Ted (Edwin) Coubray
Ted Coubray was one of Aotearoa's earliest filmmakers to sustain a full-time career. In the 1920s he began filming local events for screenings in town halls around the Manawatū. He went on to shoot a number of feature films, including his own hit Carbine's Heritage. When sound hit the film industry in the late 20s, the inventive Coubray pioneered his own sound on film system, Coubray-Tone. He died on 10 December 1997. Image credit: taken from Geoff Steven documentary Adventures in Māoriland
Len Lye
Globetrotting New Zealander Len Lye was a gifted innovator in many areas of the arts — film, painting, sculpture, photography, and writing. Inventing ways to make films without a camera, he became one of the pioneers of the genre later known as the music video. Later he moved to New York's Greenwich Village and became a leading figure in the kinetic art movements of the 1950s and 60s.
Glyn Tucker
Being a big man with a “face like the map of Ireland” made him an unlikely starter, but in the mid-70s Glyn Tucker was one of New Zealand’s best known screen personalities. The larger-than-life character was a racing guru, and also a popular radio then TV presenter: his television roles ranged across sports commentator, punting pundit, crooner and light entertainment show host.
Michael Noonan
Michael Noonan is a legend in New Zealand scriptwriting, and not just because he was amongst the first to prove you could actually make a living at it. Creator of landmark New Zealand shows The Governor and Close to Home, Noonan's work has often explored ideas of power and social injustice.
Margaret Moth
Margaret Moth was the first female camera operator to be employed by state television in New Zealand. Her natural curiosity and desire to experience history as it unfolded led her from a career in local news and documentaries to working for American cable channel CNN, documenting war zones and major international events from Kosovo to Kuwait.
Colin McRae
In a career spanning four decades, director/producer Colin McRae has worked in news and current affairs, made documentaries and spent time as TV3’s Head of Sport. He conceived and produced award-winning series The New Zealand Wars. An association with Māori Television has seen him produce Native Affairs for six years, and play a leading role in its Anzac Day and election coverage.
Ruth Harley
Ruth Harley has been a leader and change agent across 30 years in the screen industry. She was commissioning editor at TVNZ, then the first Executive Director of NZ On Air. From 1997 she spent a decade as CEO of the NZ Film Commission, then crossed the Tasman to head the newly created Screen Australia for five years. In 1997 Harley was awarded an OBE, and in 2006 was named a CNZM.
Colin Tapley
Dunedin-born actor Colin Tapley found character parts gave his movie career longevity. Tapley argued that the average time for a leading man in 1930s Hollywood was seven years. He played supporting roles in pre-World War II Hollywood films, and after the war extended his career into the late 60s with performances in British movies and TV. His best remembered film is 1955 classic The Dam Busters.
Alan Morris
In a career spanning four decades, Alan Morris worked in radio and television in NZ, Australia, England and Europe. He turned his hand to announcing, copywriting, presenting and training, but at heart felt he was a producer and director. Morris was Director-General of TV One during the early days of two channel TV in NZ in the late 70s, and also held senior positions at the ABC and Associated-Rediffusion in the UK.
Anna Cottrell
Christchurch-raised Anna Cottrell is a prolific documentary maker, with a keen interest in the stories that people tell. Her work ranges widely, from documentaries on immigrants (An Immigrant Nation) and family (Other People's Children), to five seasons of the bite-sized Great War Stories. Cottrell launched her company AC Productions in 2001.