The New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC, Te Tumu Whakaata Taonga in Maori

Maori language

Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...

) is a New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 government agency formed to assist with creating and promoting New Zealand films. It was established under the New Zealand Film Commission

Film commission

Film commissions are quasi-governmental, non-profit, public organizations that attract motion media production crews to shoot on location in their respective localities, and offer support so that productions can accomplish their work smoothly.- Introduction :Over 300 such organizations are active...

 Act 1978 (as amended in 1981, 1985, 1988, 1994 and 1999).

Functions and responsibilities

The functions of the Commission are to encourage and participate in the making, promotion, distribution, and exhibition of films and generally to encourage the development of the New Zealand film industry. A special direction to the Commission is that it shall not make financial assistance available for any film project unless the Commission is satisfied that the film has or is to have significant New Zealand content. The Commission handles worldwide sales of a range of New Zealand feature and short films.

Structure

The Commission is appointed by the Minister of Culture and Heritage and comprises a Chairman and seven other board members. It meets formally every two months. Day to day activities are carried out by a staff of 19 from a Wellington

Wellington

Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...

 office.

Records

The main classes of records held include:

• Applications for financial assistance for development, production, distribution and promotion of New Zealand films;
• Contracts in respect of investments made by the Commission; and
• Contracts in respect of sales of a New Zealand film represented by the Commission.

Film financing

The NZFC provides financial assistance for New Zealand feature film projects and New Zealand filmmakers, by way of loan or equity financing. They commit up to 8% of their annual budget to feature film development financing, and up to 60% to feature film production financing. Development decisions are made by either the senior staff group (generally up to $40,000 per project) or the Development Committee (up to $110,000 cumulative per projects). The Film Commission Board makes decisions involving financing beyond $110,000 for either advanced project development or for production financing. http://www.nzfilm.co.nz/ifinancestructure.php

Films funded by the Commission

The page List of New Zealand Feature Films shows which were funded by the commission.

External links

• New Zealand Film Commission website
• Information about the New Zealand Film Commission from the New Zealand Ministry of Justice (note: information from this website has been directly incorporated into this article, fair use copyright applies).