‘A significant decision’: NZFC confirms end of Core Funding Programme

The New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC) will wind up its Core Funding Programme next year, ending just over $NZD1 million of operational funding for ten screen organisations and guilds.

The programme, which has existed in various forms for more than two decades, will conclude when existing contracts end on June 30, 2027.

According to the New Zealand Herald, the ten organisations funded under the programme are DEGANZ (Directors & Editors Guild of Aotearoa New Zealand), Equity NZ, the New Zealand Writers Guild, SIGANZ (Screen Industry Guild Aotearoa New Zealand), Ngā Aho Whakaari, the Pan-Asian Screen Collective, the Pacific Islands Screen Artists, Script to Screen, Spada (Screen Production & Development Association) and Women in Film & Television NZ.

Most organisations receive $NZD100,000 annually under the programme, with Ngā Aho Whakaari, representing Māori screen practitioners, receiving $NZD$120,000.

NZFC met directly with the funded organisations to discuss the decision.

In its announcement, NZFC said its board had concluded that ongoing operational funding through the current programme was no longer the most effective way to deliver its mandate and strategic objectives, with the decision intended to allow the organisation to direct public funding toward fewer, higher-impact investments, stronger capability development and clearer pathways for…