• Applications for the AFC's next IndiVision Project Lab close on 2 September 2005. Feature projects and their teams selected for the lab receive funding for two drafts of their script plus attendance at both the Project Lab and the follow up IndiVision Marketing workshop.
  
  To be held in Sydney in February 2006, the Project Lab is a high-level professional hot house for creative teams, with local and international advisers on script, performance and cinematic storytelling. Designed to inspire innovative approaches to low-budget feature filmmaking, the Lab's core philosophy is the importance of 'whole-project development' - simultaneously developing the script, the director's vision and the production methodology.
  
  For details on how to apply visit Strand F1 -IndiVision Project Lab
  Explore the nature of the 2005 lab with advisors Josh Zeman, Rumle Hammerich and David Field
  Read about the first lab project to be financed, Caterpillar Wish
  You can also now subscribe to receive IndiVision News, a biannual e-news with the latest information on international low budget feature trends and opportunities.


• Cinephiles and lovers of Japanese cinema will be given a rare opportunity to see the films of Japanese filmmaker Kenji Mizoguchi with a selection of his classic works hitting screens nationally as part of the AFC-presented Cinematheque program from early August.
  
  The Kenji Mizoguchi Season celebrates one of cinema's great careers, from silent genre films to his final astonishing experiments in colour cinematography. Along with Ozu and Kurosawa, Mizoguchi was one of a triumvirate of great classical Japanese directors. August 11 - 25 ADELAIDE, August 24 - September 7 MELBOURNE, September 5 - 12 SYDNEY, October 14 - November 4 PERTH

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• The new Film Development Funding Guidelines are now available on the AFC website.


• The new Industry and Cultural Development Funding Guidelines are also now available on the AFC website.


• SPARK, the national script program from the Australian Film Commission (AFC) in association with the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS), has announced the feature film projects selected for the 2005 program. The creative teams behind the eight chosen projects will attend an intensive residential workshop near Noosa, Queensland, 28 August - 4 September, to focus on their script with input and advice from a team of local and international advisors.


• The following AFC funding round deadlines are coming up in August/September:
  
  Film Development
  19 Aug: Strand D - Draft funding - Drama; Strand S - Development - Animation
  2 Sep: Strand F1 - IndiVision Project Lab and Script Development
  
  Industry & Cultural Development
  15 Aug: ICD Interactive Media Fund; New Projects Fund


• AFC funding approvals

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• The National Film and Sound Archive presents Wartime from 6.30pm Wednesday 17 August at the Melbourne Cinematheque, ACMI Cinemas, Federation Square. Screening as part of the National Cinematheque program, 'Wartime' marks the 60th anniversary of the end of World War Two with an evening of some of the more unexpected treasures from the National Film and Sound Archive's collection of WW2 film and sound.


• A capacity audience at the National Film and Sound Archive in Canberra recently enjoyed a special evening with Australian rock and roll star Col Joye. Col shared stories from his life in music, responding to a selection of video clips from the National Collection and prompted by questions from the NFSA's Nick Weare and ABC Radio 666's David Kilby.
  
  'Up Close and Musical - an Audience with Col Joye' was the first collaboration between the NFSA's new Recorded Sound curatorial team and Canberra Public Programs. Matthew Davies, Acting Curator of Recorded Sound, talks about the process of putting the event together from a curatorial perspective.


• One of the last surviving actors from the classic Australian film Jedda (1955) gave an oral history interview to the National Film and Sound Archive in early August. Paul Clarke, aka Paul Reynall, played the major part of Joe, the heroine's 'half-caste' Aboriginal fiance who is left behind when she is abducted.


• With the death of Clive Cross on 24 May 2005, Australia lost one of its most prominent film and sound technicians. Born in 1912, Clive Cross was the co-inventor (with colleague Arthur Smith) of the Smith and Cross sound recording process. This process, developed completely in Australia, was used by Ken G Hall at Cinesound from 1931 on the Cinesound features and newsreels. Cross was the sound recordist on all the Cinesound feature films. He worked at Cinesound during the 1930s and 1940s. He also directed several documentaries. Later in his career, he joined John Clemenger Advertising, where he directed commercials until his retirement in 1969.

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• Shooting West, the New South Wales Film and Television Office's third Western Sydney Industry and Information Day, was held at the brand new Campbelltown Arts Centre on Wednesday 22 June . Highlights included short film screenings, an exhibition of experimental screen and digital art and an interview with the creative team behind a new Arabic drama Jammin' in the Middle E. The AFC ran an information stand where publications and advice were available.


