tēnā koutou i tēnei ahiahi
Ko Mladen Ivancic ahau, acting CEO at Te Tumu Whakaata Taonga New Zealand Film Commission. It’s a great pleasure to be here, at an industry event, after so long.
Thank you to Jackie Dennis and the team at Script to Screen for bringing this hui together.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Dame Kerry Prendergast, the NZFC Chair for her contribution to both the organisation and the wider screen sector during her six-year term.
I’d also like to acknowledge this week’s announcement of the appointment of Alistair Carruthers as incoming Chair of the NZFC. We look forward to introducing Alistair to the industry after he starts in the role in October
I must also acknowledge the COVID related funding allocated by the Government which has helped support the screen sector for the last two years.
We would also like to acknowledge Dame Jane Campion and the success of The Power of the Dog. Filmed entirely in New Zealand and employing hundreds of Kiwis, this film has done an enormous amount to put New Zealand and New Zealand’s screen industry into the global spotlight. And we are excited to see Dame Jane continuing to support the local screen sector with her new initiative, A Wave in the Ocean. This pop-up intensive course for directors is fully funded by Netflix and has already had 330 registrations of interest.
I know many of you attended last night’s WIFT Awards. I’d like to acknowledge the nominees and award recipients. Congratulations. And congratulations to Patricia Watson and WIFT for organising a fabulous night, celebrating success.
I believe a special award should be given to the screen industry for its resilience, agility, and tenacity over the past two, almost three years. It is quite remarkable how the screen industry has continued to develop, create, produce and release films which entertain audiences in New Zealand and overseas.
In May, four NZFC staff and over 60 New Zealand filmmakers attended the Cannes Film Festival and Market. This was the first full Cannes since 2019 and the first in-person market New Zealanders could attend since the borders re-opened. Huge numbers were there, and by all accounts the excitement of the global industry being back together, engaging and talking about film, swapping experiences and strategising was energising. Without a doubt I believe we can look to the future with optimism.
As we come together today, with the theme of Mana Auaha Creative Power, myself and some of Te Tumu Whakaata Taonga’s leadership team will present more reasons for optimism.
Pou Whakahaere Te O Kahurangi Waaka will update you on the success of Te Rautaki Māori. Established in 2018, the first majority te reo Māori feature film, Muru, written and directed by Teareapa Kahi, and produced by Reikura Kahi, and Selina Joe will open the NZIFF in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.
Head of Development and Production Leanne Saunders unfortunately cannot be with us today, so Head of Marketing Jasmin McSweeney will background the support of the domestic screen sector through COVID, on behalf of Leanne.
Head of International Attractions Philippa Mossman will outline international screen production opportunities
and Head of Incentives and International Promotions Catherine Bates will outline our strategic approach to change.
But first, let’s reflect on the theme of the Symposium, and the achievements of the industry in the last 18 months.
I would like to spend a few minutes more acknowledging the creative power of New Zealand’s screen sector.
And some more highlights from the last 18 months…
Since the last symposium, 18 New Zealand feature films supported by the NZFC have been released theatrically. One of the most recent of these is of course, Whina, which has, as of Thursday, taken an outstanding box office of over half a million.
Of these films released, five are official co-productions using one or more of NZ’s 18 co-production arrangements.
9 of the films released were directed by women.
13 short films have been completed and delivered.
These numbers are impressive so please join me in applauding everyone – creatives, cast, crew and all those who support them - whose mahi and craft went into creating these screen stories.
This year, after consultation with the industry and communities, the NZFC announced a diversity and inclusion strategy which will underpin the work we do and allow us to better support and advance the diverse communities of the Aotearoa screen sector.
If you are interested in finding out more about He Ara Whakaurunga Kanorau, a strategy session and open discussion hosted by some of the NZFC’s Internal Diversity and Inclusion Committee is happening tomorrow at 11.40am in the Villa Maria Room on Level 3.
He Ara Whakaurunga Kanorau works with and alongside Te Rautaki Māori, which leads nicely into the first of our four presentations.
Please welcome Te Tumu Whakaata Taonga Pou Whakahaere Te O Kahurangi Waaka.
He mea whakamīharo i ngā kiriata nei .
Tēnā koe Mladen to mātou Tumuaki atawhai I tēnei wā
Ko Te Arawa te waka, Mai i Maketu ki Tongariro, Nō Tūwharetoa, Nō Tūhourangi – Ngāti Wahiao, Nō Ngati Whakaue, Nō Ngāti Awa – Ngāti Pūkeko ahau.
