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Friday 25 September 2009
Screen Australia today announced $9 million in support over three years for 12 production companies under its new Enterprise Program.
“The Enterprise Program is an extremely important initiative for Screen Australia, underpinning our vision for a more commercially sustainable screen production industry,” said Chief Executive Officer Ruth Harley. “It complements our programs of single-project development support by providing companies with significant resources over a three-year period based on detailed business plans.”
The companies to be funded span features, television, documentary and interactive digital platforms, and include both experienced entrepreneurs and newer players. Their business plans incorporate strategies for development including diversification, new revenue streams, new alliances, innovative approaches to distribution, strategies for raising private equity, and expansion across states and into international markets. Mentorship and opportunities for talent renewal are also represented.
“These are exciting proposals, involving some very skilled and talented people,” said Dr Harley. “They represent a diverse group of companies with diverse ambitions, but what they have in common is a strong vision of what they want to achieve, and clear, carefully considered and well documented plans for the next stage of their development. The slates of projects already on the table are very promising but most importantly, this is about building capacity and ongoing business viability.”
The 12 successful companies are (in alphabetical order):
The companies were selected from a shortlist of 24 by a panel that included screen business development consultants Jonathan Olsberg and Ian Jones as well as Ruth Harley and Screen Australia’s Senior Manager, State and Industry Partnerships, Chris Oliver. Applications were assessed against criteria relating to business plan, track record, slate of projects and resources. In addition, the panel considered whether proposals would contribute to the Enterprise Program’s aim of supporting a diverse range of companies, budget levels and production genres.
“The standard of applications was very high,” added Dr Harley, “and we hope those companies we were unable to fund in this round will still be able to benefit from the thinking and analysis that went into their business plan proposals.”
Funding for the inaugural Enterprise recipients will span three years, from 2009/10 to 2011/12. Further funds will be available for new intakes in 2010/11 and 2011/12. The timing for the next round will be announced early in the new year.
Read the detailed list of recipients.
Victoria Buchan, The Lantern Group, victoria@lanterngroup.com.au
T: (02) 9383 4033 M: 0408 114 864
