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| Issue 56: Summer 2006/07 |
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Täiki Ngäpara
As part of The Film Archive’s Twenty Fifth Anniversary celebrations, an awards evening was held to honour five people who have contributed significantly to the Film Archive and to the film industry in New Zealand.
The inaugural awards, were named Täiki Ngäpara by linguist and former Board member Professor Timoti Karetu.
All five recipients were delighted to receive their awards during an evening shared with family, invited guests and staff who packed the Archive’s cinema. The specially commissioned awards were designed by Auckland sculptor Mary-Louise Brown and presented by the Honorable Mahara Okeroa, Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage.
Award recipients were Doug Eckhoff, Ron Ritchie, Bill Sheat, Ramai Hayward and Witarina Harris. During the ceremony the following citations were read.
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Doug Eckhoff.
Photo: Himiona Grace |
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As general manager of the National Film Unit, the government’s film laboratory and production department, Doug Eckhoff attended the 1980 planning meetings which created the New Zealand Film Archive. He was a Board member from the first recorded meeting, and has been a Board member non-stop since that time – the only person to have continuously served as a Trustee from when the organisation began to the present day. Under his leadership, the Film Unit became a major supporter of the Film Archive from its inception, providing free vault space, depositing many films, and providing processing facilities which helped save the threatened nitrate collections. As the longest-serving Board member of the Film Archive, Doug Eckhoff has brought continuity and stability to decision making. He is also president of the Convocation, the Film Archive’s watchdog which was established by the bicultural constitution in 1999.
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Ron Ritchie.
Photo: Jamie Lean |
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Ron Ritchie’s commitment to film culture began in the 1940s when he was an early committee member of the newly-formed Wellington Film Society and the New Zealand Federation of Film Societies, an involvement which he continued, in many leading capacities for more than three decades. He represented the film society movement at the 1980 planning meetings which established the Film Archive, and was then a founding member of the Board and the Film Archive’s first treasurer. He served as a most active and thorough Trustee till 1999, after which time he continued to serve as a Convocation member. His influence on the course of the Film Archive’s life over 25 years has been enormous.
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Bill Sheat.
Photo: Himiona Grace |
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Bill Sheat’s involvement with New Zealand film began in the 1960s when he met John O’Shea and helped with the financing of Runaway. In the late 1960s and early 1970s as chair of the Arts Council, he led the way in establishing the first regular funding of grants to assist film makers; and he also spurred the
commissioning of reports which led to the creation of the New Zealand Film Commission. As chairman of the interim body which was appointed to draft the legislation to establish the Commission, he ensured that wording was included which would give legislative approval for a Film Archive. Then as first chairman of the Film Commission he provided the leadership which was necessary to establish the Trust which in turn created the Film Archive. During the second half of the 1990s he was instrumental in creating the structure of the Convocation, of which he has been a member since its inception. His initiatives and foresight continue to be an integral part of the organisation.
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Ramai Hayward.
Photo: Himiona Grace |
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Ramai Hayward’s commitment to New Zealand film spans seven decades. She became a movie star in 1939 in Rewi’s Last Stand produced and directed by Rudall Hayward. Of this production, John Grierson said, “It was more important that New Zealanders should have produced that film than they should see a hundred films from Hollywood.” She then began a film making partnership with Rudall Hayward that lasted for more than 30 years, and resulted in a unique collection of documentaries made together in many parts of the world, as well as the feature film To Love a Mäori. Ramai Hayward became one of the Film Archive’s most significant benefactors when she deposited the Hayward collection of films made by and with her husband from the 1920s onwards. This personal action ensured the survival of a national collection of unique importance.
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Witarina Harris.
Photo: Himiona Grace |
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Witarina Harris became one of New Zealand’s first movie stars in 1929 when she was chosen for the lead role in the movie Under the Southern Cross, also known as The Devil’s Pit. She gave a luminous performance, but chose not to pursue a film career. Then, in the early 1980s, soon after the Film Archive was established, her film was rediscovered and her work was recognised by Archive director Jonathan Dennis who invited her to become the organisation’s kaumatua. In this influential role she travelled with him and other staff into her 90s, not only throughout New Zealand but also to international film festivals where she introduced audiences to treasures from the Film Archive’s collection. Even in her 101st year, she continues to give unstinting support to the Film Archive’s Te Hokinga Mai programme.
