The Rise of Wellywood
December 18, 2020
Wellywood, also known as Wellington, is the film hub and unsung hero of Aotearoa/New Zealand’s economic growth. The capital city has played a major role in developing Aotearoa’s identity as a tourism powerhouse and production paradise. Now, in the time of the pandemic, Wellywood has virtually zero competitors. This competitive edge makes the Kiwi screen industry one of New Zealand’s best shots at a speedy recovery from the impacts of Covid-19.
New Zealand, despite its elusivity, enthralled the globe with
The Hobbit and
The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) trilogies. These movies, all of which were filmed entirely in NZ, inspired many loyal Tolkien fans to travel halfway across the world to live vicariously through the sets and backdrops of their favorite films. The influence that these movies had on tourism in New Zealand is suggested by the increase of tourist numbers by 40 percent in the first five years after the release of