• Bruce Beresford will deliver the 2006 Longford Lyell Lecture for the NFSA in Canberra on 4 October. NFSA Director Paolo Cherchi Usai says the lecture aims to acknowledge Australia's contribution to cinema since its inception more than one hundred years ago, and to highlight cinema's ongoing importance to society at large. "Bruce Beresford is an outstanding representative for this event," says Cherchi Usai. "As a man who is unswervingly Australian and whose work continues to resonate worldwide, he embodies the strength of cinema past, present and future." Media release.


• Senator the Hon Helen Coonan, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts celebrated 50 years of women in Australian TV on 20 September when she launched the new book Look at Me! Behind the Scenes of Australian TV with the Women Who Made It at the annual Women Working In Television cocktail party in Sydney. Senator Coonan and AFC Chair Maureen Barron were joined by 400 guests including Sue Masters, Sandra Levy, Margaret Pomeranz, Gretel Killeen, Claudia Karvan, Jenny Brockie and Lorrae Desmond. Speakers were Maggie Tabberer, Lynley Marshall (Director ABC New Media and Digital Services) and the book's author Christine Hogan. Full report.


• The feature films selected for the 2006 SP*RK national script hothouse have been announced. The creative teams behind the eight projects will attend an intensive week-long residential script lab in Byron Bay, 22-29 October, where they will dissect their scripts with leading local and international advisors, and receive detailed feedback in one-on-one sessions. Advisors include Fred Schepisi, Jan Sardi, Ana Kokkinos, Geoffrey Wright, Sue Murray and Hollywood's Robert Towne. Full details.


• Thirteen feature projects have been selected from Australia and NZ for SPAAmart 2006, which will bring quality feature film projects to the international marketplace on the Gold Coast, 13-15 Nov. The highly developed and marketable projects cross a range of themes, genres and budgets. They include projects from the AFC's IndiVision Lab and SP*RK workshops, an Aurora Workshop project, and projects with star cast attachments Dennis Quaid, Anthony LaPaglia and Kerry Fox. Project details.


• It has been a month of accolades and achievements for Rolf de Heer and Ten Canoes. As well as the film becoming Australia's official entry for nomination consideration for Best Foreign Language Film at the 79th Annual Academy Awards, de Heer was awarded the Silver Medallion at the Telluride Film Festival. Ten Canoes then screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, and de Heer flew direct from there to Brisbane to pick up the 2006 Queensland Premier's Literary Award for the film's script. Academy Awards media release. Telluride media release.


• To enhance communication between ministers and their portfolio agencies, the Government has introduced Statements of Expectation (SOE) and Statements of Intent (SOI) for Australian Government authorities. Read the AFC's first SOE, issued recently by the Minister for the Arts and Sport. The AFC's SOI will be delivered to the Minister by the end of October 2006, and will then be available on the AFC website.

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• IndiVision Project Lab 2007 applications close 5pm 6 Oct. Talented mid- or high-level experienced teams with distinctive feature drama projects of any genre that can be made for less than A$2m are encouraged to apply. The Lab is a dynamic hothouse for low-budget features that includes an integrated package of development support. Feature projects and teams selected for the Lab have access to: the one-week IndiVision Project Lab with international advisors, two drafts of project development funding after the Lab, the follow-up IndiVision Marketing Workshop with international marketing advisors and ongoing development support. Full details.


• Several Film Development strands have undergone major changes since 1 July 2006. Please consult the new Film Development Funding Guidelines 2006 now available on the AFC website. Applicants can contact Film Development administration staff with specific queries. Phone: 02 9321 6444.


• AFC funding deadlines - October/November:
  
  FILM DEVELOPMENT
  6 October
  Strand F1 - IndiVision Project Lab & Script Development
  
  13 October
  General Development Investment (GDI)
  Strand J - Documentary Early Development
  Strand K - Documentary Development
  
  20 October
  Strand L - Shooting Time-critical Material
  
  27 October
  Strand B - Seed Feature Funding
  Strand D - Draft Funding
  
  3 November
  Internships/Fellowships
  
  24 November
  Strand L - Shooting Time-critical Material
  Strand V - Interactive Digital Media Early Development
  
  
  INDUSTRY AND CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
  3 October
  National Touring Exhibiton Fund
  Events and Activities Fund
  
  
• AFC funding approvals.

