Has New Zealand's film industry bubble burst?

Just over a decade ago the brutal realism of a modest low-budget film propelled New Zealand on to the world stage. Once Were Warriors marked a watershed in Kiwi film-making and it wasn't too long before Hollywood was banging at the door.

Fast-forward 10 years and the magical journey of a ragtag of humans, hobbits, wizards, dwarves and elves hoisted the Lord of the Rings trilogy to Oscar glory with a record-tying 11 gongs.

New Zealand had conquered the world. The new Hollywood of the South Pacific had won more Oscars in one night than Australia had won in almost a decade.

But that grand night 18 months ago now seems a long, long time ago. After several boom years, the film industry appears to have fallen into a trough.

Seven films shot in New Zealand are due to be released between October and April, including King Kong, and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardobe. But after that nothing.

This downturn comes as a Government fund for New Zealand films looks likely to disappear.

Set up in 2000 to fund films with a budget of $10-20 million, the Film Fund has fostered major movies like Whale Rider and Perfect Strangers, plus another three to be released from October - River Queen, New Zealand thriller Perfect Creature, and The World's Fastest Indian, by New Zealand director Roger Donaldson, who was making his first film in the country in 24 years.

But the Government has asked the Film Commission to assume responsibility for the fund, which has only enough money left to support two more movies.

Commission chief executive Ruth Harley says that with a $12 million annual production fund it could not have financed the number of major feature films made in New Zealand over the past five years.

"To have five films in such short time is extremely unusual. We've never had a volume of production like it in the history of the Film Commission. There won't be a volume of production like that again. We were very disappointed with the view that the Government took," she said.

But Associate Arts Minister Judith Tizard says the Government gave the commission an additional $10 million in baseline funding last year. "We put a huge amount of extra money towards the sorts of films that the Film Fund was designed to make." She is still open to debating the issue with the industry, though, she says.

River Queen producer Don Reynolds warns that the Vincent Ward film could not have gone ahead without funding from the Film Fund and Film Commission.

Sydney-based Reynolds says the few people who have seen the film, due to be released early next year, have been "enormously enthusiastic". "Through the Film Fund, commission and private investment, we managed to get considerable money out of New Zealand. It's very hard to go out in the world and raise money for a New Zealand film," he said. "New Zealanders need to see their own stories."

Penelope Borland, chief executive of the Screen Production and Development Association, agrees the industry is flat, but says last year was exceptional. "The industry can go through cycles, when a lot of films are in development, but there's a bit of uncertainty around too."

Borland hopes the Government will refinance the Film Fund. In a letter to the Government, she said that from its $22 million base the fund had delivered $90 million worth of films - every $1 had generated $2 in offshore investment.

"This fund is financing higher budget, domestic movies with an international focus. They're very dependent on getting offshore investment. The Film Commission has a cultural mandate."

Right now, only King Kong is still shooting and most of the 15 productions taking place are television shows or drama, according to the Film and Video Technician's Guild.

But Ruth Harley doesn't see a link between the future of the Film Fund and the lack of feature films given the green light.

"Things slow down. There was a huge production boom and now a lot of material is ready to go into release. The next production slate will take a year or so to build."

The industry declares the fund has fostered jobs for successful producers, writers, directors, actors and production crew, who would otherwise be forced overseas. "Failure to renew the Film Fund could trigger a loss of international confidence in the domestic film industry," Borland wrote in April.

But some aren't convinced the additional Government funding has created a boom for local actors.

Graham Dunster, owner and operator of Auckland Actors, says that even if there were films on the horizon, New Zealand actors had largely missed out on the riches, having been overlooked for roles in big budget films like The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, King Kong, and The World's Fastest Indian, which stars Antony Hopkins.

"Even though there's been a lot of movie-making, that doesn't mean that a lot of New Zealand actors are getting work. The more this goes on, the less likely it is that local actors will be considered for offshore or big local films because they're not getting the exposure," he says.

The award-winning In My Fathers Den, which collected a string of awards at the New Zealand Screen Awards last week, featured two foreigners in two main roles - Australian Miranda Otto and Briton Matthew MacFadyen.

Dunster says: "People who are putting the money into the movies want to see a face on screen that will give their film credibility."

Also in Auckland, the head of Film Auckland, Natasha Christie, says two well-known directors have recently been in New Zealand scouting locations. "We don't seem to be losing the business, but we're not moving ahead."

- Herald on Sunday