Commission reviewer

Director Peter Jackson will lead a review of the New Zealand Film Commission alongside head of screen business at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School David Court. Jackson will examine the 30-year-old legislation setting up the Commission, its constitution, functions, powers and the funding it provided. The NZFC is the country’s main feature film production investment, development and marketing agency. It administers the key production funds including the Large Budget Screen Production Grant Scheme, the Screen Production Incentive Fund and the Post Production Fund. It provides financing for local films of about $10 million annually, and has a total budget for 2008–09 of $21.5 million, one-third of which comes from the government and the rest from lotteries and other sources. Jackson said in a statement he was looking forward to making positive and constructive suggestions to ensure the commission remained “effective in what is a rapidly changing international movie climate. David and I intend to consult with many local film-makers, so the review reflects the thoughts and opinions of the writers, producers and directors the Film Commission was created to support”.