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• A rare film poster from 1924 advertising The Sword of Valor has been added to the NFSA collection. The film features Australian Reg 'Snowy' Baker who was a sporting phenomenon turned Hollywood film star. The NFSA's Ann Robb says: "We have a copy of the film in the collection but we had no documentation relating to the film at all, so the arrival of this poster is very exciting." Details.


• Film lovers at the Chauvel Cinema's recent Australian Film Feast in Sydney were able to enjoy brand new prints of two iconic Australian movies, courtesy of the NFSA who restored the films. Goodbye Paradise (1982), starring Ray Barrett, was part of the Kodak Atlab Project, and The Siege of Pinchgut (1959) was the last film ever made by the classic English film company Ealing Studios. Barrett, other Goodbye Paradise cast members, along with screenwriter Bob Ellis and cinematographer John Seale, took part in a Q&A. More.


• On 29 August, the NFSA's Sound Specialist Nick Weare attended a benefit concert in Melbourne for ailing musician and production legend Lobby Lloyd. "We've had a strong relationship with Lobby over the years. When the Long Way to the Top tour was held we had a function at the NFSA for the performers and showed them through the collection. Many [musicians] are keen to donate material so that it can be preserved properly," said Weare. More.


• At the NFSA in Canberra on 12 October, Oral History Manager Ken Berryman will present an illustrated talk on the role of Crawfords in the development of Australian TV. "The Crawford production company is the closest Australian broadcast history has come to a family dynasty," Berryman says. He first gave the paper at the 14th International Oral History Conference in Sydney in July.


• After 27 years the iconic Electric Shadows Cinemas in Canberra are entering a new phase as they move to a new Dendy film complex opening in December. On 21 September co-founder Andrew Pike visited the NFSA to reminisce about his experiences in a special public talk about the industry, filmmakers, audiences, events, distributors and characters. More.


• Before the NFSA Cinémathèque moves from the Electric Shadows Cinemas to the NFSA in November, the exciting October program kicks off with a celebration of director Neil Armfield's (Candy) work: Twelfth Night (1987) will screen with his episode from the Naked: Stories of Men TV series on 7 Oct. A newly restored version of Jean-Luc Godard's ground-breaking rockumentary Sympathy for the Devil (1968) is on Sat 14 Oct. Then a restored and spectacularly colourful print of Mother India (1957), directed by Mehboob Khan, screens the following week. Details.

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• Congratulations to all the finalists in the ATOM Awards for film, television and multimedia. Many of them are AFC-funded films and multimedia productions. The awards will be held in Melbourne on 10 November. Check the ATOM website for the full list of finalists and ceremony details.


• As part of the Australia-Japan Year of Exchange, a retrospective of Australian films will be screening 3-29 October at the National Film Centre in Tokyo. The festival will open with The Sentimental Bloke (with live musical accompaniment). Director Rolf de Heer will attend to introduce three of his films, and director Sarah Watt will attend to present her film Look Both Ways. NFSA Programmer Quentin Turnour is presenting a lecture on Australian film history with special screenings of Melbourne Cup (1896), The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906), Inauguration of the Commonwealth (1901) and other very early shorts and fragments. A selection of short films will also screen. Check the Australian Film Festival website for schedules.


• Big Screen continued its peak touring period last month. The city of Port Augusta had a massive month hosting both Big Screen and Croc Fest. Highlights of the festival included the Mad Maxathon and Tara Morice in town to present Strictly Ballroom. All in all the festival was a huge success, doubling last year's attendances. The festival then took a trip up to Woomera and onto Roxby Downs. Queensland also hosted successful festivals in Cloncurry, Jericho and Barcaldine. Visit the Big Screen website to view the rest of the year's schedule.


• Black Screen's Message Sticks 2006 National Tour dates:
  TAS - State Cinema North Hobart, Thurs 12 & Sat 14 Oct.
  QLD - Dendy Portside Cinemas Brisbane, Thurs 12, Fri 13 & Sat 14 Oct.
  NSW - Dendy Cinemas Byron Bay, Thurs 19, Fri 20 & Sat 21 Oct.
  WA - Orana Cinemas Geraldton, Thurs 26, Fri 27 & Sat 28 Oct; and Cinema Paradiso Perth, Thurs 9, Sat 11 & Sun 12 Nov.
  SA - Mercury Cinema Adelaide, Fri 8 & Sat 9 Dec.


