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10 December 2008
Screen Australia has now released its 2009 guidelines for development support, production financing and Indigenous programs, following three months of industry consultation. The programs include a suite of new development initiatives that offer screen practitioners a range of pathways to develop their projects.
"The future of the Australian screen industry depends on the talent of its people and the quality of their projects," Ruth Harley, Screen Australia Chief Executive Officer, said on Tuesday. 'We have re-thought the way in which the industry and projects are supported by Screen Australia. We have also substantially increased funding for development."
Read the media release.
Screen Australia's program guidelines are available at www.screenaustralia.gov.au/industry_support along with a covering letter from Ruth Harley, noting the key changes relative to the draft guidelines released in late October.
Revised Terms of Trade were also released on Tuesday for two weeks of industry comment. Major changes include:
Screen Australia is giving further consideration to its position in relation to recoupment, particularly whether it should quit its recoupment entitlement after a certain number of years. Screen Australia anticipates putting a proposal on this issue to the industry in early 2009.
The Terms of Trade are available at www.screenaustralia.gov.au/terms. Industry practitioners are invited to comment until Monday 22 December 2008. The Terms of Trade will then take effect from 1 January 2009.
Screen Australia will now review its marketing function including its investment in Australian screen culture, as well as all mechanisms to support the delivery of its new programs.
There are an estimated 4 million Australians who are either vision or hearing impaired - that's almost a fifth of the Australian population. Currently it is very difficult for this community to enjoy the cinema experience as there are limited Australian films captioned and audio-described at the cinema and on DVD.
Despite positive developments in recent years, the Australian film industry is still far behind other countries in providing access to this section of the community. However, producers now have the power to contribute positively and make a difference.
From 2009 all feature films financed by Screen Australia will be required to include caption costs (cinema and DVD) in their budgets.
Screen Australia will be running a seminar next week which will inform, entertain, and unravel the mysteries of captioning. This seminar will discuss why making films accessible makes community, commercial and artistic sense. It will also provide information on how captions are created and the process behind this.
Panellists include:
Alex Varley (CEO of Media Access Australia)
Allayne Woodford (Media Access Australia)
Tony Oldham (Operations Manager, Atlab Australia)
Donna Easey (Roadshow Entertainment)
Sarah Tracton, an award-winning deaf filmmaker who is a caption user and access advocate
Susan Thompson, a blind person who is an avid user of audio description
Heather Oxenham (Project Manager, Screen Australia)
...along with other guests.
When: Monday 15 December 2008 at 6.30pm.
Where: Screen Australia Theatrette, Ground Floor, 150 William Street, Woolloomooloo
RSVP by Friday 12 December to amanda.lansdowne@screenaustralia.gov.au
