Sir Peter Jackson's long-awaited and highly critical report on the New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC) was delivered to Parliament today.
Sir Peter and Australian film academic David Court spent nearly a year interviewing stakeholders and industry experts to access the NZFC legislation and its effect in a rapidly changing industry.
Many of those interviewed were highly critical of the NZFC, saying there was an "us and them attitude".
"They were taking such an adversarial role. You might expect that from a commercial partner but it wasn't them, it was the Film Commission putting all the barriers in the way. There's almost an us and them attitude. It's death to creativity," one interviewee said.
The NZFC was also said to be out of sync with the industry it served.
Arts Culture and Heritage Minister Christopher Finlayson described the review as "very thorough and thought-provoking".
"We could not have asked for a better qualified team," he said.
The review made a number of recommendations including a move towards more talent-focused projects, a return to short film funding, a larger development team and a more flexible long-term vision.
Mr Finlayson said the review also questioned whether the NZFC was needed.
"Their answer was an unreserved yes. With that in mind, I will be looking very closely with officials and the Film Commission at the review's findings and recommendations, on how to further improve (its) performance in the next 30 years," he said.
"Some of the suggestions -- such as increasing funding for the New Zealand Film Archive and the division of responsibility between staff and the board -- relate to concerns that have already begun to be addressed since the review began."
NZFC board chairwoman Patsy Reddy today welcomed the review and its recommendations.
"We are pleased to see such a good range of constructive suggestions to the way we help the industry," she said.
However, she was concerned by the review's finding that some in the industry saw the NZFC as a barrier to film making.
"It's a tough position we're in -- there's never enough money to go around. But we believe we can do better. We have already been talking to filmmakers during the course of this review about ways to improve our work with them," she said.
