The Government has announced that it will underwrite the development of the Silverlight Studios in Wanaka to the tune of $4.5 million.
Silverlight Studios co-founder Mike Wallis welcomed the decision and said the Government had shown confidence in the New Zealand film industry in agreeing to support the development.
The funding is intended to help the region move beyond its reliance on tourism and diversify its economy.
The underwriting agreement was announced by Regional Development Minister Kiritapu Allan yesterday at a small function hosted by Central Otago distillery Scapegrace.
The Central Otago investments were part of an ongoing strategy to diversify the regional economy beyond tourism, Ms Allan said.
"The screen industry employs approximately 16,200 New Zealanders and contributes $3.3 billion to the economy every year, making it a key component of Central Otago’s economic diversification initiatives.
"Silverlight Studios will provide new opportunities for local talent to be at the forefront of an evolving industry in the region," she said.
"The underwrite provides confidence to the production market that the Government is behind us and the film industry of New Zealand," Mr Wallis told the Otago Daily Times after the meeting.
It would be funded through the $20 million Queenstown Economic Transformation and Resilience Fund (QET), which aims to support established businesses with proposals not related to the tourism sector.
The studio development is a 10-year, six-phase project worth about $280 million.
Mr Wallis said the underwrite would enable the work to be completed in 12 to 14 months.
In November, he said the first phase of the build, a modular sound stage complex, would begin in the first half of this year.
Ms Allan said she had talked to film industry representatives last summer about what was required for the Central Otago area.
"I have a lot of family in the film industry down here. My uncle, John Allan ... has been in the film industry since it started itself down here.
"One thing they have been kind of harking on about for a long time is they just need the studio space. So when I saw this come across my desk I was stoked.
"I picked up the phone and said ‘this is a start’. They said ‘look, this is absolutely required for the region’," she said.
Mr Wallis said he and his co-founders Ra Vincent and Jonathan Harding had worked with an experienced team of advisers to design the film and technology hub.
The studios were being built with an eye to the long-term future of the regional and New Zealand film industry, as well as meeting environmental and economic goals, he said.
Carbon-reduction actions included the use of solar power, electric fleets and an innovative modular building approach, reducing the need for carbon-based travel to other locations.
The studio project, alongside robust and clear tax incentives, would showcase to the world the New Zealand industry had unique capability and the potential to be sustainable, socially impactful and lucrative, Mr Wallis said.
Central Otago mayor Tim Cadogen said the underwrite was "fantastic" for Silverlight.
People could look to the Lord of the Rings, The Power of the Dog and other films made in Central Otago as examples of the regional economic diversification Ms Allan was looking for, he said.