• AFC-funded short films are enjoying international success. Everything Goes (w, d: Andrew Kotatko; p: Colin Englert) has been accepted into the San Paolo Film Festival and the Montreal World Festival, while The Road Ahead (d: Fiona O'Connell; p: Carmel McAloon) has been invited to screen at the Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films and Moustache (w, d and p: Vicki Sugars) won Best First Film at the 56th Mostra Internatzionale Del Cortometraggio in Italy.


• The AFC-funded short film Azardi (w, d: Anthony Maras; p: Scott McDonald) has been accepted into a number of international festivals including Valladolid, Palm Springs, Los Angeles Short Film Festival, The Hamptons, Athens and the International Short Film Festival at Drama in Greece.


• The Australian feature The Magician, written, directed and starring Scott Ryan, will have its international premiere in the Rosebud section of the Edinburgh International film festival.


• The award-winning Australian animation The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello (directed by Anthony Lucas) continues its success, with the Ottawa International Animation Festival announcing that it will screen in the Independent Competition for Narrative Short Film section of the this year's festival.


• The Toronto International Film Festival will screen three Australian films in this year's festival. Little Fish, the second feature from director Rowan Woods, will have its international premiere screening in the Special Presentations section, while Look Both Ways, written and directed by Sarah Watt, and The Proposition, directed by John Hillcoat, will screen in the festival's Discovery and Visions sections respectively.


• August/September submission deadlines are coming up for the following international festivals: August - Sao Paulo, Mannheim-Heidelberg, September - Transmediale, Torino, Sundance, Stuttgart, Stockholm, Hof and Gijon. See Festival Profiles for more information.

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• The AFC has released the key findings from its 2004 survey of 107 independent Australian television commercial production companies. The full results will be available on the AFC website later in 2005.
  Production of TV Commercials in Australia: Key Survey Findings


• The AFC has made a number of submissions to recent government inquiries including:
  
  The Senate Legal and Constitutional Committee Inquiry into the provisions of the Copyright Amendment (Film Directors' Rights) Bill 2004
  www.afc.gov.au/policyandresearch/policy/ip.aspx
  
  The Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade's Inquiry into Australia's Relationship with Korea
  www.afc.gov.au/policyandresearch/policy/trade/policy.aspx
  
  The DCITA Review of High Definition Quota Arrangements. This Review is one of eleven Digital Reviews required under the Broadcasting Services Act.
  www.afc.gov.au/policyandresearch/policy/broadcasting.aspx
  

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• The Information for Filmmakers FAQ was updated in August. You can download the PDF online, or contact publishing@afc.gov.au for a hard copy.


• 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.

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• Welcome Collection Access Officer Anna Kamasz; Payroll Supervisor Cathie DeCure; Executive Producer of the australianscreen online website Ron Saunders; ICD International Festivals Coordinator Gennifer Gorzula; Big Screen Festival Manager Peter Castaldi; Big Screen Administrator Elena Guest; Big Screen Admin. Assistant Cassandra Chester; Public Relations Event Coordinator Jo Rose and Film Development Admin. Officer Sarah Royds. Farewell to Film Development Admin. Officer Sarah Runcie.


• Positions vacant.

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• The Australian films Look Both Ways, Little Fish, The Magician and The Proposition are screening around the country in August-October so keep an eye out for them at your local cinema.


• SPAA Fringe, Australia's leading annual conference for emerging and low budget film and television producers will be held in Brisbane 11-13 August. Fringe 2005 will present an intensive and interactive 3 day course of informative and practical sessions aimed at emerging and low budget independent film and television makers. For full program details visit the SPAA Fringe website.


• The annual Screen Producers Association of Australia SPAA Conference will be held on the Gold Coast from 13-16 August. Attracting more than 650 delegates, the conference is the largest and most significant screen industry gathering in this part of the world. For further details visit the SPAA website.


• The Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA) and the Australian Film Commission have announced the feature finance executives to attend SPAAmart 05, which runs alongside the SPAA Conference. The third annual SPAAmart will again present the best market ready projects from Australasia to the local and international feature film financing sector. Seen as the first step towards securing financing, the event provides one-on-one meetings for creative teams to pitch their projects to decision makers from around the world.


