Australian Film Commission

This is archived information from the website of the former Australian Film Commission (AFC), now part of Screen Australia

19 May 2013

In this issue:

To tell us what you think of AFC News, email: afcnews-editor@afc.gov.au.

NEW ON THE AFC WEBSITE
*AFC Industry and Cultural Development Funding Guidelines - January 2003 New funding guidelines and closing dates for 2003. *AFC National Survey of Feature Film and TV Drama Production for 2001/02 Expenditure on the production of feature films and television drama in Australia rose by 8 per cent to $662 million in 2001/02. *AFC speeches AFC Chief Executive Kim Dalton: 'Mix and match versions of the ABA and ACA' at Network Insight Seminar on 5 December 2002. AFC Chief Executive Kim Dalton: 'Australian audiovisual industry and trade issues' at the Australian Services Roundtable on 10 December 2002. *AFC Submission to the Review of the Roles of the Australian Broadcasting Authority and the Australian Communications Authority *Careers in film, television and interactive digital media The AFC has updated its guide to training courses, attachments and finding work in the film, television and interactive digital media industries. *Tips and comments about festivals and markets from filmmakers Amsterdam, Annecy, Berlin, Clermont-Ferrand, Sundance and Tampere festivals. MIPCOM, MIP-TV and Milia markets. *Get the Picture Online industry statistics updates - Pay TV: Drama channels - program expenditure shows $21 million spent by pay TV on new Australian drama in 2001/02, up $2.8m on last year but still $7.7m short of ABA requirements; Subscriber numbers to June 2002. - Release Success of Australian Productions: Overseas sales - price ranges for FFC-supported productions 2001-2002; TV ratings - Audience numbers for top Australian films and TV programs in 2001. - Free-to-air TV: 2001's top-rating programs overall including movies, documentaries and drama series. - Australian and the World: Australia ranked no. 3 in the world for cinema admissions per capita in 2001 and no. 9 for total box office revenue. - Coming soon: The early years of cinema in Australia: Cinema admissions data since 1900. *Festival and market opportunities noticeboard *Upcoming Production Report Features, TV drama and documentaries shooting in Australia now and in the next few months. *Latest AFC funding approvals - November 2002 The AFC Indigenous Unit recently approved post-production funding of $6,741 for the short drama Mirror Images (w/d: Daniel King, p: Justine Spicer) and development funding of $4,500 for the animation Amy - The Search for Kudnew (w/d: Denise Groves). *Upcoming AFC funding deadlines
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HEADLINES
*Artistic Director of Cannes visits Australia Thierry Frémaux, the Artistic Director of the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, visited Australia from 21 to 28 November 2002. This is the first time a Cannes representative of this status has been to Australia and the AFC organised a comprehensive program to introduce Frémaux to the Australian industry, taking him to Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra. Senator the Hon Rod Kemp, Minister for the Arts and Sport, hosted a welcome dinner in Frémaux's honour and industry lunches in Sydney and Melbourne provided key producers, directors, journalists, distributors and funding body representatives with the chance to hear Frémaux speak about his vision for the future of the Cannes Film Festival. He also met with representatives from each of the state funding bodies and visited AFTRS, VCA, ACMI and ScreenSound. *Winners announced for AFI Awards The AFI Awards, which the AFC supports through its ICD funding program, were held on 7 December and broadcast on Channel Ten. Rachel Perkins received the 2002 Byron Kennedy Award which is given to an individual, usually early in their career, whose work embodies the qualities of Kennedy: innovation, vision and the relentless pursuit of excellence. The AFC funded the short feature One Night The Moon which Perkins directed and which was selected for the Sundance, Berlin and Toronto film festivals. *Launch of the new AFC initiative Raw Nerve in Melbourne Funded by the AFC and produced and sponsored by OPENChannel Productions, Raw Nerve gave four new filmmakers the opportunity to make a bold, challenging short film and introduce their talents to the local film industry. The four chosen participants received funding, technical and production support and worked together to create their films. After the films were screened at Popcorn Taxi on 3 December at the ACMI Cinemas in Melbourne, John Long from the Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM) chatted with the four filmmakers: Ronald Aveling (Stasis), Marie Hatzoudis (The Junction), Rebecca Gallagher (Surfacing) and Andrew Brinsmead (The Morning After). The AFC also funded QPix (Queensland), Metro Screen (NSW), the Film and Television Institute (WA) and the Media Resource Centre (SA) as part of this initiative. *Women Working in Television events One hundred and forty-two women came to hear Sandra Levy, Director of Television, ABC and Rebecca Goldfield, Director of Development, DDE (US) speak at a WWiT breakfast which was held in Melbourne on 13 November 2002 to coincide with the annual SPAA Conference. The AFC's Director, Film Development, Carole Sklan, chaired a discussion that covered topics such as the qualities of leadership. The final WWiT activity for the year was a lunch at SBS in Sydney on 9 December 2002 for women working in production. Over 100 women have attended the networking lunches during 2002. *Crossover Australia retreat in SA for filmmakers and new media producers The South Australian Film Corporation and the AFC in partnership with New York-based Web Lab presents Crossover Australia, a retreat that will bring together approximately 20 accomplished and innovative filmmakers and new media producers including invited international guest participants and representatives from broadcasters and funding agencies. Crossover Australia is a new initiative that is part of the SAFC's strategy to stimulate the development of compelling digital and interactive projects for production in South Australia. Applications close 24 January 2003 and are open to all Australian residents.
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AFC UPDATE
*AFC annual report 2001/02 now available *AFC Positions Vacant Project Manager, Indigenous Unit - Closing date 17 January 2003.
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EVENTS
*Cannes and MIP-TV market briefings in Sydney and Melbourne (February 2003) The AFC will be holding market briefings in February 2003 in Melbourne and Sydney for anyone thinking of going to MIP-TV (24-28 March 2003) or Cannes (14-25 May 2003). Briefings will include tips for preparing and attending the marketplace and information on travel grant assistance. To register your interest email: seminars@afc.gov.au with Market Briefing in the subject line. *National Indigenous Documentary Fund Series 5 launch at AIDC (17-20 February 2003) NIDF5 will be launched at the Australian International Documentary Conference in Byron Bay in February 2003. The films in the series are We of Little Voice, Ngangkari Way, Me and You, Big Girls Don't Cry and The Foundation.
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UPCOMING ICD-FUNDED EVENTS
Flickerfest 2003 12th International Short Film Festival Sydney, 4-12 January 2003 AIMIA Awards Sydney, 7 February 2003
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AUSTRALIA INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL COUNCIL (AICC) PROJECTS
These programs were presented by the AFC in partnership with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as an initiative of the AICC. *Crossing Tracks Indigenous Film Festival in New York The Crossing Tracks Indigenous Film Festival was held in partnership with the Asia Society from 18-20 October 2002 in New York. The Australian Consulate hosted an opening night reception at which the Australian Consul General, Ken Allen, spoke along with Nicholas Platt, President of the Asia Society and Sally Riley, the AFC's Manager, Indigenous Unit. The festival opened with Rachel Perkins' film, One Night The Moon and screened several of Ivan Sen's short films along with the US premieres of the five Indigenous drama films completed this year. Over 600 people attended the screenings and Q&A sessions with filmmakers Riley, Perkins and Sen. The filmmakers also spoke at a symposium organised at NYU that explored issues to do with the development of Indigenous filmmaking around the world. *Shanghai documentary film festival A program of seven Australian documentary films screened as part of Celebrate Australia 2002 at the 4th China Shanghai International Arts Festival from 16 November to 1 December 2002. Around 1,700 people attended the screenings of Buried Country, Cane Toads, Emily's Eyes, Facing the Music, Rats in the Ranks, Rough Riders and Tosca. The Australian Consul General, Sam Gerovich, opened the festival along with a representative of the Shanghai Festival in the presence of the governors from NSW and Victoria. Bob Connolly introduced his film Facing The Music that screened at the opening and presented two masterclasses, one at Fudan University with over 130 students and another at the Shanghai Library with around 30 professional filmmakers. Chief Executive Kim Dalton attended the festival on behalf of the AFC and spoke at the AusTrade Multimedia symposium in Shanghai on 12 November, presenting a brief paper on the Australian film industry and the AFC's new initiatives in the online and broadband area. *21st Century Oz: New Australian Film in Berlin As part of Arts Australia Berlin 02 the AFC with the Arsenal Cinema presented a festival titled 21st Century Oz: New Australian Film from 5-9 December 2002. Paul Byrnes, who curated the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) Film Festival in New York for the AFC, curated the program. The films, all premiere screenings in Berlin, were feature films The Bank, Chopper, The Hard Word, La Spagnola, Newsfront, Rabbit-Proof Fence and Soft Fruit, documentaries Facing the Music and Wedding in Ramallah, the television series Blue Murder and a program of shorts and animation films. David Elfick conducted Q&A sessions for Newsfront and Rabbit-Proof Fence and delivered a masterclass at the Berlin Film School. Ian David (Blue Murder) delivered two masterclasses at the Berlin Film School to industry and writing students. Filmmakers Robert Connolly (The Bank) and Anna-Maria Monticelli (La Spagnola) also attended.
