Waka Attewell – cinematography highlights
Cinematographer Warrick ‘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. These days he is also known as a commentator on screen matters, who often says the things others are too scared to say.
In this ScreenTalk interview we’ve picked out a few highlights from the three decades Attewell has been in the game.
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 screen classic Days of Heaven
This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence
Credits: Direction and Interview – Ian Pryor. Camera and Editing – Alex Backhouse
NZ ON SCREEN 2012