• The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, Mr Peter Garrett, has announced that existing film agency guidelines for programs at the AFC, FFC and Film Australia will remain in place under Screen Australia until the end of the year. Read the Minister's media release.



• Two Australian short films, My Rabit Hoppy, (w/d: Anthony Lucas) and Jerrycan (w/d: Julius Avery), have been selected to screen in the Shorts Competition as part of the Official Selection at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. Full details.



• In a coup for Australia, ten Australian films have been selected to screen across the International Competition, Young Animation, Best Of Animation and the Panorama International programs of the 2008 Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film. Details.



• The AFC congratulates Australian filmmaker Nash Edgerton on receiving two awards for his short film Spider at the Aspen Shortsfest. More details.



• Australia's success on the international festival circuit is continuing with the selection of two films, Chainsaw (d: Dennis Tupicoff) and Lucille (d: Tali Gal-on), into the Oberhausen International Short Film Festival. More.

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• AFC funding deadlines in May:
  
  FILM DEVELOPMENT
  DOCUMENTARY
  Shooting Time-critical Material - 16 May
  
  PRACTITIONER SUPPORT
  Internships - 16 May
  Short-term Development Investment Facility - 30 May
  
  SCREEN BUSINESS VENTURE PROGRAM
  Business Growth Strand - 2 May



• AFC funding approvals.

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• On 11 April leading Australian historian Professor Henry Reynolds launched his latest book, The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith at the NFSA. A study of the important Australian film, the book is a collaboration between the NFSA and Currency Press as part of the Australian Screen Classics series. More details.



• During May 2008 the NFSA will host three events at the Canberra International Music Festival for music lovers to enjoy - CeLL, Felix: The Cabaret and The Spinifex Campfire. Full details.



• Minister for the Arts Peter Garrett has announced a new partnership to preserve and make available eight 'lost' short American silent films that have been identified in the collection of the NFSA. Details.



• At the beginning of 2008 Robert Davidson spent several weeks at the NFSA as a Research Fellow. Robert returned during May as part of the ensemble Topography to perform two concerts in the Arc Cinema and to demonstrate some of his ideas. More.



• Film classics from all over the world dominate the screening program at the NFSA's Arc Cinema in May. Highlights include: Truffaut's La Nuit Americain (1973), Welles's Touch of Evil (1958), Hooper's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), Beineix's Diva (1981), King Hu's Dragon Gate Inn (1966), and Gregor Jordan's Two Hands (1999). View the complete calendar.

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• The AFC is calling for Cannes 2008 attendees. If you are attending the festival and/or market in 2008 please contact Julie Archet to take advantage of discounted rates and be included in the market screenings booklet. More details.



• Congratulations to all the filmmakers whose AFC-funded / supported films have recently won awards or been selected to screen at other festivals around the world. More details.



• The Australian films
  The Black Balloon
  Black Water
  Global Haywire
  Hey Hey It's Esther Blueburger
  and
  Cactus
  are screening in May so keep an eye out for them at your local cinema.

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• Over 1,400 people attended Yamba Big Screen in April, a 40 per cent increase from the first festival in 2007. Ms Sandra Woods, representing Janelle Saffin MP Member for Page, Cr Jim Simmons Clarence Valley Council and Wendy Hughes, introduced The View from Greenhaven to an opening night crowd of 141.
  
  In May Big Screen will visit Victorian towns Cann River and Mallacoota for the first time where brothers Kenn and Simon MacRae, directors of the Project Greenlight film The View from Greenhaven, will introduce their film. The brothers will also host a filmmaking workshop talking about their experiences in filmmaking, including the filmmaking process, how they started and the paths to making short and feature films. Big Screen is due to visit Briagalong 6-8 June. Visit the Big Screen website for future programs.



• A hugely successful April on the Regional Digital Screen Network saw The Black Balloon attract the highest attendance figures to date with six of our venues running a season of the film after the monthly screening. The RDSN also enjoyed capacity houses for the live via satellite transmission from the Sydney Opera House of Graeme Murphy's Swan Lake, made in partnership with The Australian Ballet, Sydney Opera House, Australia Council and ABC2. See our feature story for more details.
  
  From 10 May Jasmine Yuen-Carrucan's debut feature Cactus (starring Travis McMahon, David Lyons, Bryan Brown and Shane Jacobson) commences on the RDSN. Visit the RDSN webpage for more details.



• In partnership with CAAMA Black Screen will tour through the Northern Territory from 5-12 May visiting Tennant Creek, Ali Curung, Ti Tree, Yuendumu, Hermannsburg (Ntaria) and Santa Teresa. There will also be a Black Screen event in partnership with The Wingecarribee Community Foundation in Mittagong NSW. Visit the Black Screen webpage for full details.



