Five Film Businesses Receive Boost Funding
Announced today at the Big Screen Symposium, New Zealand’s annual film industry conference, are the recipients of the New Zealand Film Commission’s (NZFC) one-off business development scheme, Boost.
Jump Film and Television, Centron Pictures, Pop Film, Four Knights Film and Firefly Films will be supported through the scheme which is designed to accelerate the slates of active producers and enable successful screen businesses to move films from their slates more quickly into production.
Applicants could apply for funds between $50 000 and $130 000 per business. At least 50% of the awarded amount must be spent on third party development costs, and it is expected that the entire amount is spent over a 12-18 month period.
Jump Pictures, founded by producer Robin Scholes, is currently completing Lee Tamahori’s Mahana and has a slate of international projects in development.
Jason Stutter and Kevin Stevens’ Centron Pictures, the creators of the international, award winning Careful With That… short films and supernatural thriller The Dead Room has a slate of genre and high concept adventure films in various stages of development.
Vicky Pope’s POP Film Ltd is a film production company based in Wellington. Since 2005, the company has produced a wide range of critically acclaimed, award winning short films, documentary and film productions including Gardening With Soul, Two Little Boys and Trouble is my Business.
Tom Hern, James Napier Robertson, Tim Wood and Sasha Wood's Four Knights Film produced The Dark Horse and have a number of local and international film and TV projects in development including Irish/New Zealand co-production A Long Way Home and Pork Pie, a contemporary re-imagining of the iconic Kiwi classic, Goodbye Pork Pie.
Emma Slade’s Firefly Films is an international film and television production company with a focus on working with filmmakers who have a distinct voice, Firefly has a broad slate of short films, features and television in development.
Making the announcement, NZFC CEO Dave Gibson, said that screen companies in New Zealand were growing in number and scale and he expected the five Boost companies would contribute to this growth.