Auckland is commanding the spotlight on the competitive global stage of film making, writes Kelly Bree

{Article reproduced with permission.}

Tripods stand on sidewalks, film crews hang out of upstairs shop windows craning for a better shot, giant trucks hog parking bays and harassed directors carry plastic coffee cups and bark orders. Right now Grey Lynn looks more like a giant film set than an Auckland City suburb. Film crews have invaded the streets to film Pacific Island `bro' Sione getting married. Filming started yesterday on Sione's Wedding, the first feature film to celebrate urban Auckland on the big screen.

Sione's Wedding is a comedy about four PI friends in their late-20s who act like tumultuous teenagers. It's made by the same geniuses who produced Whale Rider, but it's more likely to generate a fit of giggles than a torrent of tears.

People are used to having Auckland's name in lights, its landscapes behind the camera and its streets used for action scenes.  But what we don't want is our name in white, wooden letters beaming down from One Tree Hill. And that's why _ as Sione's Wedding shows _ Auckland film-makers are doing it for themselves. They're challenging the Hollywood image of the feature film and reaching audiences the Kiwi way. Sione's wedding has a stellar cast and crew but an ordinary location, and that's what makes Auckland films special. And while the boys in Sione's Wedding may be struggling to grow up, making a comedy is a sure sign Auckland's film industry has outgrown its nappies.

Oscar Kightley co-wrote the film with James Griffin and says it doesn't follow a Hollywood blockbuster format. ``We're making a New Zealand movie that is true and funny and I think [Auckland's] Pacific Island community's going to love it,'' he says. So Auckland has moved on and we're now making truly local films. Something grass-roots film-makers have been doing, in their own way, for years.

Amit Tripuraneni is a South Seas graduate and his latest film Memories of Tomorrow is about to be shown at the Asian Film Festival. His schoolmate Amarbir Singh had rave reviews of his Karangahape Rd-based film 1 Nite when it premiered at last year's NZ International Film Festival. Amit says such success shows Auckland film-makers can ``do their thing'' on Auckland streets and the growing industry makes it less of a struggle. Amit now works at South Seas and says he is turning away companies wanting film editors, something which never happened in previous years.

He says the film industry's growth allows more graduates to do what they've always wanted: Make films.
``Most of the people have aspirations to make a feature film. That's the dream.''

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The old script went like this: ``Arkland, Noo Zealand. As far away as Jupiter. As small as the White House. As backwards as the Amish. Don't they still eat each other down there?''

Well we've taped over that one. We've got a new script and the cannibalism rumours are so last century. Auckland's film industry has put our region on the world map. International film-makers, inside and outside Hollywood, recognise Auckland as a hot spot, somewhere to ``make it happen''.

And it's happening, all right.

Waitakere is poised to close the deal on an international-quality studio development expected to cost $7-$8 million. This is part of a bigger package worth $12-$13 million aimed at attracting major international and local film productions, due to be considered by Waitakere City Council next week. Henderson Valley Studios is where Whale Rider, the Last Samurai and much of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe were made.

North Shore City Council estimates its enquiries from international film-makers have doubled in 12 months, and Auckland City Council says interest has risen steadily in the past five years.
In Rodney, the district council has set up Film Rodney to lure more film-makers to the area, which now boasts its own film park.

And Auckland's animation film industry is taking off.

There are seven animation studios in the area working with projects such as Power Rangers. Greenhithe-based PRPVFX recently produced shots for the Warner Bros project Racing Stripes.

They might not get the buses running on time but a pretty united push by industry leaders and local councils making Auckland as ``film-friendly'' as possible for production crews. There's also money involved. Big bucks. And this makes it worthwhile bending over backwards to attract big international film companies.

Two thirds of New Zealand's $1.3 billion screen production industry is based here and the industry is swelling. The New Zealand Institute of Economic Research estimates the country's film industry will soon generate between $85 - $120 million annually. And it doesn't stop there. Film crews need places to sleep and eat, entertainment and somewhere to max out their credit cards. Then there's job creation. Technical crews, secretaries, admin _ there's heaps of work not only for local productions but also for international crews.

But why do they keep coming back and how do we counteract Peter Jackson keeping his monkey tucked away in Wellington? Film Auckland executive manager Natasha Christie says Auckland has everything: Stunning surf, towering skyscrapers, spooky forests, suburban bliss and rolling farmland. She says our production facilities are fantastic, our post-production technology up there with the best. Our costs are relatively low in the grand global picture.

And there's our people. Within Auckland there are technical experts, actors of every nationality and an unstoppable team of creative wizards. Film Auckland aims to give international producers all the information they need about filming possibilities here. Fast