• In the last month, School Screen has organised and curated screenings of Australian films for over 5,000 students in the regional towns of Tennant Creek, Singleton, Hervey Bay, Nambucca Heads, Roma, Katherine, Port Macquarie, Cloncurry, Inverell and Barcaldine. For the first time, School Screen joined forces with Croc Festival Port Augusta with four days of Ten Canoes screenings, and 850 students attended! All sessions were introduced by actor Richard Birrinbirrin. A reminder that online bookings for all screenings can be made on the ATOM website. If your school is not able to access any screenings on offer, you can contact the AFC's Education Programs Coordinator Bob Percival (robert.percival@afc.gov.au) to discuss organising a screening in your local cinema, or a free screening at your school if there is no cinema nearby.


• In October the Embassy Roadshow travels to Kuwait with a mini short film festival, screening Crackerbag, Green Bush and Harvie Krumpet. The Embassy Roadshow is a travelling film festival program presented through Australian embassies overseas, showcasing a selection of contemporary Australian films to people around the world. It's an initiative of the Australian International Cultural Council, and is managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the AFC.


• The Australian films Irresistible, Suburban Mayhem, BoyTown, Opal Dream, The Book of Revelation, Last Train to Freo, Macbeth, Jindabyne, Solo, Unfolding Florence and Kenny are screening in October so keep an eye out for them at your local cinema.

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• The following AFC publications have been updated and are available online, or contact publishing@afc.gov.au for a hard copy:
  Australians at MIPCOM 2006
  Australian TV Drama & Documentary Catalogue Sept 2006
  Indigenous Branch Funding Guidelines July 2006
  Film Development Funding Guidelines July 2006


• 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 industry statistics in Get the Picture Online.

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• Welcome to Jacqui North, ICD Audience Development Coordinator; Charlotte Seymour, Administration Manager; Kim Hellard, Receptionist/Admin Assistant (Melbourne).



• Farewell to Cinzia Guaraldi, ICD Audience Development Coordinator; Richard Cohen, Legal Coordinator; Lisa Shaunessy, Marketing Officer; Carolyn Haywood, Assistant to PR&C Director; Kim Lewis, Project Manager, Film Development; Shanti Premji, Project Accountant.



• Positions vacant: ICD Exhibition Officer; ICD Marketing Coordinator; Recruitment Officer; Marketing Officer, Industry Development; Executive Assistant; Video & Telecine Services Officer.

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• Queensland will play host once again to the SPAA Conference, SPAA fringe and SPAAmart during November. The Conference and Fringe event are still taking registrations.


• Throughout September, Raymond Longford's classic Australian silent film The Sentimental Bloke toured North America. With musical accompaniment by Jen Anderson and The Larrikins, the tour visted the Telluride Film Festival; the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC; George Eastman House, Rochester NY; Cinémathèque québécoise in Montreal; and the Pacific Film Archive in Berkley. The 2006 tour will be completed in October with two screenings at the National Film Centre in Tokyo (Japan).


• Three new projects have been approved under the ICD Funding Program: the 2006 Canberra International Film Festival, the publication The Moving Images of Tracey Moffatt, and d/Lux's exhibition and screening program Screen Evolution, which will showcase and celebrate its 25-year history.


• The Adelaide Film Festival (22 Feb-4 March 2007) is calling for submissions from all genres of contemporary screen culture that have been completed in the last two years - including features, documentaries, animation, short films, music video, experimental and new media. The biennial festival includes special events, live performance and the premiere of films commissioned by the festival. Deadline: 16 October. Details and entry forms on the Adelaide Film Festival website.


• Crossover Australia is a 5-day interactive residential workshop in the week before the 2007 Adelaide Film Festival and the Australian International Documentary Conference. It is a creative think tank bringing together national and international practitioners from film and new media sectors, with the aim of developing innovative digital and interactive projects. Applications close 16 October. Places are limited. For details, guidelines and application forms, check the Crossover Australia website.