Ko Te O Kahurangi Waaka Tōku ingoa, hei Pouwhakahaere o te Tumu Whakaata Taonga.
My presentation is really a celebration of being 4 years into a strategy that elevates Te Ao Māori, Iwi Māori in the films we funded through NZFC and contributes to value Māori people, language and culture has to the identity of Aotearoa, NZ .
This is a short summary of what Te Rautaki Māori Strategy(TRM) 2018 intended and the success we celebrate at this point, with the updated Rautaki Māori due out later this year.
Areas of improvement reflect the input from industry and our own / Rautaki Māori (RM) and NZFC team’s experiences in assisting film makers through our systems and processes.
The Mission and Aim of the Rautaki is still the same going forward.
We note reference to the principles of the Treaty vs Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The reference to the principles of the Treaty vs Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Version in Te Reo Māori. Principles often referred to are three P’s -Partnership / Participation/Protection. In recent times, Māori academics have also added a fourth - Prosperity to encourage the commitment by the Crown to ensure the prosperity of tangata whenua.
Also note that there it is important that the views around he articiles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi are very important in the considerations of working with the Te Tiriti based approach in our engagement with Iwi Māori. As an organisation and as an industry.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi:
1: Kawanatanga – cede sovereignty /authority to Queen to govern
2: Tino Rangatiratanga – confirms and guarantees the full exclusive and undisturbed possession of
3: Oritetanga- royal protection and imparts same rights as other citizens (British subjects)
4: Whakapono protection of all faiths – including Māori custom and religion
We acknowledge there is more than one Māori world view; our aim is to be respectful of tikanga and kawa, with advice and support from the Maori film industry.
The objectives were broad enough to work with and create policy and funding initiatives to work with internally,
Externally there was clarification on our role and areas that required further work in the Māori and wider Screen sector.
The development of a Māori partnership plan is the Rautaki Māori, however, further definition of how the partnership works with NZFC and productions we support; and how this partnership is reflected in productions has been the discussion with the Māori Sector and applications coming in for funding over the last four years.
These are still important objectives and the ensuring that where there is Māori content – productions understand what that is, and how that is to be considered, handled and cared for and that the level of Māori creatives are commensurate with the level of Māori content – this doesn’t just mean the script but includes locations, and engagement with Iwi, Hapū, whānau, marae or Māori collectives as well as care of crew and carriage of the kaupapa of the films.
The funding from NZFC is not easily found or understood on our website for the newcomers. People who may know nothing about what we do, need help to understand where they are in the process, and then where they can find help and which team to contact.
Apart from corporate and business services, the teams are covered in the “door hangers”. Note that the Rautaki Māori mahi / work and team go across all the areas, including assistance to corporate (policy, HR and legal). As this becomes more integrated, the prioritising and resourcing will be continually reviewed.
It is important to think of the Rautaki as integral to the work of the NZFC and I am pleased to see that many of my colleagues are aware of and understand the importance of promoting the RM, questioning applicants around areas of the three objectives regularly as allies of Te Tiriti and advocates of Te Rautaki Māori.
The Statement of Intent (SOI) is represented as a WAKA WHAKARĀKEI – the adorned canoe with HOE or paddles representative of the objectives, values and goals of the NZFC. This image has proven has proven useful in expressing a bi-cultural presentation of ourselves as NZFC.
It has been well received by the Māori sector as a kaupapa representative of working together to achieve the best for our people & industry.
It is important that this now translates across the all the services, work, initiatives and people of NZFC.
When we reflect on how successful the Rautaki has been since 2018, we can see that the funds allocated to just the Rautaki has been utilised in supporting Māori talent and films to be made.
We see that the HPTRM Feature Film Fund has been successfully allocated every 2 years to date, as it has taken a bit more time and development support to the get the films up to a feature film production space with financing.
My hope is that it will go from strength to strength and that we can invest more in the feature space to build capacity. Watch this space.
The ultimate measure however is that film makers are supported to make films with the limited funds the NZFC has. And although COVID affected all sectors in Aotearoa, we are immensely proud of the recent releases in the last 12 months that has seen some significant projects as mentioned by Mladen, but especially the ones that reflect Māori stories led by Māori creatives.
