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Made in NSW fund to continue

The cast of Playmaker Media’s ‘Chosen’, which was funded by Made in NSW (L-R): Han Pengyi, Jenny Zhou, Deng Jiajia, Lan Cheng-lung, Sam Hayden-Smith.

The New South Wales Government has renewed Create NSW’s Made In NSW fund, announcing today that it will allocate up to $10 million per year towards the fund over the next four years.

In its budget, released today, the state government said overall it will put $24.1 million towards screen production grants (which includes the Made In NSW fund) in the 2018-19 financial year, drawing from a pool of $72.4 million it has outlaid over four years.

The Made in NSW fund was first announced ahead of the 2016-17 budget, with the government then allocating $20 million over two years to attract production from interstate and overseas. That money helped to triggered over $412 million in production and created almost 11,000 jobs.

It successfully helped attracted 12 international productions including Peter RabbitPacific Rim Uprising, Bleeding Steel, and Playmaker Media’s mini-series Chosen, produced for Chinese online streaming platform iQIYI.

Twenty-one Australian TV dramas also benefited from the fund, including Wake In Fright, Mystery Road, The Secret Daughter, Mr Inbetween and the latest series of Rake and Doctor Doctor.

Minister for the Arts Don Harwin said the Made in NSW fund was critical in order to bring larger productions to the state.

“When we first announced this fund, we set out to show Hollywood what NSW was capable of. I’m delighted to say that message has been received loud and clear, and we’re now extending our reach into Asia Pacific,” he said.

“Our incredibly diverse locations, highly-skilled workforce and state-of-the-art facilities are a stand-out for production in Australia and we are extremely excited about the future of the industry in NSW.”