Auckland’s billion-dollar screen production industry almost completely halted during the COVID-19 crisis, except for some of our region’s world-class post-production and special effects companies which were able to complete work remotely on productions for international and domestic clients.

So the recommencement of domestic film activity under Level 3 was a welcome development, allowing some of Auckland’s nearly 4000 screen production crew members to get back into work. Our Screen Auckland team played a key role in a national industry effort to update health and safety protocols to allow that work to recommence, and in informing our producers about the new standards which will continue for the foreseeable future.

With the move down to Level 1, a number of other productions are in feasibility to re-start in Auckland, and our facilitation team is seeing increased demand again for Council public space permits. The three major international productions based here – Amazon Studios’ series based on The Lord of the Rings, Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop, and Hasbro’s Power Rangers – are working through a range of issues including border restrictions and international insurance requirements. 

While the re-start of domestic productions is the first step in the industry’s re-emergence, and the move to Level 1 means workplace restrictions are minimal, we are pleased that the pipeline of international inquiries coming to our screen attraction specialist, and ongoing promising discussions, indicate Auckland is in a strong position to benefit from New Zealand’s relative success at countering COVID-19.

A significant new privately funded studio facility in Wiri has come on stream, and that is excellent for our region where the availability of studio infrastructure has long been a constraint to further growth – despite the emergence in recent years of the world-class privately funded Kumeu Film Studios which is leased and operated by ATEED. 

Our efforts alongside the New Zealand Film Commission to convince global giant content creation companies such as Amazon Studios and Netflix to put their trust in Auckland are really paying off. We are focused on helping the industry ensure there is a growing pipeline of skilled workers to meet the increased demand in our region, and on ensuring productions have a great experience in Auckland.