The New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC; mi, Te Tumu Whakaata Taonga) is a
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
government agency formed to assist with creating and promoting
New Zealand films. It was established under the New Zealand
Film Commission Act 1978 (as amended in 1981, 1985, 1988, 1994 and 1999).
Functions and responsibilities
The New Zealand Film Commission is a Crown entity working to grow the New Zealand film industry. Their statutory responsibility is to encourage, participate and assist in the making, promotion, distribution and exhibition of films made in New Zealand.
Through the financing and administration of incentive schemes they have been involved in more than 300 feature films including ''
Boy
A boy is a young male human. The term is commonly used for a child or an adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is described as a man.
Definition, etymology, and use
According to the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'', a boy is ...
'', ''
Goodbye Pork Pie
''Goodbye Pork Pie'' is a 1981 New Zealand comedy film directed by Geoff Murphy, co-produced by Murphy and Nigel Hutchinson, and written by Geoff Murphy and Ian Mune. The film was New Zealand's first large-scale local hit. One book described ...
'', ''
Heavenly Creatures
''Heavenly Creatures'' is a 1994 New Zealand biographical psychological drama film directed by Peter Jackson, from a screenplay he co-wrote with his partner, Fran Walsh, and starring Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey in their feature film debu ...
'', ''
The Lord of the Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...
'', ''
The Hobbit
''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the '' ...
'', ''
Avatar
Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appeara ...
'', ''
Whale Rider
''Whale Rider'' is a 2002 New Zealand drama film written and directed by Niki Caro. Based on the 1987 novel ''The Whale Rider'' by Witi Ihimaera, the film stars Keisha Castle-Hughes as Kahu Paikea Apirana, a twelve-year-old Māori girl whose a ...
'' and ''
Mr. Pip
''Mr. Pip'' is a 2012 film written and directed by Andrew Adamson and based on Lloyd Jones (New Zealand author), Lloyd Jones' novel ''Mister Pip''. Hugh Laurie played Mr. Watts.
Plot
In 1989, as the Bougainville Civil War rages on in Papua New ...
''.
Film financing and marketing
The NZFC assists New Zealand filmmakers by providing grants, loans and equity financing in the development and production of feature films and short films. They administer the Government's Large Budget Screen Production Grant (LBSPG) and Screen Production Incentive Fund (SPIF) and certify New Zealand films for tax purposes and co-productions. They also actively market New Zealand films and filmmakers, and organise high-profile New Zealand participation at major international film festivals and markets. They help with training and career development within the industry by partnering with other industry organisations.
The New Zealand Film Commission often works in conjunction with other government agencies, such as the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Ministry for Tourism and the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment.
In 2019, the New Zealand Film Commission received public attention and criticism for its taxpayer-funded support of ''
Wolf Warrior 2
''Wolf Warrior 2'' () is a 2017 Chinese action film co-written, co-produced, and directed by Wu Jing, who also starred in the lead role. The film co-stars Celina Jade, Frank Grillo, Hans Zhang, and Wu Gang. The film is a sequel to 2015's ''Wol ...
'', a film described as
Chinese propaganda.
Films funded by the Commission
The page
List of New Zealand Feature Films
This is a list of feature films and pre 1910 short films produced or filmed in New Zealand, ordered by year of release.
Key
* * = Funded in part by the New Zealand Film Commission.
* † = Year given is date of principal photography rather th ...
shows which were funded by the commission.
Film On Demand
In 2014 the New Zealand Film Commission launched a transactional video on demand service
NZ Film On Demand The site features NZ films for rent and purchase, with a library of films that will grow over time. The underlying technology of the platform was developed by Hamilton, New Zealand based compan
Indiereign
Records
The main classes of records held include:
* Applications for financial assistance for development, production, distribution and promotion of New Zealand films;
* Contracts in respect of investments made by the commission; and
* Contracts in respect of sales of a New Zealand film represented by the commission.
Structure
The New Zealand Film Commission is governed by a seven-member board appointed by the
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage
The Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage is a minister in the government of New Zealand with responsibility for arts, culture, heritage, and broadcasting, and is in charge of the Ministry for Culture and Heritage. The position was establish ...
. Members represent the film industry and the wider business and arts community. The Board meets every two months to set policy and budgets, monitor progress against targets and budgets and consider applications for feature film production financing.
Day-to-day activities are carried out by a staff of 46 from their
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
office. The internal structure is based on four business units (Development and Production, Talent Development and Relationships, Marketing and Screen Incentives Administration) and three support groups (Business Affairs, Finance and Strategy and Research) all linked by strong connections across the organisation.
References
External links
New Zealand Film Commission website(note: information from this website has been directly incorporated into this article, fair use copyright applies).
NZ Film On Demand the commission's video on demand service
{{Authority control
Film Commission
Film commissions
Film organisations in New Zealand
Film production companies of New Zealand