• Four half-hour films from the AFC's Dramatically Black initiative debuted in Australia on 27 May, opening the very successful Message Sticks Film Festival at the Sydney Opera House. Celebrating the screenings, the AFC announced the hosting of a new web portal to Indigenous media and arts in Australia, developed by filmmaker Rachel Perkins. The Black Book, a 440-page print directory and companion website, will provide a new level of promotion and access to Indigenous arts practitioners in over 95 professions. It lists more than 2,700 people and organisations in Australia's Indigenous media, arts and cultural industries, as well as more than 2,000 works by Indigenous writers, musicians and filmmakers from the late 1890s to now, covering literature, music and screen production.
  
  The $10,000 Bob Maza Fellowship was also presented on the night by AFC Indigenous Branch Manager Sally Riley to actor and musician Tom E. Lewis, whose life is the focus of the short documentary Yellow Fella.



• The Big Screen website is now up and running, featuring blogs by festival director Peter Castaldi, information on screenings in each town, resources for educators and media, and details of special gala events.



• As part of the IndiVision Screenings, Popcorn Taxi hosted a special forum in Sydney in February. You can now read a transcript on the AFC website where Rowan Woods (director The Boys and the upcoming Little Fish with Cate Blanchett), Ashley Luke (Fortissimo) and international producers Josh Zeman (The Station Agent) and Rumle Hammerich talk about how to make successful low-budget films in the global marketplace.
  
  An early success story from the recent IndiVision Project Lab is the feature Caterpillar Wish, which starts shooting in South Australia in June. Four weeks out from filming, director/writer Sandra Sciberras talks about how her experience at the Lab affected the script, the budget, and her approach to filming. Applications for the next Lab close on 2 September. The Lab will be held in Sydney in Jan-Feb 2006.
  
  The AFC will soon launch a special IndiVision newsletter covering the latest on low-budget feature filmmaking. Stay tuned for more details.



• The Federal Budget for 2005/06 was announced on 10 May. The government is fully implementing its 2004 election commitment, as outlined in the policy A World Class Australian Film Industry. The Budget confirmed a much needed new allocation of ongoing funds for the development of the Australian film industry. Building on an additional $2.5 million this financial year, a further $15 million over three years will be directed to script development programs and low-budget feature development through the AFC's highly successful IndiVision initiative. A further $6.9 million over three years for screen culture activities will assist the AFC to expand access to these programs throughout regional Australia, in the educational sector and internationally - including a greater level of access to Australia's audiovisual heritage.



• The completion of the first four projects in the federally funded AFC/ABC Broadband Production Initiative (BPI) has highlighted the importance of developing Australian digital interactive content, particularly in the burgeoning educational and entertainment markets. The projects UsMob, The Dog and Cat News, The Life, Times and Travels of the Extraordinary Vice-Admiral William Bligh and Dust on My Shoes are now online. Read our feature interview below with the projects' creators.

Top

• The new Film Development Funding Guidelines will be launched around the country in July and will be available on the AFC website from the first week of July. Upcoming deadlines are listed below. If you wish to start preparing an application for these funding strands, please contact fd@afc.gov.au first for advice rather than downloading information from the website.
  
  DRAMA DEVELOPMENT: New Screenwriters Program, 8 July; Seed Feature Funding (Strand B), 22 July; Draft Funding (Strand D), 19 August
  
  DRAMA PRODUCTION: IndiVision Low-Budget Feature Production, 15 July;
  Long Shorts Production (Short Features, Short TV Drama Series & Half-Hour Dramas), 15 July
  
  DOCUMENTARY: Early Development (Strand J), 1 July; Documentary Development (Strand K), 1 July; Shooting Time-Critical Material (Strand L), 8 July, 12 August
  
  ANIMATION: Animation Development (Strand S), 19 August; Short Animation & Pilot/Trailer Production (Strand T1), 5 August
  
  DIGITAL INTERACTIVE MEDIA: Early Development Funding (Strand V), 29 July; Matched Investment Development Funding (Strand W), 29 July
  
  PRACTITIONER SUPPORT: General Development Investment, 15 July; Internships, 15 July



• AFC funding approvals



• The AFC is calling for applications to Inside Track, a Marketing initiative that enjoyed a highly successful inaugural year in 2004. Inside Track introduces feature film producers to the domestic and international marketplace through SPAAmart, the feature finance market attached to the SPAA Conference. Deadline 15 June.

