Cutting covid losses in the film industry

by Jessie Chiang

Last year New Zealand was held up as a safe haven for film production – we had crushed the curve, we were open and everyone else was closed.

There was the initial four week lockdown from March 2020 but we’d secured the first season of the Lord of the Rings series, Cowboy Bebop was being filmed, and so was James Cameron’s Avatar. Superstars Benedict Cumberbatch and Kirsten Dunst were here to film the Power of the Dog.

But this year Middle Earth is moving to the UK, one-off international films have wrapped up and Aotearoa has been forced into its toughest restrictions yet when other places around the world have much more filmic freedom.
“This year’s worse … covid’s really just starting to hit the film industry now I reckon.”

Tom* is a film crew member with 20 years’ experience in the industry under his belt. He normally works on big American productions and right now, has no idea when he will have work again.

The Aucklander says overseas productions aren’t willing to commit to any filming here until lockdown has lifted. When restrictions do ease, there’s still the added barrier of MIQ spaces.

“I can quite easily leave the country and work on a film but I can’t get back in,” says Tom.

Read the original article here.