Two weeks ago, I suggested a treaty ending international film subsidies. Government funding for local cultural content can be defensible. But when countries use subsidies to compete to attract Hollywood productions, Hollywood is the main winner.
It’s hard for any country to end these subsidies on its own. If New Zealand stopped subsidising its film industry but Australia did not, productions would shift across the Tasman. New Zealand’s film sector would shrink. Some people employed in the sector would follow jobs overseas rather than find work in other areas.
Film subsidies are a longstanding problem. But the Trump administration’s threat to set tariffs on international films to offset foreign film subsidies could have been the spark for change.
