The producers of psychological horror film The Babadook have achieved their goal of raising $30,000 from the public through crowdfunding with just hours to spare before the offer closed.
The film, which stars Essie Davis and is currently shooting in South Australia, raised $30,071 from 259 supporters via the Kickstarter platform. Those supporters will receive gifts (such as a digital download of the film or branded t-shirt) depending on the level of their contribution. The funds will go towards the art department and costs such as building and dressing sets, as well as some of the Méliès-inspired effects.
The Babadook is one of the first mainstream crowdfunding efforts by an Australian feature film, which has been supported by screen agencies including Screen Australia and the South Australian Film Corporation. Finnish-German-Australian co-production Iron Sky recently raised more than €680,000 from the public although the filmmakers had a longstanding relationship with fans through their previous work.
Meanwhile, the producers of recent Australian drama Wish You Were Here are attempting to raise at least $75,000 to help fund their new apocalyptic modern noir, The Second Coming.
While crowdfunding has been most successful in Australia raising small amounts of money for short films (and other similar projects), its potential for larger projects is still hard to gauge.
A proposed US stop-motion animation from screenwriter Charlie Kaufman and former Community showrunner Dan Harmon, Anomalisa, set a crowdfunding record this month after raising $US406,237 on the Kickstarter platform.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission also recently warned that some types of crowdfunding may fall under the Corporations Act and ASIC Act, which impose a range of stricter legal obligations.
Contact this reporter at bswift@www.if.com.au or on Twitter at @bcswift.
A promotional shot for The Babadook.