Nelson missing out on film industry

Nelson is missing out on its share of a $1.1 billion industry, a local film producer has warned the Nelson City Council.

At a council meeting last week, film-maker Ahmed Osman asked councillors why Nelson-Tasman did not have its own film office to help attract productions to the region.

“We’re one of the bigger hubs or regions in the country that does not have a film office.”

Osman presented a business case to the meeting, which suggested an investment of $155,000 a year for three years to establish a Top of the South Film Office.

It suggested the office could help attract eight to 10 commercial productions, four to six factual/documentary shoots and one to two mid-sized scripted projects each year, bringing in $4 million to $6m in annual production spending within three to five years.

Productions including Race to Survive: New Zealand, Noel Edmonds’ Kiwi Adventure, Tourism New Zealand campaigns and Air New Zealand commercials had contributed $2,332,000 to the region over the past three years.

The functions of the office would help attract projects to the region and facilitate projects once they were here by helping with permits, locations and crew and supplier directories, the business case said.

“Together, these functions give producers a single, reliable point of contact and bring the region in line with established screen offices around the country.”

Nelson Tasman was an attractive film location, due to its “compact geography, diverse landscapes and strong visitor economy”, the report said.

“The region already functions as an interconnected visitor economy; screen production is a natural extension of this strength.”

In the meeting, Osman said a film office would “create direct economic impact, create jobs, advertise the region, and contribute to tourism”.

He lived in Nelson, but was forced to travel to centres like Wellington for work. More film opportunities in the region would enable people like himself to stay and work here, he said.

The film industry contributed $1.1b to New Zealand’s GDP, he said.

Mayor Nick Smith encouraged Osman to work with the Arts Council of Nelson.

Arts Council transition director Rohan O’Neill-Stevens welcomed the chance to talk about a film office.

“It’s fantastic to see conversations like these happening across the community and attention being brought to the significant contribution our creative sector makes to the region, alongside opportunities to multiply that impact.

“We know that with strong investment our creative sector can contribute far more to a thriving regional economy.”

A film office was a “tried and tested mechanism”, he said.

“We’re up to see how we can work with our partners across the region to best support bringing more productions to Te Tauihu.

Nelson Tasman Chamber of Commerce chief executive Ali Boswijk said she had spoken to Osman about the idea.

The region had a lot to offer the film sector, and an office could help facilitate and promote productions, she said.

“We’re really varied in our natural environment, which is really beneficial.”

There were also “amazing people” who worked in the industry and were based in Nelson, she said.

The difficulty with a film office was funding to set it up, as it was something that didn’t generate its own revenue, so it would often need to piggy-back off existing agencies, Boswijk said

“You have to rely on funding for it, so that’s always the difficulty with these sorts of things.”

If it could be set up it would have clear benefits for the region, she said.

“Anything that brings people to the region to basically spend money in the region directly with local suppliers is something we would always support.”

By Warren Gamble, Nelson Mail