Top

• The National Film and Sound Archive will present a series of screenings from Fred Schepisi at Cinematheque around the country in June/July including the prize-winning docos People Make Papers and One Hundred Odd Years from Now. Both films are from the Film House Studio, one of the most important producers of short documentary and advertisements in Melbourne in the 1960s. The new print of The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, from the Kodak/Atlab Cinema Collection, will be followed by The Devil's Playground. Melbourne (1 June), Adelaide (20 June), Hobart (27 June - 4 July), Perth (6-20 July).
  
  
• The AFC, in partnership with the Australia International Cultural Council, will present a film festival in Singapore in June as part of oZmosis - an arts festival showcasing Australian arts and design. The festival, Raise the Red Curtain, will screen at the multi-purpose arts venue The Arts House, and features a retrospective program of Baz Luhrmann's work including La Bohème, Strictly Ballroom, William Shakespeare's Romeo+Juliet, Moulin Rouge!, the recent Chanel No 5 advertisement and a documentary about the making of this commercial. The Arts House venue will also feature exhibitions by fashion designer Akira Isogawa, Australian glass artists and Dinsoaur Designs jewellery and tableware. Find out more at oZmosis and The Arts House.



• AFC Indigenous Branch Manager Sally Riley attended First Nations/First Features at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York to present the Indigenous films that screened at the festival: Radiance by Rachel Perkins, Bedevil by Tracey Moffat and Beneath Clouds by Ivan Sen. Rachael Maza from Radiance attended the screenings in New York and Washington to present the film. First Nations/First Features celebrates the groundbreaking feature films of Indigenous directors from around the world.



• The London Australian Film Festival screened 3-13 March at the Barbican Centre showcasing 18 new features, nine new documentaries, 21 new shorts and three children's features to a broad audience. A selection of films from the festival - including the features Danny Deckchair, Strange Bedfellows, Oyster Farmer, Peaches, and the documentaries The President Versus David Hicks, The Man Who Stole My Mother's Face, The Ister and Helen's War: Portrait of a Dissident - is touring to Oxford and Exeter in June. Visit the Barbican for details.



• In June, the Embassy Roadshow will screen in Atlanta, Washington and San Francisco in the United States, as well as Beirut, Lebanon. With another 19 events in preparation, the Roadshow has announced the newest additions to its collection: Gettin' Square, Japanese Story, Ned Kelly, The Rage in Placid Lake, Swimming Upstream and Thunderstruck. These join our previously announced shorts Birthday Boy, Footnote, Mother Tongue, Ward 13 and We Have Decided Not to Die. The Roadshow is a travelling film festival that showcases contemporary Australian films to international audiences facilitated through Australian embassies and posts abroad. The Roadshow is an initiative of the Australia International Cultural Council through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and is coordinated by DFAT and the AFC. In four years, the Roadshow has assisted in creating over 100 festivals, 1000+ screenings, and helped more than 140,000 people around the world gain a better appreciation of Australian culture and Australian screen talents.



• Congratulations to all the winners at the St Kilda Film Festival. My Sister took out the SBS Television Award and Best Achievement in Cinematography and The Scree won the Craft Award. At the ACS National Awards Rosie won a Golden Tripod in the Dramatised Documentaries section, Slim Pickings won an Award of Distinction in the Experimental & Specialised Cinematography section and Somersault won an Award of Distinction in the Features - Cinema section.
  
  
• The documentary Jabe Babe - A Heightened Life will screen at the Sydney Film Festival on 20 June, 4.15pm, State Theatre. The film will also be screening at the Melbourne and Brisbane International Film Festivals. Find out about other Australian films screening at Sydney and Melbourne.



• International awards update: The short film Clara received a Special Mention at Cannes. Gabriel won the Prize of the Children's Film Competition for 5-12 year olds, at the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen. The film then went on to Giffoni Hollywood Children's Film Festival where it won Best Short in the Dare to Dream section for 9-11 year olds. The AFC supported producer Janine Burchett to attend Oberhausen through the Travel Grant program.



• Frameline 29 : The San Francisco International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Film Festival will celebrate Australian queer cinema this year with the program, Return of the Antipodeans - New Gay Shorts from Australia. Eight Oz shorts will screen including AFC-funded Moustache and Transient. Other sections of the festival will screen Australian films Granny Queer, Healing and Tomboy. The AFC is supporting directors Judith Cobb and Stuart Vauvert to attend Frameline through the Travel Grant program.



• The Australian Film Institute is calling for feature film, television, documentary, short fiction and short animation entries for the 47th AFI Awards.


