That Time of the Year
December is upon us again. Before we hit the beaches or mountains, it’s time to reflect on what has been a tumultuous year for the New Zealand screen industry.
On the positive side, we’ve had a great crop of New Zealand films and television, none more so than the Premium Fund drama series After The Party. It swept the NZ TV Awards in all categories and has been extremely well-received internationally. Like the other Premium Fund projects, After The Party shows what we can do when our films and TV have higher levels of investment over what is normally available. It’s truly unfortunate therefore that the Premium Fund, which we lobbied for to continue, has ceased. Premium Fund projects could well do with a review of Return On Investment (ROI), both economic and cultural, as they may highlight to the current economically-focused government the benefits such investments can bring to the coffers and the country.
There has been a lot of content produced this year as thankfully NZ On Air’s funding has not been cut, although how it spends it now creates its own constrictions. Our DEGANZ directors and editors continue to appear in good numbers in films and TV shows going into production, gaining solid box office, good ratings and/or festival accolades. We report on them in our newsletter and encourage you to notify us of any successes for inclusion as we don’t always catch everything.
International productions coming into New Zealand have been a bit up and down over the last year, but the country is reasonably flush with projects now and into the first quarter of 2025. The NZFC has recently returned from their LA promotional tour in a positive mode. We look forward to an update as well as real results from their work, both in regard to international productions shooting here as well as investment into domestic content.
On the downside, the blood-letting continues at TVNZ. Our colleagues there are undergoing another round of job losses as TVNZ fights a losing battle against the tide of advertising going to international platforms. We can only hope that its efforts to become a digital-first media entity help to stem that tide. Unfortunately, I think we are going to see further retraction there in 2025 before we see any semblance of righting the ship, which at this rate is more likely to become a smallish launch.
We finish the year on a positive note funding-wise, though.
According to the NZFC’s annual report just out, they have $13.5 million more in the kitty than anticipated. The NZFC had budgeted for a deficit of $6.2m, but had a surplus of $7.3m instead, so have $13.5m more than budgeted. This is largely due to the fact they spent $12m less on Script Development & Production Funding. They also had $1.25m more interest income than budgeted. However, they plan to spend this and the reserves over the next 4 years. This is good news for the film sector, which has frankly been somewhat depressed. There’s a general feeling in the ether now that we do have a positive and refreshed film commish to deal with, who are making warm fuzzy noises. The results of their industry meetings around new approaches to development and financing—expected to be in place 1 Feb 2025—are much anticipated.
I’m currently in Wellington, post Xmas event here. There was a massive turnout last night and the vibe was surprisingly up with members from all the guilds and associations in attendance. Perhaps the most positive thing I heard though was in the taxi on the way into town from the airport. Wellington, which was decidedly dour when I was last down because of all the job losses, reportedly came alive when the hikoi arrived. It showed the government and New Zealand the depth of feeling towards unity in Aotearoa, and the opposition to the divisiveness that the Treaty Principles Bill is fostering. I hope that invigoration continues here, not just around the passage of the Bill through select committee, but also in regard to the city’s spirit, which has taken quite a battering economically and needs reviving.
The new board and staff at DEGANZ wish you a safe and enjoyable time over Christmas, New Year and the holidays. And we look forward to the ongoing work to represent your creative, cultural and financial interests in 2025.
Toitū Te Tiriti
Tui Ruwhiu
Executive Director
Last updated on 6 December 2024
