Auckland's Resilience in Film

Heading into winter, Auckland is still looking like it’s trying to keep its head above water, with quite a few long-form jobs in the pipeline hoping to shoot through to the third quarter of this year. I feel that there is still some optimism amongst us even though we feel like we’ve been hit repeatedly over the head with the Covid hammer for 24 months. The Auckland industry and its crew have remained resilient and have learned to adapt to the strangest of circumstances, finding innovative ways around ever-changing rules and regulations that are placed upon us. We have survived, if only just, a lot better than some industries in this country, and we will live on to tell many more stories for a lot longer yet, I hope.

Rumour has it that Power Rangers are likely to return for a shorter season later this year, and we are lucky to have crew working on some fabulous productions such as Far North, Under the Vines, GFC’s The Mistake, One Lane Bridge, One of Us Is Lying, Netflix’s Choose Love, season three of Kura, My Life Is Murder, and the second season of Sweet Tooth.

While commercials have slowed right down under all the Covid uncertainty and mandate restrictions, advertising will still be required in the future, so we are quietly confident that our work life will soon be reinjected with the same old energy we are so desperate to have back in our lives really soon.

Along with other industry stakeholders, the Guild has recently been working closely with Screen Auckland and Auckland Unlimited to revisit the recent changes to filming on Auckland’s many “Sites of Significance.” Reason being that many in the industry feel that under the latest council unitary plan, many locations have become near impossible to gain permission to shoot on due to council restrictions, lead time for permit acceptances, and monetary restraints.

This has become a priority for many of us to get back around the table with those it affects along with the council representatives to see how we can best create a plan that is fit for purpose for our industry moving forward. As a guild member, your support by way of your membership fees is helping us have a seat at the table nationwide (as other councils will be creating similar unitary plans in the future) and our voices heard. Ultimately, the trickle-down effect is immense, and if many locations are no longer feasible, our little industry will suffer considerably.

We will endeavour to keep members up to date with changes and information as soon as we can. In the meantime, I hope that if any of you catch Covid, you are over it in a flash and back to work quick smart.

Sioux Macdonald, Guild Vice President and Executive Committee Member