• June/July deadlines are coming up for the Venice, Valladolid, Uppsala, Toronto, Sheffield, Ottawa, Montreal, Locarno, Tokyo, Telluride, San Sebastian, Pusan, London, Leipzig and Cork film festivals. See Festival Profiles for more information.

Top

• The Women Working in Television Project will host a cocktail party networking event in Melbourne on 15 June, with guest speaker Sandra Levy (Director of Television, ABC TV), and host Tiffany Cherry (News Presenter, Fox Footy Channel). It starts at 6.00pm, The Apartment, 401 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne. AFC Chair Maureen Barron will profile the project's recent activities. Contact Liza Lakusa at l.lakusa@afc.gov.au or 03 8646 4300
.


• The Screen Producers' Association of Australia (SPAA) has announced a new initiative to assist in the development of digital media in feature film. digiSPAA is a session of competitive screenings for the best Australian or New Zealand feature-length project shot digitally, and developed with a clear plan of how to exploit the project using a range of digital platforms. Projects must be complete, or near complete, and with content suitable for public screenings. Deadline 10 June.

Top

• The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Science and Innovation is conducting an inquiry into pathways to technological innovation. The AFC has written a submission jointly with the Australia Council and AFTRS, which argues that the digital content industry is of strategic importance to Australia's innovation system and that the government's cultural institutions have a vital role to play in stimulating innovation in this area.



• The AFC has also made a submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Communications, Information Technology and the Arts' Inquiry into the uptake of digital television. The submission argues that the continued availability and prioritisation of Australian content within the digital television regime is fundamental to the successful uptake of digital television.



• The AFC has made a submission to the DFAT consultation process regarding a Free Trade Agreement with United Arab Emirates.



• The Copyright Law Review Committee has released its report on the Crown Copyright Inquiry
.

Top

• Read about the success of AFC-supported projects. This month we feature Footy Legends, Granny Queer, Jabe Babe and Yukai!.



• In conjunction with Canberra University and other major cultural heritage organisations, the Archive is undertaking a major research project examining the stability of the colour dyes used in colour photographic materials such as film.



• Are you looking for details of a particular Australian film title - feature, short, TV drama or documentary? The Searchable Film Database includes Australian and co-produced features, TV drama and documentaries from 1990 and shorts from 1998. It is updated on the AFC website each month.



• Upcoming Production Report.



• Latest updates to Get the Picture Online.

Top

• Welcome to System Administrator Dennis Casali, Managing Editor - Publishing Unit Dan Edwards, Head of Preservation and Technical Services Joe Kelly, Black Books Administrator Samantha Martin, Assistant Manager - Human Resources Katrina Rajak. Farewell HR Team Leader Phillip Harwood.



• Positions vacant.

Top

• The Australian films Peaches, Chasing God, Oyster Farmer, The Widower and Look Both Ways are screening June-August so keep an eye out for them at your local cinema.



• The Down Under Film Festival, until 13 June, embraces the youth and multiculturalism of Darwin, celebrates the tropical lifestyle of the Top End and markets its vibrant arts scene to the world. For the first time, Down Under is based in Palmerston with its screenings at the Cmax Cinemas.



• St Kilda Film Festival includes Australia's top 100 short films, the SoundKILDA music video competition, international programs from Interfilm Berlin, Aspen ShortsFest and Almost Famous - early shorts by now famous filmmakers. The full festival program was announced on 6 May with the launch of the festival website.



• Everything You Need to Know about Film Finance and Tax: SPAA and Holding Redlich will present the latest developments in film financing and current perspectives of the Australian Tax Office towards the industry in Brisbane on 8 June.



• This year the Sydney Film Festival presents 170 films over 16 days from 10-25 June. The program includes a raft of gems you may never have the opportunity to see again on the big screen, including world premieres, Australian premieres and dozens of major award-winners from across the world. Also includes an extensive digital media program.
  
  Free public AFC forum at SFF: Without the gloss, the FX and the stars, what does low-budget film have to offer the audience? A panel of independent filmmakers with films in the festival - Richard Hawkins, Scott Ryan, Kriv Stenders - plus a critic (Eddie Cockrell), and a distributor (Sandie Don, Hopscotch) talk about the challenges involved in making the film and getting it into the cinema. 21 June, 2.30-4.30pm, Statement Lounge Bar, State Theatre.
  
  Ozdox at SFF: Documentaries such as Fahrenheit 9/11 and Shake Hands with the Devil reveal stories and expose issues and perspectives glossed over by the mainstream media. But can they actually affect the course of events - and would we want them to? A panel of local and overseas documentary makers, including associate producer/researcher of Shake Hands with the Devil Patrick Reed, will explore this issue on 17 June, 2.30-4.30pm, at the Statement Lounge Bar, State Theatre.



