Examining Portrayals of Gender, Race/Ethnicity,
LGBTQ+ & Characters with Disabilities
Dr. Stacy L. Smith & the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative
August 2026
New Zealand audiences seem to have found a new rhythm for their media consumption, with the degree of year-on-year change now slowing after a period of rapid change. Changes this year appear to be driven by cost-of-living pressures.
The latest findings from NZ On Air’s ongoing Where Are The Audiences? research series also has some good news for local platforms. Carried out by Verian*, the research in 2026 has been updated with a larger sample size (1701) and new content-related questions
Following on from the WIFT Documentary Hui in 2007, Creative NZ and NZFC commissioned a report researching New Zealand’s independent documentary sector. The report identifies current barriers and opportunities and presents the views of documentary makers on ways to support the career paths of those in the sector and enhance documentary making opportunities in New Zealand.
In 2009, the NZ Government announced a review of the New Zealand Film Commission to be led by New Zealand film-maker Peter Jackson and David Court, Head of Screen Business at the Australian Film, Television & Radio School. WIFT NZ was one of 57 submitters whose submissions to the review team cam be read in this document.
Throughout 2021 and 2022 WIFT NZ conducted three comprehensive gender pay surveys in the NZ screen industry. The three surveys were for people working in production, post-production (including gaming and animation) and above-the-line (directors, producers, screenwriters, key cast).
The results of the WIFT NZ Gender Pay Gap survey make sobering but unsurprising reading.
The New Zealand Film Commission's list of feature films made in NZ from 1939-2013.
The New Zealand Film Commission's list of feature films made in NZ from 2013 to October 2020.
This Best Practice Guide provides guidelines for screenwriters and producers to work
together in a way that is productive, collaborative, and constructive.
This 2009 Film Industry Study by Dr. Martha Lauzen, a professor at San Diego State University, details the small - and in some fields declining - proportion of women directors, executive producers, producers, writers, cinematographers, and editors working on American films.