Written by new-contact on Jun 29, 2011. Posted in Incentive News

New Zealand and India sign co-production location filming deal

A long-gestating co-production deal has been signed between New Zealand and India, marking the 11th such agreement for New Zealand. Feature films and TV shows made under the terms of the Agreement on Audio-Visual Co-Productions will get the benefits of domestic projects in each country.

Qualifying productions will have a producer involved from each country. Queenstown in New Zealand has been popular for Bollywood productions recently and the country’s domestic industry was worth USD2.4 billion in the 2010-11 tax year.

India is a rapidly rising player in the region, and we want to build on our already strong cultural and economic ties.

John Key, New Zealand Prime Minister

John Key, the New Zealand Prime Minister, said: “India is a rapidly rising player in the region, and we want to build on our already strong cultural and economic ties. The influence of these [Bollywood] films, with an audience of millions, has been instrumental in stimulating Indian interest in New Zealand as a tourism destination. This Agreement will also offer greater certainty to investors looking to fund New Zealand-India film co-productions.”

New Zealand dominated global headlines in the tail-end of last year because of the drama surrounding the Hobbit films. In the end the Government agreed to a host of measures including legislative changes to ensure the half-billion dollar production stayed in New Zealand.