Can Peter Jackson or Lars von Trier be seen to have had a greater influence on their national film industries funding institutions?

- Introduction to the Danish and New Zealand film industries

- Background on Lars von Trier and Peter Jackson

- Their influence on national funding initiatives

- Conclusion

‘His arrival on the scene has dominated to such an extent that in most people's perception, New Zealand film industry means Peter Jackson’

(The New Zealand Herald, 2014)

'In the case of von Trier … there is genuine reason to doubt whether talk of a Danish model (or miracle, as some journalists would have it) would even be

possible without his galvanising presence' (Hjort, 2007, p. 32)

'Danish cinema was once truly great, and recognised as such worldwide'

(Hjort, p. 23)

Film act of 1964:- Creation of a film fund- Formalised government support for film

Film act of 1972:- To qualify for state support, films must be in the

Danish language

1972 Formation of the Danish Film Institute (DFI):- Organisational support tool for all Danish national

films- Responsible for allocating subsidies - Operation of support programmes including film

education

1984 directed The Element of Crime - First feature film- Winner of 12 awards

Awards to date:- 89 wins and a further 75 nominations

1991 directed Europa- Winner of 3 awards at Cannes

but not the Palme d’Or- Walked away in frustration

'… raged against the unrealistic plotlines and overwrought visuals of mainstream cinema'

(Kingsley, 2012)

'… raged against the unrealistic plotlines and overwrought visuals of mainstream cinema'

(Kingsley, 2012)

'Dogme’s most obvious accomplishment then was that it directed international focus to new Danish cinema, branding Denmark as a film nation in a way not seen before’

(Schepelern, 2013)

‘… one of the most important events in the European film history of the 20th century’

(Volk, 2005)

1989 Film Act- Now films would be able to apply for DFI support if

they made a clear artistic or technical contribution to Danish film art and culture.

- Lars von Trier’s film from 1984 was refused DFI support for its use of English and German

1989 Film Act- Now films would be able to apply for DFI support if

they made a clear artistic or technical contribution to Danish film art and culture.

- Lars von Trier’s film from 1984 was refused DFI support for its use of English and German

Danish Film Institute negotiations- An additional 59 million Euros for Danish film support- Considerable power for negotiation thanks in part to

the international recognition of the Dogme movement and Lars von Trier’s The Idiots (1998)

New Zealand

1978 - Formation of the New Zealand Film Commission - … growth in the New Zealand film industry…. We

want New Zealand films and filmmaking talent to be seen and valued by local and international audiences’ (NZFC, 1978)

- Fewer than 20 features made in the preceding 30 years to their introduction.

- But in 36 years of operation more than 300 feature films have been made with either their direct funding or from grants they administer.

LOTR Trilogy box office: $2,911,400,000 Mojo)

King Kong box office: $550,517,357(Box Office Mojo, 2015)

‘… kind of shunted sideways, because Peter doesn't make New Zealand films, he makes films for Warner Brothers … The films he makes have got very little to do with us culturally’

(Jones, 2014)

2004 - Large Budget Screen Production Grant- ‘The grant aims to increase economic growth by

providing a financial incentive to attract large scale screen production to New Zealand, which would be unlikely to come in the absence of such incentives' (NZFC, 2009, p. 2)

- Attracted King Kong (2005) and Avatar (2009) and their resulting spend of $389 million and $307 million in New Zealand (Brownlee, 2010).

2004 - Large Budget Screen Production Grant- ‘The grant aims to increase economic growth by

providing a financial incentive to attract large scale screen production to New Zealand, which would be unlikely to come in the absence of such incentives' (NZFC, 2009, p. 2)

- Attracted King Kong (2005) and Avatar (2009) and their resulting spend of $389 million and $307 million in New Zealand (Brownlee, 2010).

2009 - Screen Production Incentive Fund (SPIF)- Support increased production of medium and larger

scale New Zealand cultural screen content, for the benefit of audiences and to support the retention of New Zealand screen talent, stories and infrastructure.

Conclusion

?

Conclusion

FilmographyAvatar, James Cameron, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, USA, 2009Bad Taste, Peter Jackson, New Zealand Film Commission, New Zealand, 1987Braindead, Peter Jackson, WingNut Films, New Zealand, 1992Epidemic, Lars von Trier, Elementfilm A/S, Denmark, 1987 Europa, Lars von Trier, Det Danske Filminstitut, Denmark, 1991Heavenly Creatures, Peter Jackson, WingNut Films, New Zealand, 1994King Kong, Peter Jackson, Universal Pictures, New Zealand, 2005Meet the Feebles, Peter Jackson, WingNut Films, New Zealand, 1989The Element of Crime, Lars von Trier, Danish Film Institute, Denmark, 1984The Idiots, Lars von Trier, Zentropa Entertainments, Denmark, 1998The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Peter Jackson, New Line Cinema, New Zealand, 2001The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Peter Jackson, New Line Cinema, New Zealand, 2003The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Peter Jackson, New Line Cinema, New Zealand, 2002

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