• The AFC's Industry and Cultural Development Division proudly supports the following upcoming festivals, tours, awards and exhibitions:
  
  Experimenta
  Vanishing Point: 9 September - 15 October (Newcastle)
  
  Trasharama A-go-go Touring Film Festival 2006
  5 October - 4 November
  
  The Shoot Out 2006
  Toowoomba, 13-15 October
  
  dLux media arts - SynCity Exhibition
  21 October - 26 November
  
  Canberra International Film Festival 2006
  26 October - 5 November
  
  FCCA Awards Dinner
  The Harbour Room, Royal Melbourne Yacht Club, St Kilda
  28 October
  
  
• Metro Screen has lots on at the moment. Find out details of all programs on the Metro Screen website:
  - The monthly Filmmakers Studio features editor Jason Ballantine (Wolf Creek, The Caterpillar Wish) on 19 October.
  - Each year the Lester Bostock Scheme gives four Indigenous filmmakers the opportunity to produce their first short film, with equipment, facilities hire, stock and post-production, a $2,000 budget and an industry mentor. On 11 October at the Chauvel Cinema Paddington from 6pm the 2006 participants will screen their short films for the first time. This is a FREE event and open to the public. Films screening include Black Beach, Reflections in Black and White, Susan's Birthday Party and Futureman.
  - Applications for Raw Nerve 2006 close 30 October. Are you an emerging filmmaker who has not previously had a writer or director film credit to your name? Do you want to make a high quality, low-budget short film to showcase your storytelling and filmmaking talent? Then you should find out more.
  - The Members Production Group meets on the first Tuesday of every month at 6.30pm. Meetings are open to all 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.


• Open Channel is having an info night about their training program 2006-07. It will be focused primarily on the Specialist Directing course and the Producing for Television course. Thurs 19 October, 6-8pm, at Shed 4, North Wharf Road, Docklands, Melbourne. RSVP essential: 03 8610 9300 or rsvp@openchannel.org.au


• Popcorn Taxi, a regular film event where filmmakers and film lovers can meet, watch films of all types, and discuss the filmmaking process all year round runs in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Darwin. For further information and screening details visit the Popcorn Taxi website.


• mo:life monthly is an informal gathering on the second Monday of every month, that offers the opportunity to discuss the latest advances and opportunities in mobile media technology and culture. Find out about the various players and networks and what they offer, explore the capabilities of the latest handsets, and see what others around the globe are doing with this new format. Contact d.opitz@metroscreen.org.au


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


• IF Magazine's What's On in Film guide to screen events is sponsored by the AFC. The July to December 2006 calendar is now available as a PDF on the AFC website.


• Other AFC-supported activities and events.

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In September and early October, the AFC played host to TREVOR GROTH from the Sundance Film Festival and Maryanne Redpath from the Berlin International Film Festival. They were both in Australia scouting for films for their 2007 festivals. Trevor Groth programs narrative and documentary features for Sundance and is the head of the short film section of the festival. Films discovered under his tenure include: Clerks, Hoop Dreams, Hard Eight, Pi, Memento, Napoleon Dynamite and March of the Penguins. He is also Director of Programming for CineVegas. In this interview, Groth shares his take on contemporary Australian cinema and programming one of the world's paramount film festivals.

(Trevor Groth will be visiting Popcorn Taxi, Bondi Junction, for a special information evening about Sundance at 7:30pm Wednesday 4 October 2006.)

Is this your first trip to Australia in a professional capacity, Trevor? Can you describe your role at the festival and what career steps led to your current position?
It is actually my second trip to Australia. The Australian Film Institute brought me down in 1999 because I programmed a group of American short films that they screened at various places including the St Kilda Film Festival. It was a great experience and I met many filmmakers on that trip who I am still in touch with today.

My role at the Sundance Film Festival is Senior Programmer and I'm involved in selecting the films in all of the sections. I got involved with Sundance because I grew up in Utah, where the festival takes place, and the highlight of my year was going to the festival. I attended the University of Utah and began working for the Sundance office in Salt Lake City. Upon graduation I applied for a programming position in the LA office and was hired based solely on my boyish good looks and charm…actually it was my willingness to do absolutely anything. Along with programming I was submissions coordinator, print trafficker, filmmaker liaison, driver etc, etc. Luckily we have a larger staff now and my responsibilities are limited to mostly programming.

Do you see stories/trends/themes emerging from this hemisphere that differ from European and American filmmaking?
In relation to the Australian films that we have shown at Sundance in recent years, there seems to be a fascinating sense of dread in many of them. Looking at such films as The Proposition, Wolf Creek and Chopper, which all played at Sundance, it appears that there is a distinctive ability to harness a new level of intensity in various genres.

