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StephenDownes

  • Cinematographer
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Stephen Downes had never shot a film before he met director Robert Sarkies in an Otago University cafe. He wound up framing a trio of ambitious short films for Sarkies, followed by breakout Dunedin feature Scarfies (1999). With a zoology degree under his belt, Downes has mainly dealt with dramas of a natural kind. He has forged a globetrotting career as a wildlife cameraman and director — from filming wild monkeys in Sri Lanka, to poaching in South Africa, to discovering komodo dragons have venom glands. Downes is co-founder of Dunedin-based 5to9 Productions, alongside ex Natural History New Zealand producer Mark Strickson.

Screenography

Central to the Soul
2019 Camera Operator Film
Peacock's Day
2013 Cinematographer Short film
Wildlife Warzone
2013 Director, Cinematographer, Editor Series
Unesco Bid - Qatar
2012 Editor, Camera Operator Commercial
Dream 2030
2012 Editor, Camera Operator Series

Awards

2002 IWFF International Wildlife Film Festival at Missoula (United States)
Merit Award for Excellent Footage (shared with Mitchell Kelly, Earl Kingi, Rod Morris and Peter Young): for Ghosts of Gondwana

“The mainstay of my career has been animals. I always wanted to be a wildlife filmmaker and along the way drama happened.”

— Stephen Downes, in the press kit for 1999 movie Scarfies

Related images

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Behind the scenes on Scarfies: (left) cinematographer Stephen Downes and (holding the camera) director Rob Sarkies.
Kindly provided by Rob Sarkies
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Filming a bar scene with actor Taika Waititi, during the making of Scarfies.
Kindly provided by Robert Sarkies.