• The Australian Film Commission is also pleased to announce the feature film producers who will take part in Inside Track, the side-bar initiative to SPAAmart at the upcoming SPAA Conference. The top seven applicants have been selected from a nationwide pool. The 2005 Inside Track participants are: Michael Clarkin (SA), Melanie Coombs (VIC), Kylie du Fresne (NSW), Jimmy Jack (WA), Karen Radzyner (NSW), Rohan Timlock (VIC), and Joe Weatherstone (NSW). This select group of feature film producers will have opportunity to meet with international executives, giving them a taste of the marketplace, increasing understanding of financing films in a global industry, furthering their knowledge of domestic distributors, and broadening national and international contacts.
  Inside Track is the highly successful Australian Film Commission Marketing initiative which, will accompany SPAAmart for the second time. Inside Track is a national initiative by the AFC in partnership with Film Victoria, NSW Film and Television Office, South Australian Film Corporation, and ScreenWest.


• For the fourth year, the AFC, along with The Sydney Morning Herald, The Sun Herald and The Age, is co-sponsoring the Opening Night of the Australian International Movie Convention - AUSTRALIA ON SHOW. Around 20 filmmakers will attend the Movie Convention opening, courtesy of the AFC, on 15 August at the Pines Royal Resort, Gold Coast


• The annual SPAA WWIT Breakfast where senior women working in the development and production of original television programming here and overseas discuss their experiences from a business and creative point of view. The breakfast will be held at the Sherton Versace on the Gold Coast on Tuesday 16th August, 7 - 8:30am


• The Big Screen regional touring film festival will be visiting the following towns in August: 11-18 Orange, 12-14 Barcaldine, 14-16 Darwin, 19-23 Hervey Bay, 26-28 Broome, 26-30 Roma, and September: 1-3 Bendigo, 1-5 Cloncurry, 6-7 Wongan Hills, 10-12 Merredin and 16-18 Wagin. Visit the Big Screen website for further information on screenings in each town, resources for educators and media, and details of special gala events.
  
• The IF Awards are launching their new scoring scheme and tagline competition, and calling for entries for the Glenfiddich Independent Spirit IF Award for independent filmmakers and the Zstudio What If? Award for best unproduced screenplay. Visit the IF Awards website for further details.


• 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.


• Metro Screen's Members Production Group (MPG) meets on the first Tuesday of every month at 6.30pm at Metro Screen. Meetings are open to all Metro Screen members and give you the opportunity to pitch new ideas, discuss your current projects, share skills and resources and collaborate with others to produce your own films, TV content and media projects.


• 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.


• Other AFC-supported activities and events.

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With his debut The Boys, and now Little Fish, director Rowan Woods has crafted some of Australia's most distinctive contemporary cinema from the prosaic horror lurking beneath the surfaces of Sydney's suburbs. While The Boys dramatises an extreme familial situation, Little Fish delves into the complex reality behind the tabloid image of Sydney's poorer suburbs. The film focuses on Tracy Heart (Cate Blanchett), her family, and friends like has-been rugby star Lionel Dawson (Hugo Weaving): 'little fish' struggling to stay afloat in a harsh world of limited means and minimal opportunity, where drugs offer a constantly tempting escape.

Rowan Woods talks to Dan Edwards about the research and development that went into Little Fish.

Dan Edwards: You've spoken in several interviews about the importance you attach to culturally connected stories. Do you feel a personal connection to Sydney's south-western suburbs?

Rowan Woods: Yeah I do. I have a very strong personal connection to that place. I was born in Berala, which is a suburb a couple of stops down the train line from Cabramatta. But that's kind of beside the point because I spent most of my time growing up in Balmain. But my parents were both teachers of English as a second language - they were sort of pioneers in that teaching movement that started in the 60s. And they taught mostly south-east Asians. Most of the first wave of Vietnamese, Loa and Thai folk who came to Australia before the fall of Saigon, and then after the fall of Saigon as refugees. My parents taught many people who become lifelong family friends. But also from my teenage years on I would travel out to Cabramatta and shop there, and have done all my adult life. And then I made a short film out there 10 years ago [Tran the Man, 1994], and we shot in the house of some Thai friends. So my connection to the south west of Sydney, and Cabramatta in particular, goes way back.

DE: Do you think a sense of cultural connection to a particular time and place is something generally lacking in Australian cinema?

RW: Perhaps, yeah. I have noticed that more often than not we don't tell stories that are genuinely connected to our culture and have a specificity about the story-telling and the characters…And I think it's no surprise that when we do it, they're often our most successful films…they're usually festival-driven films that market themselves to a core audience outside the multiplex. And even some of our more blatantly commercial films like Muriel's Wedding and Strictly Ballroom have succeeded in a cultural specificity on their own terms.

Full interview

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