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AUSTRALIAN FILMS SCREENING AT INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS
Chicago International Film Festival, US (6-13 October 2002) Bing, Blow, Into the Dark, Into the Night, Rabbit-Proof Fence, A Wedding in Ramallah* International Wildlife Film and Television Festival - Wildscreen, UK (13-18 October 2002) Australia: Land Beyond Time, Return to Eden* Hof International Film Festival, Germany (23-27 October 2002) Eve of Adha, Rabbit-Proof Fence, The Tracker* ImagineNATIVE, Canada (24-28 October 2002) Desperate Times, Desperate Measures: The Michael Mansell Story, Fragments, Shit Skin* Hawaii International Film Festival, US (1-10 November 2002) Australian Rules, Beneath Clouds, Bing, Black and White, Black Talk, East Timor - Birth of a Nation, Fearless - Stories from Asian Women, He Died with a Felafel in his Hand, The Inside Story, The Only Person in the World, The Trouble with Merle, Walking on Water, A Wedding in Ramallah International Film festival Mannheim-Heidelberg, Germany (7-16 November 2002) La Spagnola AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival, US (7-17 November 2002) Rabbit-Proof Fence, A Wedding in Ramallah* Sundance Film Festival, US (16-26 January 2003) Native Forum: Beneath Clouds, Shit Skin* Premiere: Garage Days Shorts Program: Wilfred Animation Spotlight: Pa Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, France (31 January - 8 February 2003) International Competition: Turn Around, Winter Harvest* Digital Work Competition: The Fuzz Transmediale International Media Art Festival, Germany (1-5 February 2003) Eurovision, Trauma A Dream* See Festival Profiles for information on over 50 key international festivals including screening histories of Australian films.
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AUSTRALIAN AWARDS WON AT INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS
Calgary International Film Festival, Canada (1-6 October 2002) NFB Real Feel Award - Best Documentary: A Wedding in Ramallah* Ottawa International Animation Festival, Canada (2-6 October 2002) Gordon Bruce Award for Humour, Mike Gribble Award - Most Hilarious Film and Special Mention - Jury: Leunig* Leeds International Film Festival, UK (3-13 October 2002) Audience Award: Rabbit-Proof Fence* Chicago International Film Festival, US (6-13 October 2002) Gold Plaque Award - Short Film Section: Blow* Gold Hugo - Student Narrative Film, 15 Minutes and Over: Into the Night Cork Film Festival, UK (6-13 October 2002) Outlook Award - Best Lesbian and Gay Short: Tanaka* Flanders International Film Festival, Belgium (8-19 October 2002) SABAM Writers' Award - Best Script: The Tracker* Denver Film Festival (Media One), US (10-20 October 2002) People's Choice Award: Rabbit-Proof Fence* Saint Tropez Film Festival - Cinema de Antipodes, France (14-20 October 2002) Audience Prize and Best Actress - Dannielle Hall: Beneath Clouds* Best Actor - David Wenham: The Bank Valladolid International Film Festival, Spain (25 October - 2 November 2002) Special Jury Prize: The Tracker* Banff Festival of Mountain Films, Canada (27 October - 3 November 2002) Grand Prize: The Second Step* British Independent Film Awards (BIFA), UK (30 October 2002) Best Foreign Film (English Language): Lantana* Cinanima - Animated Film Festival of Espinho, Portugal (4-10 November 2002) Best Film Under 7 Minutes: Pa Inter-Film Festival - Berlin, Germany (5-10 November 2002) Best Film - International Competition: The Heisenberg Principle International Film festival Mannheim-Heidelberg, Germany (7-16 November 2002) Audience Award: La Spagnola* AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival, US (7-17 November 2002) Grand Jury Prize - International Documentaries: A Wedding in Ramallah* Kendal Mountain Film Festival, US (14-17 November 2002) Best Mountaineering Film: The Second Step* Columbus International Film and Video Festival, US (15-17 November 2002) Honorable Mention: Still Breathing, Tug of War* Bronze Plaque: Taringa 4068: Our Place and Time See Festival Profiles for information on over 50 key international festivals including screening histories of Australian films.
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AFC NEWS DECEMBER 2002