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SEAPAVAA
SEAPAVAA (Southeast Asia-Pacific Audiovisual Archive Association) is the pre-eminent association of audiovisual archivists in this region of the world.
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SEAPAVAA conference venue, the Shine Dome, Australian National University.
Photo: Himiona Grace |
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The 2006 conference Access Advocacy and Accountability was held in Canberra in mid November and co-hosted by the New Zealand Film Archive and Australia’s
National Film and Sound Archive.
Jamie Lean the NZFA’s Kaihautu, Director of Operations is a member of the SEAPAVAA Executive Committee. As Secretary General of SEAPAVAA Jamie was heavily involved in conference coordination, as well as acting as an MC and discussion panel convenor during conference week.
A diverse group of delegates represented countries such as Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, the Philippines, Fiji, and The Solomon Islands. The New Zealand Film Archive was represented by a contingent of 10, all of whom, were involved in workshops or presenting papers.
The varied conference program included a symposium, workshops, panel discussions, a book launch and screenings, as well as networking functions and institutional visits. The keynote address, Four Unsatisfactory Answers to the Question of Digital Access was given by Paolo Cherchi Usai, Director of the NFSA. Notable speakers included Mark Nizette of the Australian National University Centre for UNESCO and Jim Lindner of Media Matters USA.
Client Services Manager, Bronwyn Taylor, began the Archive’s contribution with a well-received paper about handling commercial access inquiries and the most effective ways to communicate the differences between a footage library and Film Archive. Bronwyn’s presentation inspired much discussion and questions and comments ran well over time.
Of particular interest to the Australian delegates, who must also consider the customs of their indigenous people was Poutakawaenga, Himiona Grace’s explanation of the impetus for, and development of, the Archive’s bicultural constitution, and Te Hokinga Mai Programme.
Registrar, Virginia Callanan introduced the delegates to the NZFA’s online catalogue and public reference library.
The average monthly number of catalogue searches is 1,500 and staff field around 60 catalogue-generated emails a month. The Mediaplex library operates for 5 hours a day, 6 days a week and has an average of 90 patrons a week. Dealing with a steady stream of enquiries in an effi cient and thorough way is a subject of the utmost importance to any archive.
Some members of SEAPAVAA have vast geographical areas to cover and many millions of people for which to cater, The Philippines, for example, has over 7000 islands, while in Australia, pockets of the population are extremely remote, so it was with intense interest that the delegates listened to the presentations of Diane McAllen, Diane Pivac and Auckland Manager of Operations, Michael Brook.
Almost all members of SEAPAVAA have national archives in some shape or form. Like most of the cultural organisations, many of these film archives will have a large headquarters based in either their country’s capital or major city. The Film Archive established a regional office in Auckland in 1999.
The Auckland office of the Film Archive is heavily oriented towards public access. Holding screenings, exhibitions, running a research library and acting as contact point for people in the Auckland region for any Film Archive business. The conference was impressed when Michael Brook revealed that these things were achieved with only two full time staff members, and on a relatively small budget.
Diane McAllen followed with a discussion of exactly how the Archive delivers on its commitment to provide free public access to the collections, through its network of video access sites hosted by art galleries, museums, and libraries throughout New Zealand. Diane answered questions about selection of content and rights processes, relationships with host institutions, and presented the Archive’s proposal to move toward digital delivery for regional access: the Medianet Project.
Diane Pivac is the NZFA Web Project Developer and her paper Open All Hours detailed the importance of websites in the world of audiovisual archiving where ‘access’ is the buzz-word du jour. The website is an access success story, with general information, an events calendar, exhibitions and the catalogue available online, the Archive is open all hours – not just regionally, or nationally, but internationally 24/7.
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Alex Burton, manager, Education Programmes at the Australian War Memorial
Photo: Himiona Grace |
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Alex Burton, Education Programmes Manager discussed the creation of the On Disk programme launched, to much acclaim, in August of this year.
