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Iconic New Zealand films including Utu, Once Were Warriors and The Maori Merchant of Venice are to be placed in a charitable trust to ensure they remain accessible to audiences into the future.
Filmmakers can appoint Te Puna Ataata, the New Zealand Film Heritage Trust to act as guardian of their films.
Film rights can become diluted through inheritance, lost paper trails or the closure of production companies, so lodging them with the trust will clarify how the rights are held.
The trust will work with Nga Taonga Sound and Vision to ensure film materials are preserved, and where possible, transfer films to digital formats to allow them to continue being seen.
The Film Commission will handle of sales and distribution and the collection and distribution of income.
The trust has evolved from the New Zealand Film Production Fund Trust, which previously only looked after films it had funded itself.
Other films to be placed in the trust include Footrot Flats: The Dog’s Tail as well as John O’Shea’s Pacific Films collection and Gaylene Preston’s collection.
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