These include:
Night Raiders – NZ/Canadian Co-Production with indigenous screenplay and director Danis Goulet, and includes NZ Māori Producers Chelsea Winstanley & Ainsley Gardiner
Cousins - Led and Directed by Briar Grace-Smith and Ainsley Gardiner with a full team of Māori cast and practitioners.
James and Isey – Producer/Director – Florian Habicht and Māori Producer Lani-rain Feltham – Māori story
Whina – Producers Matthew Metcalfe and Tainui Stephens, Liz Adams; Writers: Paula Whetu-Jones; James Napier Robertson and James Lucas, Strong Māori story and creatives
Whetū Mārama: Bright Star – Writer/Director: Toby Mills and Aileen O’Sullivan.
We Are Still Here – Joint Indigenous Initiative: Producer Mia Henry-Teirney, Mitchell Stanley, Toni Stowers
Directors : Renae Maihi, Tim Worrall & Richard Curtis, Chantelle Burgoyne,, Miki Magasiva, Mario Gaoa, Danielle MacLean, Dena Curtis, Tracey Rigney, Beck Cole
Writers: Renae Maihi, Tim Worrall & Richard Curtis, Tiraroa Reweti, Miki Magasiva, Mario Gaoa,
Danielle MacLean, Dena Curtis, Tracey Rigney, Sam Nuggin-Paynter
DOP : Ray Edwards, Eric Murray Lui,
Editor: Roland Gallois
Matewa Media partnership with Disney.
No small feat to have our wāhine Māori Chelsea Winstanley and Tweedie Waititi drive this kaupapa (and Frozen to come in September)
Very honoured to support this kaupapa - Ko te teo te take.
While the hope is always to generate our own animation stories in Te reo Māori, this team and their projects have been vital in helping to bring the normalisation of te reo to our sector for our tamatiki mokopuna and will be the bridge in keeping te reo active and vibrant in our media circles of Aotearoa.
Kia kaha te rere o te reo ki tua!!
Brought to you by writer/director Tearepa Kahi and Producer Reikura Kahi, Tame Iti and Selina Joe.
Muru is a Māori concept for reconciliation and forgiveness. Muru the action drama feature is a response to the historical trauma of the Tūhoe people.
Made with a Merata Mita and Geoff Murphy spirit, a Tame Iti authenticity and Cliff Curtis commitment to craft.
On 15 October 2007 with new anti-terrorism powers the NZ Police swooped on the people of Tūhoe, raiding homes in the small town of Rūātoki in the Bay of Plenty Aotearoa, Among the many arrested under suspicion of domestic terrorism was activist Tame Iti.
We acknowledge the unusual times we have all faced. The ultimate commitment of what as NZFC does is to help build the capacity of our creative thought, raise the calibre of craft toward mastery and help bring to fruition our exceptional stories, storyteller that create enduring taonga for Aotearoa to the world.
Kia kaha tātou katoa i roto i ēnei mahi auaha, mahi rangatira hoki.
Ka huri inaianei ki taku hoa Kiriovea McSweeney mōTe Upoko o te mahi Whakawhakanake Kiriata, me te pūtea Tautoko Hanga Kiriata.
Kō Jasmin McSweeney tōku ingoa. As Mladen said earlier, I am speaking on behalf of Leanne, who is the NZFC’s Head of Development and Production and unable to make the Symposium today. I am the Head of Marketing, and I will outline, on behalf of Leanne and the Development and Production team, the support the NZFC provided for the domestic screen sector through COVID-19.
It has been two years since the Government announced its package to support the industry following the COVID-19 lockdowns. The package consisted of $13.4M to support projects impacted by the pandemic, and $2M for cultural capability, to assist the industry to meet the challenges of a post-COVID environment.
Between August 2020 and June 2021, over $7million was awarded to 47 productions impacted by Covid from the NZFC’s Screen Production Recovery Fund. Of these, 39 have been completed including Whina, Millie Lies Low, Cousins, Dawn Raid, Datsun, Washday, Mystic and Brokenwood Mysteries series 7. For the remaining 8, six are in post-production and two are in pre-production.
Following the introduction of the Protection Framework, the Government extended the Screen Production Recovery Fund to early 2023, with an additional top-up of $7.9M.
The Extended Screen Production Recovery Fund is ongoing and has received 17 applications to date, representing 16 productions. 12 applications have been approved for productions that include Birds Eye View, The Tank and The Untold Tales of Tuteremoana. As production ramps up, we are pleased this assistance is still available to New Zealand filmmakers.