• Kate Woods, director of the acclaimed feature film Looking for Alibrandi and the miniseries Changi and Simone de Beauvoir's Babies, has confirmed she will be conducting an actor/director workshop as part of the ASDA mini conference in Melbourne. Kate's workshop will focus on directing script-based works while Robert Marchand's workshop will focus on the Mike Leigh method of directing actors. For more information or to download an application form, visit the ASDA website.
  
  
• Little Big Shots, 16-19 June in Melbourne, is a festival of Australian and international children's features, shorts, animations, documentaries and child-produced films. Incorporating workshops, a schools program and weekend screenings, Little Big Shots will inspire discussion of world cultures, language, cultural diversity, emotional intelligence and human values. Just $5 a session.



• The 5th annual Melbourne International Animation Festival kicks off at ACMI on 21 June and promises an exciting program of more than 200 short animated films from over 30 countries.



• The 20th anniversary of the SPAA Conference on the Gold Coast, 13-16 August, will have practical emphasis on developing original content for film and TV. The focus will be on the 'creative producer'. This year the AFC presents the feature film finance market SPAAmart.



• ScreenWest and PAC Screen Workshops have announced the initiative PAC Script Lab, monthly rehearsed readings of West Australian feature film scripts on the last Sunday of each month. The ultimate aim is for a honing of West Australian scripts and an increase in the profile, quality and awareness of West Australian film projects.



• Popcorn Taxi has weekly screenings and Q&A sessions in Sydney and Melbourne. See their website or join their mailing list for details of upcoming events.



• IF magazine's What's On in Film January to June 2005 guide to screen events is sponsored by the AFC.



• Other AFC-supported activities and events.

Top

• Seven pilot projects were originally commissioned under the Broadband Production Initiative (BPI), a partnership between the Australian Film Commission and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  
  Four projects were launched in April 2005 at the Australian National Maritime Museum, highlighting the exciting opportunities broadband technology offers in creating new media experiences with Australian content, and the powerful educational and entertainment market opportunities of the medium.
  
  Sue Maslin regards her project The Life, Times and Travels of the Extraordinary Vice-Admiral William Bligh as a 'major step forward for the screen representation of history'. The other projects are a companion website to the children's animated TV series The Dog and Cat News; acclaimed director David Vadiveloo's interactive drama UsMob, which follows young people's lives in the central deserts of Australia; and Dust on My Shoes, which was co-directed by TV and feature film writer/directors Chris Warner and Steve Thomas. Dust features two young Australian travellers on the road from Greece to Burma following in the footsteps of adventurer Peter Pinney.
  
  AFC Editorial Coordinator Kirsten Krauth spoke to screen producers Alicia Rackett, Heather Croall, Craig Dow Sainter and Sue Maslin about exploring the digital media worlds of broadband and interactive digital television.
  
  GETTING STARTED
  
  Kirsten Krauth: What experience did you have using digital media/broadband technologies before this project?
  
  Alicia Rackett: As a digital animation studio we have been involved in producing digital media since 1999 (and multimedia since the mid 1990s). Prior to this project we had produced another kids' broadband site Hoota & Snoz as a companion to our TV series of the same name.
  
  Heather Croall: Our key creative team was a mixture of people with experience in digital media and film. David Vadiveloo's experience was in traditional documentary production. I also came from a documentary background and came onto Usmob.com.au after an 18-month stint as senior project officer at the SAFC, overseeing the Digital Media Fund and working with Chris Joyner, whose background had been solely in online and web production since the early '90s. Chris was the new media producer on Usmob.com.au.
  
  Craig Sainter: Roar has lived in the multimedia space for the last 10 years so we have been constantly looking for the opportunity to mix our traditional television and multimedia skills. Prior to 2000 we had a lot of experience in web and CD technologies but more recently have been far more involved in DVD, broadband and also eLearning, all of which require strong linear filmmaking skills embedded within interactive schematics.
  
  Sue Maslin: I had no previous experience in digital media/broadband technologies. This possibly made me the perfect user tester because I got to ask all the basic questions during the interface design. If it made sense to me, chances were it could work for anyone! It also meant at the earlier stages of development I had no problems asking 'what if?' as I was genuinely curious about what the digital interactive medium could offer a historical documentary subject. I have to admit that I was drawn in with some reluctance to begin with but it has been an incredible learning curve for me and significantly opened up storytelling possibilities in documentary.
  
  Read the complete article.

Top