Commission knew of movie in 2019
Less than two months after March 15, the New Zealand Film Commission was in talks with Hollywood producers looking to make movies about Christchurch’s terrorist attack.
The commission offered its support, and stayed in contact – even co-ordinating and offering advice as it came time to go public.
The They Are Us film was fiercely criticised when it was made public in June. A petition to end the production gained 74,000 signatures.
The commission understood the film was a ‘‘love letter to Jacinda Ardern and the two mosques’’. However, when the script leaked this month, families from the mosque attacks said its details were ‘‘worse than the terrorist’s livestream’’.
The commission, a state agency funding and promoting New Zealand filmmaking, was highly briefed on the project, according to emails released under the Official Information Act. Its staff and former chief executive were in regular communication with producers. They also wined and dined the They Are Us team, inviting director Andrew Niccol to a ‘‘cocktail reception’’ hosted with the New Zealand consul-general in Los Angeles, in March 2020.
Around the same time, the commission’s former chief executive, Annabelle Sheehan, received a draft script of They Are Us. Producer Tim White reassured her producers would approach the topic with sensitivity.
‘‘I have made it clear to them that you/Film Com cannot play a proactive role or be a strong advocate, however you will be able to give guidance and also perhaps some support re NZ costs,’’ he said.
‘‘Importantly, everyone is sensitive to timelines: the imminent anniversary of event; the lead to the general election; and the trial that is to start mid-year.’’
The election was also proving tricky for producers and the Film Commission. Chris Payne, a senior manager at the commission, said producers wanted Ardern to read the project before it went public. He said they decided to wait to reach out to her until after the election.
However, Ardern’s office appeared to be brought into the discussions only shortly before the American production company announced its plans in June.