Jo Hiles

You have been a part of the NZ film industry for several years. Why have you decided to join the Guild now?

I’ve always accessed the information and toolkits available, and looked at the NZ Techo magazine in production offices, but dare I say, I just never got around to it. Then after working with Sally Cunningham (Wellington Branch Chair) on After the Party, and hearing about all the hard work the committee had been doing around the rate guidelines etc, I finally joined. There is a lot of resource available, and since joining, I found myself accessing the website often - just last week I sent a UK production company the link to the immigration section.

What do you think the Guild can and should work towards, for its members?

At the moment, I don’t feel super equipped to answer that! But it is always good to build on in person events, whether that be about upskilling within the industry (eg workshops), or social gatherings. Keeping people connected is key. The industry relies on communication and has to grow together. So I’d say more events, more workshops, a Christmas party?

2023 has been a very lean year in the film industry, with many workers taking up positions in other trades. Have you kept busy in film this year - and what sort of work has there been around?

Yes I have been fortunate enough to keep busy, as I do contract work as a Department Manager for Weta FX and then the live action work when it’s here. I also have my own Production Company, The Dive Productions with my partner Guy Pottinger, so between those three, I’ve kept myself out of trouble. I am lucky that my production skills can be applied across other mediums too – at the moment I am producing content for an exhibition, and overseeing the build of an installation. It is the same process as film making, as it needs a concept, a brief, a schedule, a budget and good client management. Local drama productions in Wellington are just starting to get busy again, and I have a good / hopeful feeling about 2024.

Was joining the film industry your first choice of career, or were there other jobs you tried first?

Yes it was my first choice. Though it looked a bit different 30 years ago, when I started as a PA for the TVC company Interfilm with Norman Elder. The callsheet was typed on a typewriter, no one had cell phones (we used pay phones or I asked shops if I could use their phone) and we shot on either 16mm or 35mm film. After I finished University, I travelled to Melbourne and worked at the ABC as a researcher, then onto London, and you know one job lead to another, and here I am 30 years later. The industry has changed and we have to change with it – keeping up with technology is a big one. I’ve come and gone a bit from the live action films/tv series over the years, as after I had three kids in quick succession, I thought I could never go back to Production Managing/UPM’ing a feature film and working 15 hour days! However when my youngest was two years old (back in 2008) I had a convincing phone call that got me back on set, and it was actually so lovely to re join my film family again. It was also great to be able to finish a sentence without being interrupted, plus the lure of Billie’s catering, and I didn’t ever do a 15 hour day – you don’t need to, it’s silly.

What would a sustainable, booming film industry look like in NZ? Do you feel we are heading in the right direction to achieve it?

That’s a tricky question and there are many factors that have been impacting us as an industry right now. Firstly the strikes, and anything on an international scale, we feel here. As well as making our own content, we are also trying to attract international business (I worked at Film NZ for three years). It is about being competitive with our rebates, pushing the reverse seasonality, the world class crews and studios, the infrastructure. But in the end, you can’t force a studio or filmmaker to come here. I’d like to think we could make more local content, like we did in the 90’s, when we all rolled from one job to another, but I fear this is not the case. I do worry that there aren’t enough jobs for everyone, and with so many courses now, churning out hopeful and some talented film makers, where will they go and what will they do? This concerns me. Sustainability for me is all about cast and crew having a work/life balance, we are slowly getting better at that. Family first is what I always say to the production team when we start a new job.