Are you looking for particular genres/themes for your 2007 festivals?
We never set out looking for themes in our programming process, for we feel it hinders the purity of it. We prefer to watch everything, make our selections and then we analyse the program to look for themes.

In your opinion, is it important to come to Australia to watch our films in context, rather than view a screening copy at home in the US?
Coming to Australia to screen the new films is advantageous for a number of reasons. Primarily it is a great way to meet the filmmakers and producers from the region and to establish a human connection with them that will hopefully lead to a long-term relationship in which they think of Sundance as a place to premiere their films. There is also something to seeing the films on their home soil that enhances the experience.

Are there particular Australian filmmakers whose careers you are following, having seen their earlier works?
There are many Australian filmmakers whose careers I have been following. In no particular order: Gregor Jordan, Greg McLean, Cate Shortland, Paul Goldman, Nash Edgerton, Ana Kokkinos, John Hillcoat, Sarah Watt and Christina Andreef.

Can you briefly run through the various categories of your festival and indicate whether they require international/world premieres, a North American premiere etc?
Sundance is known as a 'discovery festival', thus films that have played other festivals (except in country of origin) are not as important for us. We look primarily for international premieres for our competition, but we do have sections where we can play films that we love but have had exposure. Our sections are:
* US Dramatic Competition, US Documentary Competition, World Dramatic Competition, World Documentary Competition - these are mostly world and international premieres;
* Spectrum - this consists of US and international films that have played other festivals;
* Midnight - an 'after-hours' showcase of kinetic and surprising features from all over the world;
* Frontier - experimental films from all over the world;
* Shorts programs - we have both a US and an international competition for shorts.

What advice would you give filmmakers about submitting their film to your festival?
Submit your film in the best version possible. We do accept rough cuts but try to have it as close to picture-lock as possible. It's tough for us to fairly judge a three-hour film that will eventually be 90 minutes.

In Australia there is a very lively short film industry, supported by local short film festivals, competitions, funding and courses. What are your key criteria for selecting shorts for your festivals?
We don't have the same criteria for selecting shorts that we have for features. Shorts do not have to be premieres to play Sundance. It is so hard for short films, especially in the US, to find theatrical audiences that we would never inhibit someone from playing somewhere so that it can be a premiere at Sundance.

The feature documentary Unfolding Florence screened at Sundance in 2006. What do you look for in a documentary when considering it for selection, and is there an art to programming documentaries for a festival audience?
As with all of our sections in the festival we are constantly looking for innovative ways to tell the story. It is a mission of the Sundance Institute to find these voices and it applies to documentaries as well as features. Unfolding Florence is a good example of a documentary that found creative ways to tell its story.

Our Indigenous film industry has grown significantly in the last few years, and the films are having an impact on the international stage. Green Bush and Plains Empty for instance have both screened at Sundance. What is your perception of the 'buzz' around our Indigenous films?
Sundance has a specific agenda to find and support Indigenous film from around the world. One of my colleagues and fellow programmer, Bird Runningwater, has travelled the globe in search of Indigenous filmmakers whose work the festival has shown and whose scripts the labs have developed. It is encouraging to see the support that many of these filmmakers are receiving and hopefully that trend will continue.

If an Australian feature gets selected for your festival, what can the director of that film expect should he/she attend?
Expectations should be about enjoying the experience of it. With features, and especially English language features, there has developed a mentality that the festival will be a feeding frenzy for buyers where all the films will receive multi-million dollar deals. This just isn't the case…and we are happy about that. The film festival isn't about the deals; it's about the movies. The filmmakers should plan on going to as many movies as possible and engaging their fellow filmmakers in dialogue about the films. The business side of things will happen at its own pace.

Could you offer short filmmakers any advice about maximising the experience of a major festival when attending with a short film?
If they have aspirations to make a feature then it is a great way to meet producers and agents. The shorts at the festival are always scouted to find new talent. Many filmmakers have had a short in the festival, which allowed them to make connections that enabled them to go on and make their feature.

Trevor Groth will be visiting Sydney's Popcorn Taxi for a special information evening about Sundance.
7:30pm Wednesday 4 October 2006.
Visit the Popcorn Taxi website for details.

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