New Year honour: Napier s godfather of film Peter Goodbehere honoured
30 Dec, 2020 04:00 PM
3 minutes to read
Let the credits roll, because Peter Goodbehere, the godfather of Hawke s Bay film, now has a Queen s Service Medal.
The 83-year-old founding member of the New Zealand Federation of Film Societies (NZFFS) Napier branch and the man behind Napier s Century Cinema has been given the New Year honour for services to film.
Goodbehere has had an extensive career in the film industry with various founding and leadership roles, all sparked by a personal love of film and cinema.
His career in the industry began when he started work in Wellington for the New Zealand Broadcasting Service and was persuaded to join the Wellington film society within a few weeks.
To receive the Queen’s Service Medal
Peter Goodbehere was a founding member of the Napier branch of the New Zealand Federation of Film Societies in 1959, and president for 42 years, from 1960 to 2002.
Century Cinema co-ordinator Peter Goodbehere with the film “Under The Southern Cross” in Napier in 1999. (File photo) His expert skills and dedication to restoration saved many damaged films. He established Century Cinema in Napier in 1990, the first art-house cinema in Hawke’s Bay. As manager and projectionist until his retirement in 2010, he watched it grow from two screenings a week to more than 25.
Grace Hutton was part of the project team developing the national museum Te Papa in the 1990s, and has been its Kaitiaki Taonga of Pacific Cultures since 2004, mentoring Pacific interns and volunteers.