Lights, Camera, Action: Canterbury’s Screen Industry Gets Funding Green Light Through 2026

JULY 2, 2024: Screen CanterburyNZ has secured additional funding from Christchurch City Council for the region’s Screen Production Grant to support the needs of domestic and international production partners.

Exciting news for Ōtautahi Christchurch’s creative economy. The Christchurch City Council has allocated Screen CanterburyNZ $100,000 until June 2025 and an additional $300,000 from July 2025 to June 2026. These funds are on top of the $200,000 still available from the previous grant, meaning more than half a million dollars is available to attract productions to Waitaha Canterbury.

Screen CanterburyNZ’s role as part of the city’s economic development agency ChristchurchNZ is to strengthen the screen sector and promote Canterbury as an attractive and accessible filming location to domestic and international productions. The production grant was the first regional incentive of its kind in Aotearoa and Screen CanterburyNZ allocated $1.5 million of funding over three years from 2022 to 2024.

The funding delivered significant return on investment in the Canterbury creative economy, with the total spend in the region so far exceeding $14 milliondue to new production activity. But it’s not just the economic value, as it critically displayed the capability in Canterbury and the South Island as well as building on positive perceptions of our national industry.

“The Screen CanterburyNZ grant part-funded Full Time Employee roles across 11 projects and 240 days of production. The grant funded a diverse range of genres showcasing the region including upcoming cinema releases Bookworm and Head South as well as television series based on Christchurch writer Paul Cleave’s work. Cleave’s Dark City: The Cleaner is a six hour-long episode series filmed in the heart of the city,” says Martin Cudd, ChristchurchNZ’s Innovation & Business Growth GM.

Head of Screen CanterburyNZ Petrina D’Rozario is thrilled the grant funding will continue to attract more productions into the region.

“Up and down Canterbury, the region has been absolutely buzzing with production activity during the last three years and that is exactly what a strong creative economy needs,” says D’Rozario.

“We look forward to luring more major projects to film here in Ōtautahi Christchurch, as well as assisting and supporting our local screen industry based here in Canterbury. As important as it is to attract productions here, supporting their journey and helping them navigate the compliance and regulatory framework of our councils, region and country is critical,” concludes D’Rozario.

ABOUT CHRISTCHURCHNZ | ChristchurchNZ is the city’s sustainable economic development and city profile agency. Our purpose is to stimulate sustainable economic growth for a more prosperous Christchurch. Find out more at ChristchurchNZ.com

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