• New documentary funding round: the AFC is inviting submissions for an extra round of Strand O documentary production funding in February 2004. The AFC is looking for exciting, compelling documentary projects which explore the documentary form in imaginative and inventive ways. Deadline for applications 20 February 2004


• The inaugural Enterprise Australia program took place in country Victoria, 14-18 November, with advisors including Michael Donovan (producer, Bowling for Columbine) and John Penotti (executive producer, In the Bedroom) workshopping business strategies for independent producers


• The Indigenous Unit hosted a dinner on 25 September with Bird Runningwater, programmer for the Sundance Film Festival. Bird met with Indigenous filmmakers and viewed the 'Dreaming in Motion' short films and short features Queen of Hearts and Cold Turkey

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• In the paper Flexible Vision the AFC has investigated the range of new services for audiovisual content delivery that may operate in Australia within a decade. The study examines international practice and the AFC's main objective is to examine appropriate mechanisms for supporting Australian content on these new services. Read a brief overview of this research


• For more coverage on issues surrounding film, culture and the proposed Australia-US Free Trade Agreement see Australian Audiovisual Industries and Cultural Policy: background information to free trade negotiations between Australia and the United States


• As Australia and the US conclude another round of negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement between their nations a major new publication, America's Pie: culture and trade after 9/11 by Jock Given, argues that the world is at a decisive moment in the history of trade and culture and that Australia has a significant role to play


• Click here for the latest Trade Bulletin

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• Japanese Story has scooped the pool at awards ceremonies in the past month. Find out the winners at the AFI Awards and the IF Awards


• An Australian Film Focus festival was held in Tokyo, 1-3 November, as a sidebar of the Tokyo International Film Festival. Walking on Water, Lantana, Beneath Clouds, One Night the Moon and a number of short films were screened. Tony Ayres, the director of Walking on Water, attended the festival with the AFC Deputy Chair Paul Hamra. Director Paul Goldman and producer Emile Sherman were unable to attend the special screening of their film The Night We Called it a Day as planned due to filming commitments, but recorded a video speech for the audience which was played prior to the screening. Indigenous Unit Project Manager Erica Glynn attended the festival and participated in a lecture tour to universities and schools on Indigenous filmmaking. Mimi, Shit Skin and One Night the Moon screened as part of the lecture series


• A record 170 Australians travelled to MIPCOM 03, held in Cannes, 10-14 October. The TV market was generally perceived as much more upbeat than prior editions and with a better outlook for Australian programs internationally. The AFC again organised a range of initiatives and facilities in support of Australians attending. The Australian Ambassador to France, His Excellency Bill Fisher, was the special guest at the Australian Drinks held at the AFC stand on Sunday evening. The Australian stand was also singled out for an official visit by a French delegation headed by the Minister of Culture and Communication, Jean-Jacques Aillagon, to express their appreciation of the strong Australian contingent attending the market each year


• Harvie Krumpet is one of eight semi-finalists in the Short Film Animation category for the 76th Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Awards (Oscars) to be held in Los Angeles, 29 February 2004. Read the latest news on other successful AFC-funded films including Violet Lives Upstairs, Roy Höllsdotter Live, Japanese Story and Whispering in the Dark


• The short film Violet Lives Upstairs was recently awarded Best Australian Short Film by the Film Critics Circle of Australia


• Eighteen recent international awards have been presented to Australian films since August 2003 with highlights including Harvie Krumpet, The Projectionist and Ward 13


• There has been a strong representation of Australian films at recent key international film festivals including Amsterdam, Stockholm and Valladolid in Spain. All four Australian films selected to screen at Valladolid received prestigious jury awards


• Deadlines are approaching for the following international festivals (Nov-Dec): Aspen Shortsfest, Tampere, Stuttgart, Hot Docs, Hong Kong and Creteil


• OPENChannel are calling for entries for short films of any genre for their members' screenings and awards event LOVE YOUR WORK! Deadline 8 December


• Metro Screen's Kaleidoscope Festival screened 37 new works and hosted a multimedia exhibition, four Q&A sessions and 10 industry seminars. Winners were announced on November 14

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• The 2003 SPAA Conference in Melbourne on 18-21 November was titled Live or Let Die, The New Reality for Producers. The Conference was dominated by discussion on the Free Trade Agreement and also featured spaaMART, the inaugural feature finance market, which was sponsored by the AFC's Marketing Unit


• Over 150 women, including Posie Graeme-Evans (Head of Drama at the Nine Network) and Sue Masters (Head of Drama at Network Ten), attended the Women Working in Television Project's annual SPAA Conference Breakfast in Melbourne on 21 November. The project's latest publication The Big Picture: managing your own career in television was profiled by the Director Film Development Carole Sklan. It can be downloaded free or contact publishing@afc.gov.au for a hard copy


