The NSW Government will invest more than $1.4 million over three years into developing NSW’s screen industry through film festivals, professional development programs, conferences and events across the State.
Screen NSW CEO, Ms Maureen Barron, said the funding would be provided through Screen NSW’s Industry Development Fund and Audience Development Fund.
“The NSW Government is committed to ensuring our State has a sustainable, professional screen industry and enthusiastic audiences have every
opportunity to engage with screen content,” Ms Barron said. “This funding will benefit a broad cross-section of the community, building both screen industry capacity and audience engagement.”
Ms Barron said industry development funding is targeted at emerging filmmakers to assist with the next generation of screen professionals. “These are the people who, in the future, will make sure NSW remains a world-class film, television and interactive media production hub. “Screen industry professionals living in regional communities will benefit from funding for industry development programs in the Northern Rivers and on the Central Coast, as well as workshops in Wollongong and Byron Bay, and film music-focused screenings in Newcastle.”
Ms Barron said funding for audience development helps to make film accessible to people across NSW, contributing to the wealth of cultural events for which NSW is renowned. “A range of film festivals will receive audience development funding to take feature films, short films and documentaries to communities across the State.
“This includes the Young at Heart Film Festival’s regional tour to 45 towns in regional NSW, the North West Film Festival, showcasing the work of young filmmakers from rural communities in North West NSW, the Blue Heeler Film Festival in Muswellbrook and the Little Big Shots children’s
film festival tour to Western Sydney and regional NSW.” Ms Barron said nine organisations will receive multi-year funding and seven organisations will receive single-year funding.
More information on the Screen NSW programs is available from
www.screen.nsw.gov.au http://www.screen.nsw.gov.au/
Media contact: Tracey Mair 0419 221 493
Screen NSW is funding the following projects and events in 2013-14 and future years:
Industry Development Fund 2013-14:
Information and Cultural Exchange – Screen Culture program for Western Sydney, $172,500 over three years, to engage filmmakers, writers and screen artists through workshops, forums, screenings, productions and mentoring programs to develop screen literacy and present quality screen and digital content.
Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA) Conference, $30,000 (over three years) and SPAA’s new ‘Ones to Watch’ initiative, $30,000 (over three years): the conference is a forum for screen industry professionals and content creators to come together to share and challenge big ideas, and find new business partners; and ‘Ones to Watch’ provides professional development and business opportunities for a select group of early-career practitioners over a six month period. NSW screen industry professionals attend this conference.
Northern Rivers Screenworks, $150,000 over three years, for its professional development program, ‘Enterprise’, designed to help develop commercially viable projects which will attract audiences, funding and distribution and ideally be produced in the Northern Rivers region.
Metro Screen – Central Coast OnScreen program, $75,000 over three years, to provide up to 15 emerging screen practitioners living on the CentralCoast with the opportunity to hone their skills, producing short screen works for online distribution.
Metro Screen will also receive $600,000 over three years for a range of screen industry programs and events.
Australian International Documentary Conference, $16,000 over two years,towards the four-day event in 2014. The conference is for the factual film and broadcasting, and content creation industry attracting up to 600 national and international delegates.
Australian Writers Guild – Pathways Program and Storyworld Multimedia Project Develop Masterclasses, $30,000 over two years, towards targetedprofessional development initiatives that significantly increaseopportunities for NSW feature film, television and multimedia writers.
Australian Directors Guild, $35,000, to present a range of events acrossNSW including workshops in Wollongong and Byron Bay; OzDoxs, the ADG awards and conference, Sydney Film Festival forums, Australian Film Festival Talks, masterclasses, Flickerfest Forums, the Directors Attachment Scheme and Meet the Directors as part of AACTA, as well as general support for Australian directors based in NSW.
Australian Guild of Screen Composers, $5,000, towards its national conference, Music and the Movies screenings, regional screenings in Newcastle, as well as networking opportunities for young and emerging composers.
Audience Development Fund 2013-14:
The Festivalists, $5,000 for Access all areas and $6,000 for Young at Heart Film Festival’s regional tour. Access All Areas is a film festival dedicated to delivering high quality Australian short and feature films that have been made accessible for people with disability. And in 2014 the Young at Heart Film Festival's regional tour will bring the Young at Heart Short Film Awards program to 45 towns in regional NSW, most of which have no film festival.
Blackfella Films, $8,000, for the film component of the Corroboree Festival 2013 with a program of Indigenous feature films and documentaries, and a children’s program of animation and short films.
Gwydir Shire Council, $8,000, for the North West Film Festival, showcasing the work of young filmmakers from rural communities in North West NSW.
Screen Culture Association, $10,000, for Antenna, Australia's International Documentary Film Festival, held annually in October over five days in Sydney.
Muswellbrook Shire Council, $5,000, for the Blue Heeler Film Festival which offers free screenings of classic favourites and recently released feature length films, as well as a short film competition in three categories open to entrants from the Upper Hunter region.
Information and Cultural Exchange, $48,000 over three years, for the Arab Film Festival which is an annual, curated program of films reflecting the complexity, vitality and diversity of Arab communities in Australia and across the world.
Northern Rivers Screenworks, $30,000 over three years, to premiere screenings of Australian films across the Northern Rivers region including guest speakers and Q&A sessions.
Flickerfest, $60,000 (over three years) for the short film festival, and $60,000 (over three years) to take the best short films from the event to at least 22 venues in regional NSW. In 2013, the festival received 2353 entries and screened over 180 films including many world and Australian premieres.
Petite Grande Kaboom, $15,000 over three years, for the Little Big Shots children’s film festival. The funding will support the festival’s NSW tour of metro, Western Sydney, regional and remote communities, bringing the magic of cinema to kids across the State.
Tropfest, $45,000 over three years, towards the Roughcut series of curated conversations featuring high profile figures from within the film industry. The event caters for around 300 emerging filmmakers and film enthusiasts.