Renowned aerial-filming pilot Alfie Speight was recently recognised for his exceptional contribution to the field of cinematograph.
Alfie was presented with the ‘Turtz Award for Contribution to Cinematography’ at the New Zealand Cinematography Society Awards on Saturday, May 13, in Auckland.
The Award is granted solely based on merit (rather than applied for) and the recipient was kept unaware until the moment of the announcement. The organisers of the awards collaborated with Glacier Southern Lakes Helicopters to facilitate Alfie’s presence at the Gala Dinner Awards ceremony.
Reflecting on his achievement Alfie was genuinely astonished at the announcement.
“It all came as a real surprise to me. I really didn’t know why I was at the gala dinner until the announcement was made! It is a total honour, particularly as it is coming from within the filming industry.”
Queenstown-based Alfie is a pilot with Glacier Southern Lakes Helicopters where he combines scenic flying for international visitors, with being lead aerial flying specialist for major film and video shoots.
Alfie’s aerial flying skills and expertise were honed more than 20 years ago flying for Vertical Limits, followed by Peter Jackson’s epic trilogy, Lord of the Rings.
Since that time there have been many more film and video shoots including The Hobbit, Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible-Fallout, Pete’s Dragon and more recently, all the aerials for Air New Zealand’s current inflight safety video.
The New Zealand Cinematography Society was founded with the aim of fostering the growth and advancement of the profession of cinematography. It is the sixth year the awards event has been held.