• SPAA Fringe was held in Byron Bay, 14-16 November. The festival was attended by AFC Project Managers Lori Flekser and Jackie McKimmie who chaired a session 'Non-Drama Production on Broadcast and Pay TV' and introduced guest Peter Broderick's session 'Strategies and Tactics for Emerging Producers'. AFC staff were also on hand at the information stand to answer queries and provide AFC guidelines and handouts


• Project Manager Lori Flekser inaugurated a new short course at AFTRS on 12 November: Documentary Budgeting for Producers. The course grew out of an expressed need by documentary practitioners to gain the skills to prepare preliminary documentary budgets. It was attended by 23 people from those with basic budgeting and spreadsheet knowledge to more experienced filmmakers who wanted to be exposed to the new AFC A-Z Documentary Budget. Feedback from the one-night course has been very positive and there are plans to run it again next year


• Director Film Development Carole Sklan and Project Managers Julia Overton and Kim Lewis spoke on panels at the Niche Marketing: Screen Packaging and Producing Conference at AFTRS on 19 October in Sydney. Kim presented a case study on the theatrical distribution of The Bank in Australia, Julia contributed to the session 'What is Right and Wrong with Australian Filmmaking?' with panellists including producer Marian Macgowan, sales agent Gary Hamilton and director Jonathan Teplitzky, and Carole spoke at the session 'The Way to the Future' where each panellist was asked 'what would you change and not change about the Australian film industry?'

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• The best of Australia's new film talent in nine short feature films will screen on SBS in November and early December


• Khoa Do's feature The Finished People has secured a theatrical release through Dendy Cinemas, screening at Dendy Newtown Cinemas in Sydney and Dendy Kino Cinemas in Melbourne. The following Australian features will also be released in November and December so keep an eye out for screening details: The Honourable Wally Norman and Visitors


• The AIMIA Awards showcase Australia's best interactive media content and aim to recognise excellence in digital media production. Winners from eight categories will represent Australia at the UN World Summit Awards in 2004. Deadline 1 December


• ASDA hosts a budgets and project management seminar - put more $$$ on the screen - in Sydney, 2 December


• Reel Dance is a well-established festival concentrating on dance on film. Screenings and installations are featured at The Performance Space, Sydney, 3-13 December


• The Writers' Muster is for and about writers from all genres - screen, novel, theatre, journalism, poetry, song - talking to each other about the ideas that fascinate or obsess them. It will be held as part of the Australian Writers' Guild Conference, Sydney, 5-7 December


• The AFC, in association with the Australia International Cultural Council (AICC), the Australian Consulate in Los Angeles and the American Film Institute, will present a week of Australian films at the Arclight Cinema in Los Angeles, 15-19 January 2004


• The Australian International Documentary Conference will be held in Fremantle, WA, 26-28 February 2004. Screen Tasmania is offering assistance to suitable applicants to attend the conference. Deadline 5 December


• Other AFC-supported activities and events


• The AFC sponsors IF magazine's What's On in Film guide to screen events across Australia

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• The AFC has released its latest National Survey of Feature Film and TV Drama Production, which reveals that production has dropped dramatically in Australia in 2002/03


• In Conversation With... features an interview with Daniel Askill, writer/director of innovative new short film We Have Decided Not to Die and Sofya Gollan talks about making her first short feature Preservation starring Jacqueline McKenzie. There are also interviews with writer/directors from the films Floodhouse, Roy Höllsdotter Live, Queen of Hearts, The 13th House, Martha's New Coat, Preservation and So Close to Home. The October issue of Qantas Inflight Magazine had an article on the short features


• A new revised version of the AFC guide Careers in Film, Television and Interactive Digital Media is now available. You can download it or contact publishing@afc.gov.au for a hard copy


• The Recent TV Drama and Documentaries Catalogue and Recent Australian Feature Films Catalogue have been updated for international markets


• Latest updates to Get the Picture Online, industry statistics


• Upcoming Production Report


• AFC Funding Approvals pages are now fully searchable. Find out the latest Film Development and Industry and Cultural Development funding approvals


• AFC Funding deadlines

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• AFC Commissioners update: Maureen Barron will continue for a third term as Chair of the AFC, and Antonio Zeccola has been appointed for a second term. In response to the integration between the AFC and ScreenSound, the AFC Board of Commissioners' complement has been increased by two. Dominic Case and Paul Grabowsky have been appointed for a three-year term effective 21 October


• The Australian Film, Television and Radio School and the AFC honoured 10 years of Indigenous filmmaking at Tracking Tomorrow: a Celebration of Indigenous Film and Filmmakers in Sydney on 20 November. It has been a decade since the Indigenous Unit of the AFC was established and the first Indigenous students graduated from AFTRS


• The AFC Annual Report has been published. If you would like a copy contact publishing@afc.gov.au


• Positions vacant

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