KEY POINTS:
By its nature, public financing of cultural endeavours means there will rightly be great scrutiny and a high level of comment and opinion from all sectors of the community. It is certainly true about film, which is one of the more costly forms of artistic expression.
But, at
a time when New Zealanders are embracing homegrown films as never before, it is important that commentary on the industry and the New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC) be based on fact.
Deborah Coddington's column of November 30 ("Time's up for cavalier Film Commission") was a catalogue of errors - ranging from sloppy inaccuracies to defamatory assertions.
At no point did Coddington contact the NZFC for comment, or to check her facts. We welcome debate about the role of the NZFC and the industry we partner, but this must be based on fact, not rumour and innuendo.
The New Zealand film industry has matured a lot since the NZFC was
established 30 years ago. We have overcome the cultural cringe factor and Kiwi films now consistently rate well at the domestic box office,
with some generating high interest internationally. There is no question that New Zealanders love to see themselves and their stories on screen.
In the past year more than two million New Zealanders watched New Zealand-made films supported by the NZFC. Our top movies have reached more than 95 per cent of the population and have become part of our popular culture.
Coddington's claim that the NZFC has a history of "snubbing" New Zealand's most successful films could not be further from the truth. We have been a significant investor in nine of the top 10 New Zealand
feature films, as well as many others.
Those nine are: The World's Fastest Indian; Once Were Warriors; Whale
Rider; Sione's Wedding; What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted?; Second-
Hand Wedding; Goodbye Pork Pie; In My Father's Den; and Scarfies.
While the commercial success of our films in cinemas, and their continuing life on DVD and TV, is hugely important, the bigger job still is to ensure the industry remains viable. The NZFC is working hard with the industry to maintain filmmakers' skills in an environment of rapid technological and market change.
In the past year alone, more than 1200 film-makers participated in NZFC-
supported professional development initiatives.
In the past 30 years our industry has emerged, grown and become an
identified force in a highly competitive international market.
The depth of talent and infrastructure that has made this success possible has been strongly based on production of New Zealand
films supported by the NZFC.
In a very volatile international financial environment we are adapting and changing the manner in which we work with the industry to ensure
this success continues.
Last week the Herald on Sunday published a correction of Coddington's egregious errors.
However, we must reiterate our response to her most ill-informed and
offensive remarks. Those were her baseless and scurrilous accusations
about NZFC staff member Juliette Veber and the funding of her acclaimed film, Trouble is My Business, which was filmed before she began working at the NZFC.
The film was not funded by the NZFC, but by the film-makers themselves.
The film ultimately received $25,000 in post-production financing from
the NZFC as a result of a policy which automatically provides post-production assistance for independently financed feature films which have been selected for major film festivals.
Trouble Is My Business was selected for the New Zealand Film Festivals in all five main centres.
The post-production application was independently reviewed by an external assessor to ensure transparency. We have made no secret of this - it is listed twice in our annual report.
Our film-makers are talented, passionate and incredibly adventurous
people. Let's give them the respect they deserve by ensuring any debate on issues is based on fact, not rumour and innuendo.
* The Herald on Sunday regrets the factual errors in Coddington's column, and is happy to set the record straight.
