Film Otago Southland chairman Kyle Murdoch says a half-billion-dollar funding boost to New Zealand’s film and television sector will ensure the country remains competitive on the world stage.
Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis recently announced the $577 million funding boost to sustain the international screen production rebate.
The Budget increase over the next four and a-half years would take the total funding for the rebate scheme to $1.09 billion, "better reflecting expected demand for the scheme".
First introduced in 2014, under the scheme eligible productions could access a cash rebate of 20% for production costs, where those costs were more than $15m for feature films and $4m for TV productions.
A further 5% rebate was available to productions spending more than $30m, which met additional criteria for industry and economic growth.
Ms Willis said those settings remained unchanged.
"The rebate scheme is working and we want New Zealand’s film industry to know the government is backing them to grow into the future. We are sending a clear message to the world: New Zealand is the best place in the world to make movies."