The $2million Screen Sector Capability Fund has met its goals of supporting screen sector organisations and sector-wide skills and development programmes.
Key activities supported by this fund include:
Administrative support for organisations such as the NZ Game Developers Association, Script to Screen, Show Me Shorts, Pan Asian Screen Collective, 48 Hours, Equity NZ, Pacific Islands Screen Artists.
The fund also supported the costs associated with the cancellation of events or loss of sponsorship as experienced by the New Zealand International Film Festival, and Wairoa Māori Film Festival
The fund supported talent and workforce development programmes such as the Cinematographers Society “Gender Diversity in Camera programme”, DEGANZ’s “Māori Editors training programme” and “Women Filmmakers Incubator”, the “Write Room programme” in Wellington and Auckland and Share the Knowledge’s “Location Manager/ Assistant course”.
Online mentorships for emerging and mid-career filmmakers across a range of disciplines pairing them with mentors in their specialist areas. 25 filmmakers were supported through the programme which focused on sharing and learning developmental processes to benefit the long form project each mentee wanted to work on.
In addition, the PASC Episode One web series was supported with mentors for six writers and directors. NZ On Air then funded the production of six first episodes for a digital series.
NZFC recovery funding to date totals $11.2M.
These COVID Recovery Funds were run on top of the NZFC’s existing funding programmes with short term contractors brought in to assist with this increased responsibility.
Throughout this time of disruption, the Film Commission’s focus was on how to best support the industry to develop new projects and adjust to the challenges and opportunities posed by the changing global content environment.
To enable this, the Film Commission Board approved the spend of reserves.
This spend enabled the launch of the bespoke development scheme, The Blacklist New Zealand Project, in partnership with international organisation The Black List. Six teams were supported to develop their projects and benefit from intensive international industry mentoring.
$1.2M was additionally allocated towards business and slate development funding to three programmes – Boost, Boost Up and He Ara – to 33 producers or companies. Via this funding, the New Zealand Film Commission was able to support production companies like Firefly Films, Four Knights, Endeavour Ventures, Vendetta, and Piki Films to develop their slates, including high-end drama series such as Night Vision, The Panthers and Dark City.
An allocation of the international attractions budget was also diverted to fund 10 regional film offices to update their location image libraries.
The bulk of all Film Commission funding – 75% or more – is allocated to the development and production of screen content. Production baseline funds continued to be processed with 26 projects receiving either NZFC production financing offers or feature film finishing grants totalling over $20.5M in the last financial year alone.
In addition to the recovery funding already mentioned, the Government allocated a further $50M, repurposed from the International Screen Production Grant, to launch Te Puna Kairangi The Premium Production Fund and Ara ki Te Puna Kairangi The Premium Development Fund which were a three-way partnership with NZ On Air, Te Māngai Pāho and the New Zealand Film Commission. Established to rejuvenate the sector in the wake of COVID-19 disruptions, the funds supported New Zealand producers to create projects of scale for local and international audiences and was open to feature films and television series.
Across three rounds, 16 projects received over $46M in Premium Production Funding.
These 16 projects represent an anticipated collective spend of over $154 million in a range of locations around New Zealand, with an estimated spend on local employment of over $90 million. International investment in these projects is over $51 million.
Four of the 16 projects have commenced principal production and the remainder are due to begin production in the next twelve months.
26 screen projects also received development funding through the Premium Development Fund, three of which went on to receive Premium Production offers. It is anticipated the remaining 23 projects will move into production, in the near future.
The ability to fund large budget projects has led to internationally successful Kiwi directors such as Christine Jeffs, Lee Tamahori and Andrew Niccol making their next features in New Zealand. The New Zealand Screen Production Grant, along with substantial amounts of international investment, has meant the premium fund could also finance nine high quality drama series with international market partners like the BBC, Universal, Lionsgate, Sundance Now and ITV.
Finally, I would like to commend the industry on its resilience. The challenges of the past two years have sometimes seemed overwhelming. The perseverance and hard work of everyone during this time, has contributed to the feeling of optimism for the future. This optimism was omnipresent in Cannes. The international interest in the projects New Zealand producers introduced to the market at Cannes, speaks to the exceptional talent and cultural value of New Zealand stories, and the New Zealand film industry.
And on that note, I would like to invite Philippa Mossman, Head of International Attractions to talk about the NZFC’s international activity.