Many conference delegates have a particular interest in the Education Sector and have similar projects in mind so the presentation provided an opportunity to discuss issues of content selection, teaching resources and permissions.
At the conclusion of the NZFA day in the spotlight a barbeque was hosted at Australian University House in celebration of our 25th Anniversary. Chairman of the NZFA Board, Mike Nicoladi welcomed guests and Himiona led a waiata, which proved extremely popular with the South-East Asian delegates.
Later in the week Louise McCrone attended The NFSA–run Magnetic Media Preservation workshop, which she described as “intense but extremely worthwhile”. Louise is putting her newly acquired skills to use already.
Archive Publicist, Rebecca Adams, took part in a writing workshop lead by Ray Edmondson of Archive Associates. The workshop covered a broad spectrum of archive communications, from writing a collection policy, writing for industry journals and writing for media to writing for politicians and sponsorship.
The SEAPAVAA conference 2006 proved to be a valuable experience for the NZFA representatives, as well as the skills gained in workshops delegates forged important relationships with colleagues and made plans for future collaborations.
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The Film Archive helps celebrate Auckland Heritage Festival and New Zealand Fashion Week!
The Auckland office of the Film Archive was once again pleased to be involved with the Auckland Heritage Festival 16 – 24 September 2006. An initiative of the Auckland City Council, Heritage Festival is a celebration of the city’s unique heritage and an opportunity to reflect on the rich and diverse history of Auckland City.
The Archive contributed three individual film programmes specifically curated for the Heritage Festival. The first, The Way it Was, showcased the city from 1917 with excerpts showing Flying School at Kohimarama, the Western Springs Transit camp, Auckland Zoo in 1930 and other compelling scenes.
The second programme, Auckland’s Historic Moments, included Sir Edmund Hillary’s return from Everest, the opening of the Harbour Bridge, the Beatles visit of 1964, the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and other significant events that helped to shape the city.
These screenings were held at the Auckland City Art Gallery and included live piano accompaniment from the wonderfully talented Tama Karena.
The third set of screenings, Fashion On Film, were held at the beautiful historic home Highwic and provided a fascinating glimpse into our changing fashions from the 1900s to the 1960s.
The Fashion on Film programme was curated at the request of the Newmarket Business Association who used the opportunity to host a cocktail event at the elegant Highwic. The co-incidence of both Fashion Week and the Heritage Festival made this an opportune time for the Film Archive to showcase some of its most beautiful films.
Finally, the Archive screened A Parcel for Britain a promotional film from 1948 about the Farmers Trading Company. Also part of Heritage Festival, this was included at a High Tea event held at the former Farmers department store, now the Heritage Hotel.
The Film Archive’s participation in Heritage Festival saw aspects of our moving image culture brought to an audience of over 1300. “We were delighted to have contributed so successfully to Auckland City’s long-term campaign to protect heritage areas and buildings and to encourage the public to celebrate their city’s unique heritage.” – Siobahn Garrett
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Wairoa Maori Film Festival 2006:
“The Technician’s Story”, diary by Johnny Morris
Thursday 19th October
7.00am Pick up rental station wagon, secure equipment to roof, leave for Wairoa.
3.30pm Arrive, drop luggage at motel then head for Takitimu Marae (one of the two venues where screenings are to be held).
Find Marae in full swing getting ready for Friday’s powhiri.
Unload equipment onto porch of meeting house.
Leave Jane Paul, National Programmes Manager, at the marae and drive to the second venue The Gaiety Theatre.
Have a quick chat with owners Geoff and Ellie, load up 2 portable screen cases, and...split jeans from rear to front, swear a bit, gaffer tape jeans up and return to marae.
Mark Sweeney our Education Project Developer and Monika Ahuriri, Kaiwhakaahu, arrive just in time to help assemble the screen and black out the marae windows.
6.00pm Marae set up is complete and I make my way to set up a video projection system at The Gaiety.
Cart gear up steep stairs to the projection box (located on old balcony of the theatre). Fire up projector. The image size is too big for the screen, even at minimum zoom. And the screen is 90m square (one of largest in NZ). Time to rethink setup. Find projection is OK two rows in from back of theatre downstairs. Luckily we find some empty lighting cases, drag them to the back of the theatre and build a 2.5 metre high platform for projector.
