature film - has died of a heart attack aged 63.

Barclay, who was of Ngati Apa descent and lived at Omapere in the Far North's Hokianga district, was made a Member of the Order of New Zealand in last year's Queen's Birthday Honours.

He was appointed one of the nation's Artist Laureates in 2004 in recognition of his contributions to cinema spanning four decades.

Barclay was born in 1944 and raised on farms in the Wairarapa. He initially began training to be a Roman Catholic priest in Australia, but returned after six years.

After a brief stint in radio he began to hit his stride as a cameraman at a Masterton-based film company.

Barclay went on to direct dozens of trade films, TV commercials and documentaries. In 1974 he created the landmark Tangata Whenua series of documentaries, which depicted Maori life and culture.

The late 70s and 80s saw Barclay work mainly overseas, returning to write and direct 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.

Barclay became the first Maori to direct a dramatic feature with the 1987 film Ngati, which went on to win Best Film at the Taormina Film Festival.

His most recent film focused on the Moriori people of Rekohu (the Chatham Islands) in a drama-documentary called The Feathers of Peace.

Barclay also published Mana Tuturu: Maori Treasures and Intellectual Property Rights in late 2005.