About Wellington UNESCO City of Film
Wellington has embraced its coveted title as a UNESCO City of Film
Wellington takes huge pride in being named a UNESCO City of Film in 2019. We have since worked alongside a variety of stakeholders, partners and community groups to devise a strategy that harnesses our creative talent.
Our overarching goal is to become a bi-cultural City of Film; elevating and promoting Māori stories and storytellers particularly mana whenua and stories of the Wellington region.
Wellington joins 245 other cities around the globe in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, recognised for excellence in their fields for nurturing creativity and fostering international collaboration.
New Zealand itself has three Creative Cities – Wellington UNESCO City of Film, Auckland UNESCO City of Music designated in 2017 and Dunedin UNESCO City of Literature designated in 2014.
Our strategy
Our strategy sets out ways we will collaborate with our Creative City colleagues in Aotearoa and worldwide to elevate the visual storytellers of Wellington, and to bring an array of cultural experiences to the people of Wellington.
By working with industry, community groups and educators, we aim to introduce programmes and support existing initiatives to ensure Wellington is, and remains, the best place in Aotearoa to watch, make and learn about movies.
Our progress
To acknowledge the hard work that has gone into ensuring Wellington’s creative heartbeat has remained strong and sustainable, we have released a report capturing some of the highlights and witnessing how our region’s abundant screen creativity can contribute to more sustainable communities, socially, economically and environmentally.
In a year that can only be described as challenging and like no other, Wellington UNESCO City of Film has come together to develop programmes and opportunities that are inspiring our filmmakers and screen creatives of tomorrow. To learn more about our highlights and key milestones, watch the full visual report or read the 2020/21 Annual Report.
Wellington was named a Creative City of Film by UNESCO in November 2019, one of just 18 members in the worldwide UNESCO City of Film network