Race back to Takitimu to get long SVHS (picture) cable and extra power cables for Gaiety, where the projector is now 40 metres from the projection box.
Finally have cinema organised, go back to motel for food, sleep and another pair of jeans!
Friday 20th October
5.10am Me and my big mouth!! Told Geoff from The Gaiety that I was thinking of shooting the sun rising over Wairoa. So I am at the top of the hill in howling wind waiting for the sun.
9.00am Arrive at the Festival office to pick up films we are screening at Takitimu today. The films for the first session have been held up. Decide to show another selection.
10.00am Powhiri at Takitimu. Film as much as I can. Note to self, must design shoulder brace for camera as 4 kilo camera on end of arm is heavy.
2.00pm First session underway at marae. Phone goes off – problem with picture at Gaiety! Mark Sweeney takes over screenings and I sprint to the theatre. Picture is BIG on screen, in fact it pours on to ceiling and floor. Change zoom and projector position. Picture looks good. Note for next year: Make sure all DVD’s have aspect ratio on them. There seems to be a plethora of aspect ratios, some discs even have 2 aspect ratios in the one film!
Video Radio NZ interviewing Jane Paul and Barry Barclay as part of live coverage from Wairoa
Saturday 21st October
9.30am There is a technical problem with the first DVD, apologise to audience and play back-up title. Receive emergency phone call from Gaiety, sprint to theatre, fix another technical problem.
5.00pm Finished at marae for day. It’s Awards Night at the theatre but also the final of the rugby championship between Wellington and Waikato! Scoot down to the Awards after the game and get roped in to being follow spot operator for the Kapa Haka performance.
Sunday 22nd October
9.00am Today is the big day for the Archive, we have silent films at the marae in the afternoon and a silent feature at The Gaiety this evening. The electric piano (and pianist!) need to be shifted between venues.
Monday 23rd October
9.00am Last day and things have settled down. I even get to see most of The Waimate Conspiracy. Well deserving of a Festival award.
6.00pm Marae cinema packed away, screens ready to transport to Wellington. Wait for the final session at The Gaiety to finish so we can pack down the equipment there too.
9.30pm All packed down.
Tuesday 24th October
8.30am Car is finally packed and Archive team hit the road home. Oh, did I mention the Wairoa weather? It was sunny and warm most of the weekend.
4.00pm Back in Wellington. Howling gale, cold and wet. Unload gear and dream of a warm and friendly Wairoa. Boy, I hope I get to go back next year!
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A Good Sound Man: Robert (Bob) Allen (1925-2006)
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Bob Allen on Kapiti Island, looking for a good tui call for the 1950 Empire Games |
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Bob Allen started work in the film industry in 1943 when he took up a position with the sound department at the National Film Unit.
A dedicated sound-man, opportunities for his line of work were sparse here. In 1950 Bob married Shirley Tasker and they moved to Australia. In 1953 the Allens left for the UK.
Overseas Bob developed his career working with well-known directors and producers such as John Boorman, Fred Zinneman and Peter Brook. Based in Britain, Bob returned to work on some of our most well-known films, his NZ feature credits include: Solo, Bad Blood, Leave All Fair, Ngäti, Illustrious Energy, Crush and The Footstep Man.
The Allens returned home in 2003. Always a supporter of the Archive, from this time Bob became actively involved. With great sadness we farewelled Bob in July this year, and paid tribute to him with a season of seven of ‘his’ New Zealand features during November.
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25th ROUND-UP
Throughout the year the Archive hosted a number of events and activities under the banner of our 25th anniversary.
In July new prints of Patu!, Bad Blood and Ngäti screened in the Film Festival, along with a selection of short films from the collection. The features are the first three films in the New Zealand Feature Restoration Project being undertaken by the Archive. In print we have produced a series of limited edition postcards, a new brochure, Discover the Film Archive which not only gives a brief history of the Archive’s first 25 years but also details aspects of our operations such as deposits, commercial services, public programmes and screenings. The brochure was first released as an insert in the July issue of Illusions magazine.
