Film Bay of Plenty Growth
Kia ora Tātou!
Our regional film office has undergone a soft rebrand to the name Film Bay of Plenty. The organisation’s focus is still on growing the screen media industry in the Bay of Plenty, attracting and facilitating productions, and increasing the skill base and infrastructure of the region. For enquiries you can contact our CEO on anton@filmbayofplenty.com or our office coordinator Elysia on admin@filmbayofplenty.com.
Some great productions that have been shot in the region have been screened and released recently—including “Operation Rambu,” web series Colonial Combat and tele-feature Runaway Millionaires (which can be viewed on TVNZ on demand). A feature film will be shooting shortly in Rotorua and a NZFC funded short film recently shot in Maketu with a Te Puke girl cast as one of the main characters. The Producer has given awesome feedback about how amazing not only the local crew were, but also the community support for the project.
Anton recently went on a trip to China where he met with Western Film Group / Xi’an Film Studios, cultural departments in Chengdu and Baoji local government, Directors and Producers in Shanghai and the regional TV Station in the Jiangxi province. There is a lot of interest in collaboration and untapped screen media opportunities outside of the traditional film centres of Shanghai and Beijing.
With Film Bay of Plenty governance we are happy to announce two new Board Members who have joined the team—Tauranga Businessman, Glenn Dougall from Wave Creative Communications Agency and Entertainment Lawyer Sarah Thornley Crossley, who has recently returned from the UK where she worked with Fremantle Media.
The establishment of the Waiariki Studios and Production Hub in Rotorua, in partnership with Steambox Film Collective (initial concept imagery below), is moving forward with the delivery of the positive Feasibility Study by Screen Media Consultancy Olsberg SPI. Discussions with investors and local Iwi land trusts are looking very positive. With the impending arrival of Amazon’s Lord of the Rings TV series, the immediate future of film in New Zealand is extremely busy, so it’s great to see the local industry in the Bay of Plenty establishing some solid foundations.
