(L-R) David Templeman, Screenwest chair John Driscoll and Lotterywest chair Professor Peter Klinken.
Lotterywest has committed $6.3 million to Screenwest which will enable the agency to ramp its development and production funding.
A portion of the Lotterywest funds will allocated to talent development, audience and community engagement activities and Indigenous and diversity initiatives.
Culture and the Arts Minister David Templeman said: “A vibrant, innovative and diverse screen industry creates jobs, diversifies the economy and tells our uniquely Western Australian stories,” he said.
“Screenwest plays a crucial role supporting the sector to tell these stories, while showcasing our incredible places and people to the rest of Australia and the world.
“This Lotterywest funding, along the Western Australian Screen Fund, will provide even more fantastic opportunities for our local screen industry professionals to develop, produce and promote their work.”
Screenwest chair John Driscoll said: “Lotterywest are a key contributor to the vibrancy and growth of the Western Australian screen industry and their continued support is greatly appreciated.
“The ability to tell diverse, Western Australian stories from a unique WA perspective has never been more important and we are seeing growth in global demand for Western Australian screen content. Lotterywest supports us to be able to tell these stories, which might not otherwise come to life on screen.”
In April Lotterywest supported Screenwest to deliver the WA Screen Industry Sustainability package to support the industry for six months through the COVID-19 pandemic.
The initiatives including Bright Ideas and Taking Care of Business were well received by the industry and to date are working as intended, accordng to Screenwest.
The Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries also supported Screenwest’s decision to repurpose savings from its 2019-20 operational budget back into production.
In June, the State Government announced an extension of the $16 million Western Australian Screen Fund, which supports productions to shoot in regional areas, for a further four years.