Alien planet or Ōtepoti? Dunedin's brilliant movie parody audition for Hollywood

Why travel to Scotland for a re-enactment of 'Braveheart', when you can shoot it on the Otago Peninsula and be home in time for dinner? 

It’s the question posed by Enterprise Dunedin, Dunedin City Council's economic development and destination marketing agency.

The agency has created and released a showreel, featuring Dunedin-raised comedian James Mustapic parodying scenes from blockbuster movies, like 'The Lord of the Rings', in stunning Otago settings. 

It aims to catch the eye of international filmmakers, producers, location scouts and industry execs by showcasing the region’s diverse landscapes (and local talent). 

Enterprise Dunedin Manager, Sian Sutton, told rova the end goal is to have projects filmed on-location.

"When there is film and TV-induced tourism as a result of films being made in a city, there's an uplift of around 30%, with some locations seeing 300% once a production gains traction," she explained.

Dunedin already has a strong resume, spotted in Hollywood juggernauts like 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' and 'The Hobbit'. It also appeared in 'The Royal Treatment', which has over 42 million viewing hours on Netflix. 

We always see the knock-on effect to our local economy because you've got crews, you've got staff, you've got catering, and it also ensures that our local creative industry is kept fed and watered...

Sutton is confident Dunedin has what it takes. 

"It's a very compact city, and the industry leans in to help film productions. I think having a diverse range of locations and opportunities is a benefit, meaning that the film production crew doesn't need to move around the country... so the sky's the limit really," she added.

The showreel was filmed entirely in-house by Enterprise Dunedin and produced by Film Dunedin lead Stefan Roesch. It cost less than $20,000 to make. 

Sutton said she’s pretty proud of the ‘world-class’ result. 

“We've got a team of two people here in Enterprise Dunedin who worked on this production, and it really is a showcase of Ōtepoti Dunedin… It's not just about film.”

There has even been talk of a sequel.

“It's a really good profile piece for our destination in its entirety, and we hope to use it for tourism initiatives as well… there's still so much more to show beyond what was shown in the production you saw today,” she said. 

 Dunedin Mayor Sophie Barker has called it fantastic work.

“With the screen sector contributing $1.1 billion to New Zealand’s GDP and nearly 27,000 jobs nationally, Enterprise Dunedin and Film Dunedin are working to ensure the lower South is well positioned to capture both the economic and cultural value of screen production - supporting local talent and sharing Dunedin’s unique stories with audiences at home and overseas.”

All that’s left to do is wait and see.