Written by Tom Deehan on Oct 26, 2015. Posted in Incentive News

Poland and New Zealand sign co-production agreement

A new agreement signed by Polish Ambassador Wendy Hinton, Polish Culture and Natural Heritage Minister Malgorzata Omilanowska and New Zealand’s Arts and Culture Heritage Minister Maggie Barry will allow co-productions between Poland and New Zealand to be regulated and receive new incentives.

There is potential for new ventures and the opportunity to develop creative partnerships that will enhance the industry in both countries.

According to Barry: “this is the 16th bilateral film and television co-production agreement signed by New Zealand. It will open the doors for our screen industry to access finance, expertise and distribution in Poland, and give the opportunity to share creative and technical resources.”

She continues: “I welcome this agreement and look forward to the benefits it will bring to our screen sector. There is potential for new ventures and the opportunity to develop creative partnerships that will enhance the industry in both countries.”

The agreement will allow each country to access the other’s local incentives which will inevitably increase interest in both. New Zealand already has co-production agreements in place with Australia, France, India, South Africa and the UK.

New Zealand currently offers a 20% cash grant for international productions, and a lucrative 40% for local projects. Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy was filmed in New Zealand, using the same locations featured in the original The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Both series have proved profitable for the country, earning a combined USD5.849 billion.

Poland on the other hand offers a wide variety of film incentives with over nine currently in operation and all offering up to 50% coverage of a film’s budget. These incentives have enticed numerous projects ranging from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, to action thriller Zero Dark Thirty.