‘Safe haven’ NZ looks to attract film-makers
Moviemakers are said to be lining up to get into Covid-safe New Zealand, as demand increases for content on streaming services like Netflix.
And the Government is planning to cash in on the country’s coronavirus status, which Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford said gave the country a competitive advantage.
It comes as the Government announced a boost in funding for international and domestic filmmakers and TV shows in the wake of Covid-19, with more than $230 million pumped into projects.
Twyford said there was a worldwide demand for content for streaming services such as Netflix, and New Zealand was a global safe haven in their eyes.
‘‘Quite a number of them are keen to come here and set up and get productions up and running.’’
However, he said it would be challenging for more overseas productions to get past the border. ‘‘The border is such a focus for us and there are so many Kiwis who are returning from overseas. There had been a very tight window for economic essential workers to get into the country to film on both Lord of the Rings and Avatar,’’ he said.
‘‘Some workers came through a special exception but if any overseas production houses now wanted to come set up here, it would rely on the border being more open than it is now.’’
Twyford said the screen industry had been interrupted during the lockdown period and it was safe to resume screen production sooner than international competitors. ‘‘We want to get them [international and domestic] back up and running because it is great for the economy and great for jobs. New Zealand continues to attract a number of international screen projects, including the Avatar sequels, and Amazon’s TV series based on The Lord of the Rings.’’
‘‘There are strong indications right now that some big production houses are very keen to resume filming and production to take advantage of this worldwide
demand for content driven by streaming services.’’
The Film Commission estimates about 90 per cent of the crew on international productions are New Zealanders.
Beyond the large projects already in the county, Twyford was pleased to be attracting a range of other international productions. Interest in New Zealand because of screen production location remained very strong.
‘‘The Screen Production Grant has enabled New Zealand to consistently attract large international productions, which employ thousands of New Zealanders, support local businesses and provide an invaluable training ground for those who go on to work on our world-class domestic productions,’’ Twyford said.
In the 2018/19 financial year the Screen Production Grant, which is a rebate on spending within New Zealand, paid out $138.5m for economic activity of $605m.
The Covid-19 recovery funds for international and domestic films would get the industry up and running as soon as possible, he said. Some of the screen funding was allocated in Budget 2020 and is aimed at protecting jobs and boosting investment in the industry. The three funding initiatives in a screen sector support package announced yesterday are aimed at protecting jobs and boosting investment in the industry. These include a $140m top-up for the New Zealand Screen Production Grant for International Productions, with $50m being reallocated to support the funding for five New Zealand feature film or limited series screen productions.
New Zealand Film Commission
chairwoman Kerry Prendergast welcomed the screen sector recovery package. Covid-19 had a significant impact on the screen sector – 47 productions, at various stages of completion, were required to reschedule. One New Zealand production and two international productions were able to start up again at level 1.
‘‘All the rest are going to require the support of the screen production fund to restart . . . We are committed to ensure that these are completed and become available for New Zealand audiences to enjoy,’’ she said.