Film Panel

Two years ago, the New Zealand international film industry seemed bigger than it had ever been. Despite - or maybe even because of - a global pandemic, we hosted two of the biggest shows on Earth - Amazon's Lord of the Rings prequel Rings of Power, and James Cameron's multi-million dollar Avatar sequel. As well as that we hosted Dame Jane Campion's Oscar-winning Power of the Dog and Sir Peter Jackson's acclaimed Beatles series Get Back. Not to mention the fact that Weta Digital's wizards appeared in the credits of virtually every blockbuster, from The Multiverse of Madness to Cocaine Bear… But now - well not so much. Rings of Power has taken off for the UK. There's one biggish movie in production here - Jason Momoa's Chief of War - but not much else. Is New Zealand no longer Most Favoured Film Nation? And if so, why's that? Simon Morris chairs a panel to find out. It includes Philippa Mossman from the New Zealand Film Commission. Philippa's job is liaising between overseas production customers and the local industry. Representing the industry is Brendon Durey, President of the Screen Industry Guild. They're the people who do all the heavy lifting on our films and TV series. Also present is Spada's President Irene Gardiner, who's just put out a paper about the Screen Production Grant and the impact of one project, the TV series Sweet Tooth on our economy.