In the Maori language, 'Te Ata' means 'Dawn'. Dawn is a perfect metaphor for the film industry in the Bay of Plenty region that looks to fill the void left by excess capacity in its well established neighbors in Auckland and Wellington.

Although Samoa shifted west across the international dateline some years back to be inline with their primary trading partners in Australia and New Zealand, the Bay of Plenty's East Cape is still the first in New Zealand to see the sun rise each day, and also lends dual meaning to naming the inaugural Bay of Plenty Film Forum, established by film commissioner Anton Steel to market and develop the region as a viable production center.

The Bay of Plenty is no stranger to Hollywood, most notably as the location of Hobbiton from the Lord of the Rings series in Matamata. Locations throughout the region have been used for countless local market films and series, while local son Taika Waititi grew up on the East Cape and filmed 'Boy' in and around the town of Raukokore where he grew up.

Steel established himself as a Assistant Director on Hollywood features such as 'Without a Paddle', 'Narnia', and 'Emperor' in Auckland before making the move down to the Bay of Plenty, and envisioned the film forum as a way to encourage local filmmakers to continue to follow their dreams, while inviting established filmmakers from Auckland, Wellington, and the United States to introduce them to the region and discuss ways to help the region appeal to Hollywood.

I was honoured to join location scouts Lori Balton and Dow Griffith on a tour of the region and at the film forum at the beautiful Otamarakau Marae, where we held a discussion with members of the BOP film community, drawing mana from the Ngati Makino ancestors who watched over the forum from the traditional Maori ancestral house (wharenui) we were privileged to hold the forum in.

The Bay of Plenty is considered the landing point of several Maori landing canoes (waka) that brought the original Maori settlers to New Zealand with many descendant iwi (tribes) that call the Bay of Plenty home. Named by Captain James Cook for its abundance of necessary supplies, the Bay of Plenty is indeed rich in natural terrain, talent, and infrastructure that make it a perfect candidate for development as a production center.

The Bay of Plenty is host to lush green valleys, quaint villages, secluded beaches, winding mountain roads, contemporary harbor towns, active volcanos, geothermal energy plants, and a temperate climate that makes filming easy and enjoyable. A thriving tourism industry provides ample housing, while the seasonal Kiwi fruit production leaves large packing houses dormant for the winter that can be repurposed as impromtu stages for cover sets. Several airports allow for multiple flights per day from the existing production centers of Auckland and Wellington.

A first world country on par or greater than the United States in terms of safety, life expectancy, healthcare, and overall standard of living, New Zealand offers direct flights from LAX, English speaking/Hollywood experienced crews, opposing seasons, a currency undervalued by 14.6% on Economist's Big Mac index, and with a 20-25% grant offered by the New Zealand Film Commission, New Zealand practically sells itself as a destination. Its only disadvantages seem to be the 12 hour flight from Los Angeles and a 19 hour time difference.

Obviously, New Zealand has a lot going for it with 'Mortal Engines', 'The Meg', and 'Mulan' either just finishing or just starting to film there, but is there enough interest to drive filming to the Bay of Plenty? Queenstown on the South Island has attracted quite a bit of interest and has developed a sustainable infrastructure servicing crews from the North despite a lack of amenities that the Bay of Plenty offers, so as long as Hollywood decides to comes all the way to New Zealand, I don't see why they wouldn't want to venture outside the studio zones of Auckland and Wellington to take advantage of some of the unique locations offered in the Bay of Plenty unavailable anywhere else.

With a wealth of talent waiting to be exploited, an active and welcoming community that embrace the small town vibe with experience honed in the big cities, as long as Anton and BOP Film continue to develop the local industry infrastructure, as they say in Iowa, "If you build it, they will come."

For more information regarding filming in New Zealand and the Bay of Plenty, please check out the following websites :

•BOP Film

•New Zealand Film Commission

•Images from the Bay of Plenty

•Images from Auckland, Queenstown, & Wellington