Content delivered through broadcast and screen media: film, radio, television and online interactive media, which includes advertising and the game development industry. Toi Pāho is the sector that creates engaging screen-based moving image and audio content for wide distribution. Of the Toi Mai sectors, this is the largest employer of Māori and coped best through the pandemic.
Te Waha o Tāne, the second workforce development plan (WDP) for Toi Pāho, follows the inaugural WDP by Toi Mai, Te Wao Nui o Toi (2023). While that highlighted the challenges facing the screen industry’s below-the-line workforce (production crew roles), Te Waha o Tāne focuses on the needs of the above-the-line workforce (producers, directors and writers). Given the interdependence of the above- and below-the-line workforces for success, many of the insights gained through the development of Te Wao Nui o Toi are still relevant in this plan.
Our research is informed by data and a subset of interviews and engagements with above-the-line screen industry experts and game development specialists, highlighting the challenges and opportunities specific to producers, directors and writers.
Te Waha o Tāne gives an overview of the sector’s training needs for those in creative leadership roles. It provides actionable guidance and recommendations in order to amplify the voice of the industry, build a diverse and capable workforce, and enable our Toi Pāho industry to thrive by ’35.
Industry members, learners, education providers, and those with an interest in the above-the-line workforce were encouraged to provide feedback by 22 July.
Toi Mai would like to acknowledge and thank those who shared their invaluable feedback. Further updates (including the final recommendations and actions) will be shared in due course.
Contact us at [email protected] if you have any questions.
We would like to acknowledge the former Assurity team, directed by Simon Holbrook, who led the research for Te Wao Nui o Toi Workforce Capability Plan, laying much of the foundation for the work here.
We are also very grateful to everyone who spoke to us – the busy producers, directors and writers (sometimes all three in one person) who lead creative teams, work tirelessly on projects that can take years to see the light, offer their insights and experience to others as they move up, and who passionately support and grow the Aotearoa New Zealand screen sector in a challenging world that is hungry for diverse stories.
We could also like to acknowledge the time and contribution of the following people:
Navi Brouwer, Regional Content Manager, Centre of Digital Excellence (CODE)
Paula Browning CMInstD, Chair, WeCreate
Jackie Dennis, Executive Director, Script to Screen
Antony Guscott, Business Manager Siung Films
Roseanne Liang, Writer/Director, Banana Films
Jo Luping, Producrer/Director, Siung Films
Vea Mafile’o (Tonga), Director/Producer, Taro Patch Creative and Malosi Films
Jasmine Millet, Head of Creative Industries, Tātaki Auckland Unlimited / Manager, Screen Auckland
Vee Pendergrast, Industry Development Manager, Centre of Digital Excellence (CODE)
Tim Ponting, Chief Executive, Centre of Digital Excellence (CODE)
Gaylene Preston, Filmmaker/Director/Producer
Sam Ramlu, Director, Method Digital
Fiona Samuel, Director/Writer/Actor
Tainui Stephens (Te Rarawa), Producer/Writer/Director, Blue Bach Productions/Māoriland
Tim Worrall, Writer/Director
Tanya Black, Manager, Screen Wellington
Dale Corlett, Te Tumu Whakata Taonga, NZ Film Commission
Victoria Dabbs, Producer, Firefly Films and Share the Knowledge
Maddy de Young (Ngāti Kapu), Kaiwhakahau Hōtaka – Rangatahi, Māoriland
Nedra Fu, CreativeHQ
Kelly Lucas, The Screen Guild New Zealand
Tui Ruwhiu (Ngāpuhi), Ngā Kaiwherawhera Kiriata, Directors and Editors Guild NZ
Alice Shearman, Executive Director, Puni Tātuhi New Zealand Writers Guild
Ness Simons, Marketing, Comms and Events Coordinator, Screen Producers NZ (SPADA)
Emma Slade, Producer, Firefly Films and Share the Knowledge
Patricia Watson, Ngā Wāhine o Te Aro Whitiāhua Women in Film and Television (WIFT)
Te Wao Nui o Toi conveys industry views on addressing the acute shortage of skilled below-the-line production workers in Toi Pāho: defined for the purposes of the report as the film, television and interactive media industries.
Click here for more information.
Click here for the printable version of the full report.
