Lights, cameras ... Bay of Plenty

BOP Film president Anton Steel has joined with Tessa Blackett and Tanya Horo to encourage an active film and television industry in the Bay of Plenty. Photo/supplied

BOP Film has just launched in Tauranga. Established by BOP Film president Anton Steel, Tessa Blackett and Tanya Horo, they want to nurture the growth of the film and television industry in the Bay of Plenty.

All have a depth of experience in the industry including directing, producing, acting, and operating their own production companies.

Vibe talked to Tanya Horo about where BOP Film was heading and what it needed to get there.

Why is it necessary to establish an agency in Tauranga?
Don't we have one already? BOP Actors and BOP Film, while complimentary to each other, are two different types of organisations.

BOP Actors focuses solely on management of actors and entertainers and getting them work in film and television. BOP Film is a not-for-profit initiative set up to help encourage an active and strong film and TV industry here in Bay of Plenty.

What do we have that other locations don't?
We have the best weather and most sunshine hours in the country which, coupled with the fact the Bay is predominantly north-facing, gives us beautiful lighting conditions for filming in. This is the reason Hollywood, LA and California became the centre of the filmmaking world.

We are also blessed with an amazing range of locations within an hour-and-a-half travel of Tauranga. From a coastline to be envious of, to city locales with amazing backdrops, to unique bush, Rotorua, the lakes, and even the volcanic plateau are all in striking distance for a film crew.

And most importantly we have a real sense of community and pride in where we live and a great vision across lots of different industries.

What does Tauranga need to make the film industry notice us?
We need to create, we need vision, we need passion and belief that we can achieve great things. We need to find out who our filmmakers are and support them, find funding for them to create their film, find the right crew and actors.

We are hoping to spread awareness to production companies in New Zealand and overseas. Letting companies here in Tauranga know they don't need to out-source; get crew or actors from Auckland. We have everything needed to build an industry here, to create media here. From there, who knows where that will lead us?

How will BOP Film work?
What will make it really shine will be local businesses hiring the local crew to make their media content, investors and arts philanthropists enabling us to reflect the stories of talented film makers we have across many different genres. In doing so, allowing the Bay to shine even more on a national and international level. With the new technologies available it is possible to make things smarter, greener and cheaper and we intend to capitalise on these tools and the talent in our midst.