No justification for funding ‘Jacindamania’ doco

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

by Simin Williams

Last week we learned that the New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC) is putting $800,000 of taxpayers’ money towards a documentary called Jacindamania about former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

Apparently $3.2m is needed for the documentary and the commission says it’s had “significant” international and local investment, without naming the mysterious investors. Chief executive Annie Murray told the NZ Herald she was confident the film would be a success, due to the “level of third-party investment” and that “sales estimates for the film were strong”! 

The commission said the project was presented at Cannes Film Festival in May 2023 to potential international partners, under the name Jacindamania. 

Simin Williams

We were assured by Murray that commission chair Alastair Carruthers wasn’t involved in the decision to part-fund the film, due to his conflict of interest. Alistair and his partner, chef Peter Gordon, are friends of Ardern and attended her wedding recently.

Carruthers was appointed chair of NZFC in Oct 2022 and as chair of TVNZ in July 2023 by the previous Government.

In a statement, the Film Commission said “the documentary explores the rise of violent extremism and online hate in New Zealand, while covering Dame Jacinda’s leadership”.

As Sean Plunket says — in a video titled Why Are We Paying for the Jacindamania Documentary? — it is most inappropriate for the Film Commission to use the public purse for a documentary with a political bend.

Murray herself acknowledged that they’re also required to stick to the commission’s policy on political neutrality.

Jordan Williams of the Taxpayers’ Union said the commission wasn’t “reading the room”.

“On the one hand, the Film Commission says the film has market confidence and will likely be a commercial success, but then on the other they give it taxpayer money anyway,” he said.

“From a taxpayer’s perspective, any funding of films about politicians is questionable. Most countries call it propaganda.”

Williams called for the commission to be “culled”.

“The Film Commission is nothing but a leftie love-in and ignores any pretence of being politically neutral. It should be focused on the arts, not politics.”

Filmmakers Pietra Brettkelly and Justin Pemberton are set to write and direct the film, while Firefly Films’ Emma Slade will produce it.

Production in set to start in late 2024, and it’s likely to be released mid-2025.

While the new Finance Minister is looking at all wasteful projects to reduce government spending, it seems this $800,000 should be axed immediately. Also, the Government needs to review the NZFC performance in light of such gross lack of judgement. When popular and important TV documentaries like Sunday and Fair Go are in need of funding, there is no justification for a Jacindamania documentary.

Someone has to tell NZFC that Jacinda “mania” has long expired, and no amount of cash or propaganda is going to rekindle that.