The New Zealand Film Commission’s Annual Report 2017/18 was tabled in Parliament.
Releasing the report, Film Commission Chair Kerry Prendergast said, "In January we welcomed Annabelle Sheehan to the NZFC as our new CEO. Annabelle comes to us with a wealth of experience across a broad range of screen sector jobs, including in talent management, post-production and screen industry governance. New to New Zealand, Annabelle’s clear-minded vision has swiftly informed our strategic and cultural course alongside the Film Commission’s role within the broader screen industry."
In the period, the New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC) launched Te Rautaki Māori, a strategy focused on developing an ongoing partnership with the Māori screen industry. To support the strategy, new funding opportunities and support for Māori filmmakers were also announced.
The 125 Fund, a feature film fund for projects where at least two of the key creatives, including the director, are women was also introduced, and opened for applications in June. Developed to celebrate New Zealand's 125 years of women's suffrage, the three projects selected to receive the funding were announced in mid-November.
Eleven feature films (including four documentaries) with NZFC production financing were released theatrically in New Zealand in the period. The title which generated the highest box office was The Breaker Upperers with a gross of $1,762,706 (to 30 June 2018).
The New Zealand Screen Production Grant (NZSPG) International attracted New Zealand Qualifying Production Expenditure (NZQPE) totalling $693,892,538 in the period, which triggered grant payments of $149,265,574.
42 final NZSPG certificates were issued, 13 to New Zealand productions and 29 to international productions.
Twelve feature film projects (including four documentaries) received production financing offers in the period.
Fourteen Fresh Shorts were funded for production across two funding rounds.
Fourteen projects were supported through the Interactive Development Fund - seven virtual reality, one augmented reality/virtual reality, five games and one interactive novel.
You can read more about these achievements, and other Film Commission achievements in the past year in the New Zealand Film Commission's Annual Report.