June 06, 2023
Covid fund too late for Māori film producers
Te Māngai Pāho chief executive Larry Parr says the Māori broadcast funding agency has been included in the COVID-19 Screen Production Recovery Fund too late to make much difference to most Māori content providers.
The fund run by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage expires at the end of June, and Mr Parr says that means about $1 million won’t be spent because his agency had already looked after Maori content creators by adjusting deadlines to get them through Covid.
But he says Maori productions will also become eligible for a new screen production rebate, which will create opportunities in the medium term.
Maori creators managed to secure a good chunk of a $50 million fund for premium content development, and they will now be in a better position to seek offshore funding.
“I think as a result of the Premium Content Fund development programme there will be a number of projects and Maori content creators, producers, directors who will be able to take advantage of the new regime for screen production rebate,” Mr Parr says.
The rebate allows local productions to claim 40 percent of what they spend.