A big shout out to all the members who have been offered funding in the final round of Te Puna Kairangi – Premium Productions for International Audiences Fund, which is administered by Te Tumu Whakaata Taonga| The New Zealand Film Commission.
We've listed you in bold, along with some info on your projects, below.
A total of nine film and television projects have been offered funding, among them a thriller television drama series based in Christchurch, a feature film with strong te reo Māori content and a children’s animation series.
The $25 million investment is the final instalment from the $50m Fund, set up to support the Aotearoa New Zealand production sector’s recovery from COVID-19.
This final production funding round received 20 eligible applications seeking a total of nearly $64 million. Applications were assessed against the five key objectives of the fund which are: to boost economic growth, increase employment, create cultural benefit, respond to COVID-19 with speed to market and develop skills and capability.
After the Party (Drama Series 6 x 43min) *
Penny’s world implodes when she accuses her husband of a sex crime, and nobody believes her. Five years later, she must decide what’s more important – the truth, or rebuilding her relationship with her daughter.
Production Co: Luminous Beast & Lingo Pictures
Producers: Helen Bowden, Peter Salmon
Writer: Dianne Taylor
Director: Peter Salmon
Babylon (Feature Film)
A Māori warrior priest comes to the lawless whaling settlement of Babylon to recover his father’s stolen head. A son’s love soon becomes a threat to the town’s villainous mayoress.
Production Co: Vendetta Productions
Producers: Jill Macnab, James Brown, Tainui Stephens
Writer/Director: Glenn Standring
Badjelly (Animation series 13 x 22 min) *
When siblings Tim and Rose enter the nearby woods in search of their beloved cow Lucy, they must team up with the weird and wonderful forest-folk to confront a malevolent force terrorising the valley, known as Badjelly.
Production Co: Mukpuddy Ltd
Producers: Simon Ward, Roger Shakes, Carthew Neal
Writer/Directors: Ryan Cooper, Alex Leighton & Tim Evans
Creamerie (season 2) (Drama Series 6 x 22min) *
Team Creamerie flees Hiro Valley and sets off on an epic road trip to save male survivors, bring Lane to justice and uncover the truth about the pandemic. But to save mankind, they’ve first got to save their friendship.
Production Co: Creamerie Ltd (Kevin and Co & Flat3), Tony Ayres Productions
Producers: Bronwynn Bakker, Roseanne Liang, JJ Fong, Ally Xue, Perlina Lau
Director: Roseanne Liang
Writers: Roseanne Liang, Dan Musgrove
Dark City – The Cleaner (Drama Series 6 x 50 min) *
Joe Middleton is the cleaner at Christchurch’s Central Police Station. Everyone thinks Joe is not very smart. The Police are looking for a serial killer who has seven victims. Joe knows he has killed six. He is going to find out who did the seventh and frame them for all the murders.
Production Co: Endeavour Ventures Ltd
Producers: John Barnett, Chloe Smith
Writers: Paul Cleave, Rachel Lang, Simone Nathan
Director: Rick Jacobson
Escaping Utopia (Documentary Series 3 x 45 min)
What if your entire life was based on lies?
Production Co: Warner Bros. International Television Production NZ
Producers: Natalie Malcon, Philippa Rennie
Directors: Justin Pemberton, Natalie Malcon, Michelle Savill
Madame Mom (Drama Series 10 x half hour) *
An all-American Mom finds herself divorced, unemployed and pregnant in small-town New Zealand and starts an ethical brothel to survive.
Production Co: Tavake Ltd
Writers: Shoshana McCallum, Harry McNaughton
Producers: Tom Hern, Halaifonua Finau, Crystal Vaega
The Panthers (season 2) (Drama Series 6 x 44 min) *
The Polynesian Panthers are in a new chapter of their lives; now juggling young families and jobs in the capitalist world, working for ‘The Man’. But the revolution waits for no one. This season our young radicals are called to stand up and support their Māori brothers and sisters, as they quest to reclaim their language, culture and the land that was taken from beneath them.
Production Co: Tavake Ltd
Producers: Nicole Horan, Crystal Vaega
Writers: Halaifonua Finau, Tom Hern, Becs Arahanga
Executive Producers: Tom Hern, Halaifonua Finau
* Each of these projects qualified for the additional funding of $800,00 from NZ On Air.