Boy director: Pirating harms whole film industry
Source:TV NZ Date:Wednesday, 23 June 2010. Article Type:General
The director of the hit New Zealand film Boy says the circulation of pirated copies of the movie ultimately harms the whole New Zealand film industry.
Taika Waititi's comment comes after it was revealed Boy had been made illegally available online and through pirated DVDs.
He says it's already tough for New Zealand filmmakers to profit from their work and piracy only makes that harder.
Three copies of the film, a coming-of-age tale set in the East Coast and directed by Taika Waititi, are available on a pirate music and video sharing website.
Waititi says he has heard that some people who are involved in pirating movies had decided not to do it with Boy because it's a local, Maori film but it seems it's not that way for everyone.
At least 200 people have already downloaded the film.
The source of the uploads was being investigated by the New Zealand Federation Against Copyright Theft.
Boy has made $8.4 million at the domestic box office since its release in March, making it the third highest-grossing New Zealand film behind Once Were Warriors and Goodbye Pork Pie.
"It's a sad day for the New Zealand film industry when something like this happens," said New Zealand Film Commission chief executive Graeme Mason in a statement.
Such revelations illustrated the growing threat of online copyright theft to the New Zealand film industry, he said.
Boy was made available on a peer-to-peer filesharing site this month - potentially hurting its upcoming DVD and Australian release, Mason said.
"Whilst Boy has already been a tremendous success at the New Zealand box office, it is yet to be released overseas. There's no telling how much the film's true international potential has been hurt by piracy."
The film was set for an Australian general release in August -- with early indications of a repeat of the film's New Zealand success after screening to sell out audiences at the Sydney Film Festival.
Boy was financed by the NZ Film Fund, NZ Film Commission (NZFC), Unison Films, NZ On Air, Maori Television Service and Te Mangai Paho.
"Ultimately piracy hurts not only those directly involved in making the film, but those who work in the wider industry," Mason said.
Strong returns on movies such as Boy enabled the NZFC to invest more money into developing more New Zealand stories, he said.
Boy is yet to be released overseas or on DVD.