Kiwi producer reveals why she’s shelved film about former Prime Minister - a project that was in line for $800,000 of taxpayer money, and a further $1.2 million through the Government’s screen production rebate scheme.
A movie about former Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern that had been earmarked for $800,000 of taxpayer funding has been scrapped.
No public money was drawn down on the project, despite it being in development for months and presented to potential international partners at the Cannes film market in 2023.
The New Zealand-produced film, titled Mania, had been originally expected to go head-to-head this year with the New Zealand/US-produced and Ardern-backed Prime Minister movie.
Mania producer Emma Slade, of Auckland-based Firefly Films, confirmed on Wednesday that the film had been scrapped.
“Once we heard that another project was underway and further advanced than we were, we decided not to pursue the project further,” Slade said in a brief email response to a list of questions.
Media Insider revealed in March last year that the NZ Film Commission board had agreed to $800,000 in taxpayer funding for Mania.
The film would likely have received a further $1.2 million in public support through the Government’s screen production rebate.
According to a synopsis provided by the NZFC at the time, the documentary would explore the “mania” that propelled Ardern’s rise as a young political leader and how that “later collided with a backlash of hate”.
The movie was neither authorised nor endorsed by Ardern, who threw her support instead behind Prime Minister. “The producers have not sought or used Film Commission funding and that was important to me.”
Nevertheless, Mania had received “significant foreign investment and international interest”, NZFC chief executive Annie Murray said earlier last year.
At that stage, film bosses did not seem worried about two Ardern movies potentially being in the market at the same time.
“[Production company] Madison Wells appear to be doing an authorised biopic on Dame Jacinda Ardern’s political career, while the independent Mania documentary explores quite different social and political issues in New Zealand society arising out of her tenure as Prime Minister,” said Murray last June.
“It will be good for the NZ viewing public to have the contrasting stories available at about the same time. Each work will likely benefit from this as well.
“The success of Mania is not undermined by the Madison Wells’ doco; NZFC is not reviewing funding and we remain confident that it can proceed as planned.”
Prime Minister, which featured at the Sundance festival in January, opened in the US last month and will feature at the NZ International Film Festival in Auckland on August 2 and in Wellington on August 16.
It has been produced by New Zealand’s Dark Doris and American firms Madison Wells and Divergent Pictures. It has been produced with Ardern’s full support, including interviews and behind-the-scenes footage.
The NZFC issued a statement last December saying it was delighted Prime Minister had been accepted at Sundance.
In a footnote to that press release, the commission said the producers of Mania had “informed the Film Commission that the production is on an indefinite pause, and no Film Commission funding has been drawn down”.
Murray told this week’s Media Insider podcast that taxpayer money committed to projects had a deadline. Producers would have to reapply for any funding should they want to resurrect the Ardern project.
“I think the fact that this new film has come out now... that would be a factor that we would take into account,” said Murray.
“But we’d have to look at it on its merits like we do with any other funding decision.”
LISTEN MORE: NZ Film Commission boss Annie Murray opens up in today’s Media Insider podcast on the future of Kiwi movies, the commission’s new focus, taking NZ films to the world, and why we need to look beyond box-office takings to judge a film’s success.
The Mania film - then titled Jacindamania - was promoted to potential international partners at Cannes in 2023, with Auckland-based Ahi Films listed as the distributor in marketing materials.
Ahi later withdrew from the project.
Last July, Murray said a new distributor was now attached, but neither she nor Slade would disclose their name.
“It is not unusual for market partners to change,” said Murray at the time.
“The Film Commission is not party to the commercial negotiations between producers and distributors, but we do require producers to have a distribution partner as a condition of funding.
“The name of that distributor remains confidential for now for commercial reasons.”
She said when commercial negotiations were complete, the distributors would make an announcement.
Slade said at the time: “We are currently focused on making the film. There is no need for them to be named at this stage.”
Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand’s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including Managing Editor, NZ Herald Editor and Herald on Sunday Editor and has a small shareholding in NZME.
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