In 2013 we had one live action US production filming in New Zealand, in 2021 there were 12.
Attracting international productions to base their film and TV projects here is increasingly a priority for NZFC. These projects further contribute to the sustainability and vibrancy of the screen industry. They contribute to our foreign earnings, create additional screen jobs and career opportunities, support strong screen vendors, motivate other investment and innovations and lead to the overall growth and capability of New Zealand’s screen sector.
Promoting New Zealand’s talented people and our viability as a screen production destination, along with the government’s incentive – the New Zealand Screen Production Grant, helps to secure high value film and television productions.
International productions predominantly hire New Zealanders – typically at least 90% or more of the crew on an international job are locals. Connections are made and creative networks are fostered.
In addition other creative industries benefit, as does tourism, education, and the development of technology.
An additional aspect of the incentive which helps attract production to New Zealand is the PDV Grant. Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings; The Tomorrow War and Black Widow are a few examples of international productions utilising New Zealand talent which have been supported by the PDV Grant. Another example is the extraordinary The Beatles: Get Back from Sir Peter Jackson.
The International Co-Development Fund has also been instrumental in getting high-end series like The Gone and Under the Vines and features like Night Raiders and Nude Tuesday into production.
New Zealand has 18 co-production agreements with partners around the globe. These offer a number of attractive options for producers, including the ability to apply for funding and/or incentives in two or more territories.
We anticipate a growing number of co-productions with international partners, as more producers gain credits and experience in co-financing and co-producing.
From the outset of the border closures, we worked closely with Immigration NZ, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, Ministry of Culture and Heritage and the MIQ teams to get key international personnel into the country. This allowed international productions to get underway and led to thousands of jobs for New Zealanders at a time when many in other sectors were unable to work.
Some of these high-profile international productions include:
- Sweet Tooth s1 and s2
- One of Us is Lying s1 and s 2
- The Royal Treatment
- CHOOSE LOVE
- AVATAR sequels
- Don’t Make Me Go
- No Exit
- Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings
- Cowboy Bebop
- Mr Corman
- A24’s back-to-back features X and Pearl
We were also able to advise and support smaller budget shows including Netflix ‘s Stories of a Generation which highlights the work of New Zealand climate scientist Dr Dave Lowe alongside the likes of Martin Scorsese, The Pope and Jane Goodall.
Most recently Apple+ and the BBC created David Attenborough’s extraordinary Prehistoric Planet featuring New Zealand locations shot by cinematographer Richard Bluck.
In addition, we helped local producers needing one or two key people – usually cast – to come in from overseas.
Ww intensified our connections with the international market during COVID and in March this year two staff went to LA, timing the visit to coincide with the buzz around the 12 Academy Award nominations for Dame Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog. This provided a perfect platform to remind our core market that New Zealand’s borders were re-opening, and to reinforce the valuable message that our country is easy to do business in.
Meetings were held with studios, major production companies and streamers such as Netflix, Endeavor Content, Paramount, Apple, Sony, Warner Bros., Disney, Legendary, Gaumont, Blumhouse and Universal, and 70 production personnel were hosted at an event at the official residence of the New Zealand Consul General.
We’re looking forward to seeing productions from these companies and others moving into our production pipeline in the coming years.
The impact and success of The Power of the Dog, a NZ / Australia co-production, put New Zealand on the world stage, with global media coverage reinforcing New Zealand’s reputation as a competitive international screen destination.
We will build on this media and in-person attractions activity in the coming year with our next Aotearoa Showcase in Los Angeles, and with targeted invitations for influential LA executives to experience New Zealand via a familiarisation programme.
The year ahead looks exciting. A number of international series are gearing up for second and third seasons. Paramount and Apple TV’s series known as Stonehenge is underway in Wellington and other productions are finalising their plans, alongside the strong domestic production we’re seeing, in part as a result of the Premium Fund investment.
Now please welcome Catherine Bates to speak to you about our third and final priority – a strategic approach to change.
Change is inevitable and will happen whether we are prepared for it, whether we like it or whether we are open to it. The only thing we can really prepare for is how we respond to it. With this in mind, the NZFC is focused on being strategic in its approach to change within the screen industry.
A big part of being strategic involves awareness – of global trends, potential threats and of our role in the sector.
