SAFC CEO Kate Croser.
Following on from the launch of its 2020-2023 strategic plan in July, the South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC) has introduced a suite of new funding programs and initiatives from today.
They include:
- The Screen Business Planning and Mentoring Program: to support six South Australian screen companies with up to $5,000 in order to create comprehensive business plans for growth and attracting investment. At the conclusion of the program, the six companies will become eligible to apply for the SAFC’s new Screen Business Accelerator Program, which provides business loans of up to $200,000 per annum for up to two years to drive growth through slate funding, research and development, and marketing.
- Matched Market Development Grant: Trialled earlier this year as an additional COVID-19 support measure, this new grant provides uncapped matched funding to South Australian production companies for projects intended for commercial release with secured third-party development support from the market.
- Targeted Development Grant. Also introduced as a COVID-19 support measure, this new grant supports the development of South Australian owned Intellectual Property (IP) by way of the advancement of ambitious and original South Australian screen projects that can be produced and post-produced in the state. Applicants can apply for up to $20,000, depending on the type of project, the development activities proposed, the scope of the final project and the level of market interest.
- An update of the Attachment Scheme, which has now been into two streams: professional crew attachments and targeted diversity attachments. The latter is designed specifically to provide first on-set experiences for practitioners from groups underrepresented in the South Australian screen industry including women, First Nations practitioners, Deaf and disabled practitioners, and practitioners from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds, LGBTQIA+ communities and regional and remote areas.
The South Australian Video Game Development Rebate, which mirrors the state’s existing PDV rebate, has also officially launched today, and the SAFC’s Screen Production Fund guidelines have been updated to give greater clarity to producers on the way the agency will support production.
SAFC CEO Kate Croser said the new guidelines built on the SAFC’s strategic aims to enable entrepreneurship and grow capability in the state’s screen sector, as well as champion South Australian practitioners and businesses.
“After extensive consultation with industry the SAFC is pleased to deliver this suite of new funding programs and initiatives to continue our practical support of South Australia’s screen sector right across the spectrum, from the development and production of film and TV to games, and from producers and production companies to key creatives and crew,” she said.