The New Zealand Film Industry

What is a New Zealand Film?

• Made in New Zealand

• Made by New Zealanders

• Made about New Zealand or New Zealanders

Costa Botes

Why study the NZ film industry?

The film industry is important to NZ because:

• It’s economically important to NZ - It’s a creative industry and part of the ‘knowledge economy’

• It’s culturally important - it helps us to form a national identity and to show the world who we are

What is the NZ film industry?

“The film industry is really diverse. There are lots of different areas of endeavor that filmmakers undertake, and films are made using different types of government forms of finance or independently with private finance or both…

Some make for small neighborhoods, some for NZ audiences, some for countries around the world. Very diverse and has lots and lots of different layers to it. From 48 hour film festival, neighborhood organizations to large scale feature films…

What is the NZ film industry?

The increase in technology has changed elements of control over the industry. Filmmakers can have more control over their product and access to the making film with digital technologies and the Internet is changing distribution methods.

The film industry is driven by economics. It’s Creative and Commercial. Art and Money.

The film industry isn’t a one-size fits all industry and we are not one size fits all people”.

Philippa Campbell – Film Producer

What is the NZ film industry?

“Film making is a marriage of art and commerce. Success, whether it is measured in artistic, cultural or commercial terms, is for the most part elusive. There can be no guarantee of recoupment, let alone profits; there is no formula that can ensure a successful film..”

Peter Jackson (film commission review)

Our most successful films in NZ

$ Amount earned at box office

Film Year

$9,237,976 BOYTaika Waititi

2010

$7,047,000 THE WORLD’S FASTEST INDIANRoger Donaldson

2005

$6,795,000 ONCE WERE WARRIORS Lee Tamahori

1994-95

$6,400,000 WHALE RIDERNiki Caro

2003

$4,075,000 SIONE’S WEDDINGChris Graham

2006

Our films overseas

A background to the current NZ film industry

• Governments have funded film making in NZ since 1978 through the film commission

• The NZFC has the statutory responsibility "to encourage, participate and assist in the making, promotion, distribution and exhibition of films" made in New Zealand by New Zealanders on New Zealand subjects. (NZ film commission site)

A background to the current NZ film industry

• LOTR (1999-2001) helped the Labour government to see the potential return in film making as a creative industry

• It put lots of money into supporting the industry – with grants for foreign and local film makers

If you build it they will come…

• International film infra-structure created by PJ in Wellington encouraged overseas production to come here and also meant local film makers now had world class facilities for production and post-production

• The Large Budget Grant Scheme was introduced in 2003 to encourage overseas film and TV production to come to NZ (and they did!)

Co-productions

• For both financial and creative reasons, some films attract funding from NZ and overseas.

• A co-production can be a 'New Zealand film’ and get funding from the NZFC

• New Zealand is a party to co-production agreements with Australia, Canada, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Singapore, Germany and Ireland.

Local Film funding

• Many local film makers get funding from the film commission for short and feature films

• The types of funds change from year to year and as funding is available

• Schemes are changing as methods of production and distribution are changing

• A current scheme is the ‘elevator scheme’

Important figures

• Production as a whole is down 8% from 2008• Post Production is up by 21%• Auckland’s revenue for feature films declined

in 2008/9 by 42 % to $220 million • Feature films produced by Wellington

businesses earned two-thirds of the revenue for feature film production. In the Wellington region, revenue for this subsector grew by 70 percent to $429 million

Important figuresThings to consider:

• More post-production work is undertaken in Wellington

• A reduction in overseas funding is one of the reasons Auckland lost revenue

• Screen workers often straddle the film and tv industries

• Screen industry revenue as a whole increased in 2010 to earn NZ $2,873 million

Bugger!

• Westywood (Henderson studios) was closely following Wellington as being a source of employment and infrastructure for screen workers.

• Westywood was worth approx $10 mill annually - rivaling tourism and wine industry.

• It went into receivership in February WHY????

In 2010

• Success for local film in NZ – “Boy” “Home by Christmas”

• Success for local film overseas –

“ Untouchable Girls” , “This Way of Life”, “Matariki”

• The review of the Film Commission

http://www.mch.govt.nz/projects/culture/100628NZReport.pdf

2011 – What now?

What now – Boom or Bust?The industry is faced with unique challenges• It’s a creative and a business venture• It needs $$$ input up front, despite there being no

indication of success and return of those $$$• It relies on overseas film makers for $$$

BUT: it is also a local industry wanting to tell local stories• It’s competing against other countries who want to lure

film makers there• It relies on diversification into other screen production

areas to build skill

What now - Boom or Bust?The industry is faced with CHANGE:

• The global recession

• Government priorities

• Changes in the way films are distributed

• Changes in the ways films are produced

• Changes in way films are consumed by audiences (and the pushing and shoving to get an audience at all)