Waka Attewell: Cinematography highlights...

Cinematographer Waka Attewell is something of a legend in the Kiwi film industry. From landmark 70s TV series Tangata Whenua, he has gone on to climb mountains with Sir Ed; shoot commercials, shorts and six and a half features — including the acclaimed Starlight Hotel — plus direct Ian Mune doco In the Shadow of King Lear. 

In this ScreenTalk, Attewell talks about:

• The cinematographer’s role in taking viewers into a different world
• The watershed experience of being caught between cultures, while helping make landmark series Tangata Whenua
• Working with the late Barry Barclay on Tangata Whenua, and Barclay’s second feature Te Rua (on which Attewell shared cinematography duties with the late Rory O’Shea)
• Conquering frozen cameras for hit doco All the Way Up There, which chronicles a disabled climber’s dream of topping Mount Ruapehu
• The challenge of capturing Central Otago on film, while shooting road movie Starlight Hotel, whose look The LA Times compared to the classic Days of Heaven

This video was first uploaded on 14 January 2010, and is available under this Creative Commons licence. This licence is limited to use of ScreenTalk interview footage only and does not apply to any video content and photographs from films, television, music videos, web series and commercials used in the interview.

Interview – Ian Pryor. Camera and Editing – Alex Backhouse