The He Ara Development Fund supports established filmmakers to tell authentic and exciting Māori and Pacific Island stories on screen.
If you are experiencing difficulties in understanding how to apply, please feel free to email us at rautaki@nzfilm.co.nz and we will contact you to help.
What we fund
Filmmakers of Māori and/or Pacific Island heritage to create a range of quality New Zealand projects shaped through their chosen development framework.
- Grant of around $50,000 per application.
- Acceptable project formats include: Feature film narrative or documentary projects including animation (suitable for cinematic release), series drama, interactive and gaming.
Who can apply
New Zealand teams or companies with at least:
- Two projects to be supported
- One established New Zealand writer, producer or director
- One producer of Māori or Pacific Island heritage
- Two-thirds of the people concerned being Māori or Pacific Island writers, producers or directors.
Or teams that feature Māori or Pacific Island collaborators with significant experience in a related area of screen production or the wider arts sector.
How to apply
Please read the He Ara Guidelines before registering for an account to apply online at https://funding.nzfilm.co.nz/.
Please note, only applications submitted through the online portal will be considered.
This fund is now closed to applications.
You can invite team members who also have an account to collaborate on the application. Please note that only one collaborator can edit at a time. To give others access, click 'Save and Quit'.
What you need
- Proposal – history and vision for your business and projects
- Budget
- Slate – details about the proposed projects
- Key personnel – bios of key people
- Rights – intellectual property rights for your projects
- Information about any other projects you have with the Film Commission.