Governments around the world use policies and funding (including financial incentives) to encourage and support the screen industry. Economic impact studies are a valuable tool in measuring the scale of screen production activity and its overall economic footprint. The NZFC believe it is important to understand the size and scale of the screen sector. It is therefore critical to survey the sector and measure its economic impact. In 2020 the NZFC commissioned UK based agency Olsberg SPI (“SPI”) to carry out this work.
As many of you will know, Olsberg SPI is one of the leading international consultancies specialising in the global screen sector.
SPI has gained a reputation for its independent, objective Economic Impact studies and its robust and tested methodology. Key to assessment is Olsberg’s experience in the global sector and ability to provide a comparison analysis of NZ in relation to Australia, Ireland and the UK.
I'm pleased to share with you today some of the key findings of their report on the economic impact of the screen sector in New Zealand and of the New Zealand Screen Production Grant.
This report will be published on our website today.
I would like to preface this announcement by saying the report does not undertake to be a full cost benefit analysis of the NZSPG and does not make any assumptions about what might happen if the NZSPG was no longer available.
It focuses on the 2014/15 and 2020/21 financial years and considers the impact between these periods.
So the key findings:
In the 2020/21 period, production expenditure was $985m. That is a 20% growth rate since 2014/15.
It is important to note that growth in New Zealand domestic production has also been strong, growing from 1% in 2014/15 to 14% in 2020/21.
As Philippa touched on earlier, screen sector spend doesn’t just benefit the industry… it has a large ripple effect throughout the economy.
Take a mid-budget international TV drama series shot in New Zealand.
More than 60% of the ‘below-the-line’ expenditure is spent outside the core screen sectors. Nearly 22% goes into real estate, just under 9% is spent on construction and travel and transport accounts for just over 8%.
If we look at jobs, just over 1800 people were directly employed in the screen sector in 2014/15 …. That number has grown to more than 5,300.
And looking at those indirectly employed, number swells to over 13,000.
Based on Olsberg’s methodology for every $1 spent there is a total of $6.15 additional economic value. For a breakdown of this figure, I would encourage you to read the report in full, on our website.
As mentioned earlier, New Zealand producers are increasingly successful at attracting international investment for their projects. In the past 5 years the amount of foreign inward investment has outstripped NZ-sourced funding by a total of NZ$201m to NZ$164m. The average split between international and New Zealand funding was 55% to 45%.
Olsberg points out that governments around the world pay particular attention to the production of screen content as a key driver for economic growth.
This is due to four distinct factors:
- Growing global demand and access to content from Video on Demand (VOD) streamers and traditional studios
- The unique role productions play by spending large sums of money within a location which then spreads throughout an economy through the large number of cast, crew and vendors employed in the production
- The ability to creates modern, highly skilled, productive, and mobile employment. These are jobs less at risk of being replaced by automated production
- And four.. delivering an attractive return on public investment. Also the ability to increase inward investment, stimulate tourism, help national branding, and enhances soft power and cultural impacts.
Globally, we have seen an unprecedented level of investment in content over the last few years. 2019 saw a record US$177billion spent across productions and SPI forecasts that investment will exceed US$200 billion this year.
So, with that in mind, it is timely to talk about the review of Government investment in the screen sector with a specific focus on the NZSPG.
This review, announced late last year, is being jointly led by MBIE and the Ministry for Culture and Heritage. It is looking at the Crown investment in the screen sector ensuring it’s effective and generates economic and cultural value for New Zealand.
There are four objectives guiding this review:
- The first is to ensure we develop a balanced, resilient, and sustainable screen sector.
- The second, will look at the conditions, pay and career pathways for those in the industry.
- The third focus on improving social cohesion through the content we create
- And the fourth will look at how we maximise the benefits to the wider economy
Later in September the Ministries will publish a consultation document outlining funding options. The public, you, the screen industry – will be invited to submit feedback.
With the NZSPG, reaching its 8th birthday, the opportunity for you to be part of the review is welcomed and important. This is YOUR opportunity to have a say on a New Zealand incentive scheme that is fit for purpose, and generates economic and cultural value for the sector, and all of New Zealand.
We are a passionate, sustainable and thriving industry which produces quality screen content that New Zealand audiences are proud of. We stand out in a competitive and busy global market.
It is thanks to your hard work and dedication to the industry that we have much to celebrate. We thank you for that, and everything you do to keep the screen sector thriving and growing.
We have some time left now to answer a few questions. If you have something you would like to ask one of our speakers, please do so now.
Thank you so much for being here and listening to us this afternoon.