September saw the launch of a new online exhibition, Tracking Shots: New Zealand Film History and New Zealand History on Film. The online updated the Film Centre exhibition Tracking Time: 100 Years of New Zealand Film History. Web projects developer, Diane Pivac, says “the exhibition adapted well to a web-environment and gives the viewer a lot more freedom to choose topics of interest than its chronologically presented predecessor. We’ve also included many more video excerpts and images which is really exciting.” The online version has expanded the themes of Tracking Time and includes a section, Flashbacks: New Zealand History on Film, which explores the Archive’s collection, by looking at moments in our history that have been recorded on film and video. Go to Tracking Shots
Throughout the year screenings celebrating our anniversary have taken place around the country. The Silver Screening in March officially launched the anniversary celebrations, since then screenings have taken place in Opotiki at the Silent Film Festival, at the Wairoa Mäori Film Festival, on the wild West Coast, in Rotorua and Omapere, to name but a few. Internationally we have screened Anzac Memories, a programme of WWI, films at the Imperial War Museum in London and The Bush Cinderella (1928) in October at Le Giornate del Cinema Muto in Sacile, Italy.
Producer and Archive convocation member, Robin Laing produced a 3-minute video, The Film Archive 25 Years, a montage celebrating the images and films rescued and restored by the Archive during its first 25 years. The video is screening at the mediaplex.
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TKS Sidey
Amateur film maker, 98 year old TKS Sidey, drove himself to a screening of his films at the Paradiso Cinema in Wanaka In October. Sidey deposited his remarkable collection of home movies and war coverage with the Archive some years ago.
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News Clips
Comings and Goings
The Film Archive welcomes Shane Farrow as the new Video Collection Developer and Emil McAvoy to the position of Digital Transfer Operator.
NO PASARAN – New Zealand & the Spanish Civil War
Over 300 people attended lunchtime and evening screenings of NO PASARAN. The series included two TVNZ productions from TVNZ Archive, The Spanish Holocaust (2003) from Televisió Catalunya, and the legendary Joris Ivens
documentary, The Spanish Earth (1936).
Film And History Conference
Archive cataloguer Kathy Dudding presented a paper at the XIII Biennial Conference of The Film and History Association of Australia and New
Zealand in Melbourne, Nov 16-20. In ‘Leaving Home: from the lounge room to the medialounge’ amateur experimental film was located within NZ
alternative film history. A highlight of her presentation was the little-known work of Arthur Richardson, whose abstract amateur films garnered a number of awards off-shore in the 1960s and 70s.
On Disk
The response to the On Disk Secondary Schools Library, launched on August 16, has surpassed all expectations. Order targets for the first twelve months have been achieved already and teacher reaction has been extremely enthusiastic.
The Lost Films of Asia
SEAPAVAA publishing project The Lost Films of Asia had its official launch at the National Film and Sound Archive in Canberra Australia in November. The book was edited by Nick Deocampo of the Philippines. Diane Pivac, Archive Project Developer contributed the New Zealand chapter.
In Ricordo di Jonathan Dennis
In 2002 the Giornate del Cinema Muto inaugurated an annual lecture in commemoration of Jonathan Dennis. The lecturers are people pre-eminent in a field of work associated with conservation or appreciation of silent cinema. This year’s lecture Time and Silence was given by award-winning British screenwriter Michael Eaton.
Italian Screening
Rudall Hayward’s The Bush Cinderella (1928) screened at the 2006 le Giornate del Cinema Muto, where it was exceptionally well received. “Most gratifying of all”, says Diane Pivac who attended the screening, “this was the first time, that we know of, that Bush Cinderella has screened internationally, it was wonderful to see a Rudall Hayward fi lm screening alongside its contemporaries, Hayward would have been chuffed that it compared so well.” Tama Karena played wonderful piano accompaniment for the screening.
Travel
In late October Chief Executive Frank Stark travelled to the Annual Conference of the International Federation of Television Archives in Madrid. The Conference focused particularly upon the impact of digital technology on the archiving of television programmes.
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