Do Governments still have an integral role in supporting the creative industries?
This week was one of my favorite topics as we looked into co-production and films that had been completely government funded. AND YES we looked at the movie Bait and YES i still love it!
Screen Australia offers funding and resources to support the development, production and marketing of Australian screen content, and further development of Australian talent media businesses.
When it comes to Australian movies there are guidelines that are in place to ensure that the film industry continues to promote Australia to international audiences in a positive light.
When we discussed this in class we talked about the common features that we would see in AUstralian movies and television. We talked about the Australian surf culture that Home and Away depicts in the show and the incorporation of the outback that’s shown in the movie, The Dry.
Co-production is a successful option when it comes to producing a movie. Co-production can happen between Australia and one of its 12 parner countries that have obtained approval as an “official” co-produced work by each country’s “competent Authority”. In 2014, Screen Australia introduced its International Co-Production Program Guidelines, which highlights the goals and purpose of co-productions. It’s a system in place to build relationships and encourage film production between the Australian film industry and partnering countries.
By co-producing, it helps to standardise how productions can be jointly developed, financed, produced and then distributed in each country, while abiding by the laws and regulations of each country. With the South Korean Film industry booming, it’s the perfect time for Australia to collaborate.
We looked at the South Korean Film industry and used it as inspiration into a direction we could follow. South Koreans saw 4.25 films a year. That’s the highest average in the world, according to their own evaluation report of the state of the industry in 2013. Where did this success come from, in just over 10 years? (P. Byrns, 2016). Screen Australia’s figures for 2015 show that “films under Australian or shared creative control” accounted for 7.2 per cent of the total Australian box office. If we take advantage of co-production or not it’s important to note that we make sure that we have requirements in place, whether its broadcasting systems or subsidy systems, we always make sure “that we’re still able to tell our own stories” (Dalton).
The government does play an integral role in supporting the creative industry and by creating co-production it can now be the way forward for the Australian screen industry to succeed on a global scale! It is a highly beneficial system that allows filmmakers to engage in more themes and genres.
The Power of the Dog (Aust/NZ, post production, 2021 Netflix):
https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/the-screen-guide/t/the-power-ofthe-dog-2021/38093/
• Nude Tuesday (Aust/NZ, due 2021):
https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/the-screen-guide/t/nude-tuesday2021/37098/
QB 