• School Screen continues throughout May presenting The Silly Billies Save The Circus!! (G) , Opal Dream (PG) and Kokoda (M) in Mallacoota, and December Boys (PG) and Romulus, My Father (M) in Rockhampton. Also in May School Screen partners with Country Arts South Australia to screen the inspiring Australian film No Worries (G) in the four Country Arts SA regional cinemas: Whyalla (6 May), Port Pirie (9 May), Mount Gambier (13 May) and Renmark (13-14 May). Due to its huge popularity on the School Screen circuit No Worries (G) has just been released on DVD.
  
  Bookings for the majority of these screenings can be made online on the Australian Teachers of Media (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. Visit the School Screen webpage for more details.



• In April the Embassy Roadshow travelled to Moscow, Amman, Jordan and Bahrain. In May Embassy Roadshow screens seven features and eight shorts in Cologne, Germany, and the inaugural Pakistan International Film Festival will screen Unfinished Sky in Lahore. More details.

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• New additions to australianscreen in April include recent features The Black Balloon, September, The Home Song Stories, Lucky Miles and Gone and television programs The Colony, Eco House Challenge and Blue Water High.
  
  The australianscreen home page now also highlights feature films and documentaries enjoying a theatrical release and opening in cinemas in the coming month. Titles link to the film's official website or trailer. Visits to the site continue to rise with an increase of over 10 per cent from February to March this year.



• The following AFC publications have recently been updated and are available online, or contact publishing@afc.gov.au for a hard copy:
  Australian Feature Films 2008/09



• Positions vacant: for current vacant positions at the AFC.



• 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 and TV drama telemovies from 1970, TV drama mini-series and documentaries from 1980 and TV drama series and short films from 1988. It is updated on the AFC website each month.



• Latest updates to industry statistics in Get the Picture Online.

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• The AFC's Industry and Cultural Development Division proudly supports the following upcoming festivals and events:
  
  St Kilda Film Festival 2008
  6-11 May (Vic)
  
  Dungog Film Festival 2008
  29 May - 1 June (NSW)
  
  15/15 Film Festival
  30 May (Vic)
  
  55th Sydney Film Festival
  4-22 June (NSW)
  
  World of Women (WOW) National and Regional Tour
  Until June
  
  Sydney Travelling Film Festival (TFF) 2007/08
  Until June
  
  Revelation Perth International Film Festival 2008
  3-13 July (WA)



• The Revelation Perth International Film Festival is calling for entries for its Revel 8 Super 8 competition. Entries close: Friday 30 May. More details.



• The 2008 EnhanceTV ATOM Awards are now open for entries. Deadline 10 June. Visit the ATOM Awards website for entry forms and further details.



• QPIX is calling for applications for RAW NERVE 2008, applications close 30 June; NOVA INTERNATIONAL 2, applications close 1 August; and interested crew for their Short Film Productions. Visit the QPIX website for more details.



• The ACT Filmmakers' Network is a not-for-profit cultural film and television industry agency that delivers a range of workshops for practitioners in the national capital and region.



• Metro Screen is a non-profit organisation that offers training, equipment hire and production support to filmmakers and digital media practitioners. They have monthly Metro Screen Network meetings and Filmmakers' Studio events.



• OPEN CHANNEL is a screen resource organisation located in Melbourne's Docklands. They run training courses, have support programs and hire out production equipment.



• OzDox, a joint initiative of documentary filmmakers, industry bodies and academics, to foster, promote and provide a monthly forum for documentary culture, holds regular industry events.



• ScreenWest and PAC Screen Workshops run the PAC Script Labs, rehearsed readings of WA feature film scripts on the last Wednesday of every second month. The aim is to hone WA scripts and increase the profile, quality and awareness of WA film projects.



• 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.



• Other AFC-supported activities and events.

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On 9 April budding ballerinas dressed in pink tutus joined other locals at the Majestic Cinemas in Singleton, NSW, to watch a performance by The Australian Ballet on the big screen.

In a groundbreaking partnership between ABC2 Live, the AFC, The Australian Ballet and the Australia Council for the Arts, Graeme Murphy's internationally renowned interpretation of Swan Lake screened nationally, live via satellite, on the AFC's Regional Digital Screen Network (RDSN).

Cinemas in Port Augusta, Yarram, Hervey Bay, Devonport, Katherine, Wagga Wagga, Singleton and Albany were all at full capacity, with over 2,000 people watching from the regional venues.

ABC2 Live captured the excitement of the performance at stage level with cameras positioned in the front row. During intermission, audiences enjoyed interviews with choreographer Graeme Murphy and the principal artists. The parents of Richard Curran (who danced in the role of the Prince) were also interviewed as they sat in the audience at Singleton, expressing their delight at being able to watch their son's performance at the local cinema.

This is the second time The Australian Ballet has been broadcast live to the eight RDSN cinemas from the Opera House - the first was The Nutcracker in December 2007. Opera Australia's Carmen was also broadcast to the cinemas on 12 March 2008 and the acclaimed Australian feature film The Black Balloon screened at the RDSN cinemas during March 2008.

Visit the RDSN webpage for more details.

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