Kōawa Studios - Where Storytelling, Creative Technology, Education, and Industry Converge.
Overview
Aotearoa New Zealand boasts some of the world's most exceptional creative talent, and Kōawa Studios is leading the way in shaping the next generation of global screen and creative technology visionaries by working in close partnership with industry. Located within Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha University of Canterbury in Ōtautahi Christchurch, Kōawa Studios is the first commercial studio of its kind to open in the South Island.
Facilities
Kōawa Studios is a digital production facility tailored for small to mid-size productions. Our state-of-the-art facilities include 200sqm virtual production and green screen sound stages, motion capture, sound recording studios, sound edit suites, foley (coming soon), and a multipurpose 180 seat theatre. Also on site are offices for production teams to co-locate, ample parking and easy truck access.
In early 2026, a 1400sqm production and post production facility will also be complete. Spanning over 11 hectares, our purpose-built facilities are supported by our expert in-house technicians and commercial team.
Industry Partnerships
Partnerships with industry are vital to success, providing students with regular access and exposure to real-world environments, and supporting them in graduating with the skills that global industries demand.
We provide facilities, expertise, and logistics for film production, simulated travel, advertising, podcasts, music videos, video production, and digital content creation.
Academic Programme
UC’s Bachelor of Digital Screen with Honours is a four-year professional degree with majors in Animation, Cinematic Arts, Game Development, Game Arts, Screen Sound and Screenwriting. Students can also choose a number of minors including Indigenous Narrative.
What people are saying
Professor Kevin Watson
University of Canterbury Executive Dean of Arts
The Digital Screen academic programme was built on the idea of the convergence between education and industry, creating an ecosystem where students learn from both academic experts and industry partners, ensuring we produce graduates with the creative and technical skills employers need to grow the sector and change the world through storytelling.
Emma Slade
Producer Firefly Films - Holy Days
Having the opportunity to work with UC Kōawa Studios was a highlight for our production. The facilities and personnel were fantastic and what would normally take weeks to shoot, only took days, it was incredible.
Daniel Davy
3rd Year Digital Screen Student
The whole Holy Days crew were so great at teaching me about everything involved in the job. I can’t believe I had this opportunity, I feel very lucky.
Mark Simon Hewis
Head of the Aardman Academy
It’s incredibly exciting to welcome the University of Canterbury as an educational partner with the Aardman Academy.
Fiona Copland
Producer Kiri and Lou
We’re thrilled for our animators to be housed at Kōawa.
Nathalie Boltt
Director Holy days
It was an absolute pleasure having access to the cutting edge VP facility at Kōawa Studios, not to mention the invaluable help from enthusiastic staff and students. We truly couldn’t have done the shoot without you!
Polly Fryer
Producer We Were Dangerous
We had our production office onsite at Kōawa Studios and it was logistically a dream come true. It was convenient, flexible and secure, the Kōawa staff were a pleasure to work with.
Sam Witters
Director Kōawa Studios
Kōawa Studios is fast becoming a hot house for innovative talent in the convergence space – storytelling backed by technology.
Want to know more?
Whether you're exploring commercial use of our facilities or looking to spark a new industry partnership, we'd love to connect. Reach out to request our rate cards, book a studio tour, or simply chat through your ideas with our team.
