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Funding cuts revealed at Screen Australia

Facing four years of budget cuts, Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason has challenged producers to think of new ways of funding and distributing content and to scrap projects which have languished for years in development.

Addressing a forum in Sydney on Tuesday night, Mason revealed how program spending will be impacted by the last federal budget, which cut its funding by $3.6 million over four years.

Total investment dropped from $77 million in 2013/2014 to $66.8 million in 2014/2015 and is projected to be $67 million in the current fiscal year.

In the past two financial years funding for features declined from $24.1 million to $19.1 million but this year will be $20-22 million.  "Films recoup more money than everything else we do," he told a packed house at the Palace Verona.

Adult TV drama rose from $11.8 million to $14 million but will be trimmed to $10-12 million while children’s drama dropped from $8.3 million to $6.9 million but will go up to $8-10 million.

Funding for documentaries was steady at $19.1 million and $19 million but will drop to $17-18 million.

Mason said Treasury had determined that funding for digital works is not recurring and will cease but the agency will continue to invest in online content, with $4-5 million allocated in the current year, compared with $4.8 million last year.

Indigenous funding declined from $5.1 million to $3 million and this year will be $3-4 million.

He said, "We are anticipating increased demand in features, solid demand in TV drama, a continuing soft children’s sector, a little push back against documentary (after a 12 month reprieve) and no change to online."

Mason foreshadowed a significant drop in total screen spending in the year to June 30 from $837 million the prior year. He attributed that to the collapse in foreign investment in Australian film and TV production and to a decline in ABC drama spending.

He challenged producers to be more innovative, declaring that the existing framework for funding and distribution “does not fit any more.”

Producers should focus even more on figuring out the target audience for every project and on how to reach that audience.

He urged producers to make more films aimed at adults aged up to 35 and advised anyone who has been developing a project for as long as 10 years to accept “it’s over” and move on to new projects.

Screen Australia reaffirmed its support for the screen industry's calls for the 20 per cent producer offset for TV to be doubled.

Stressing the crucial role of the producer offset, he said, "While direct funding in the order of $75 – $85 million is provided to the sector through Screen Australia annually, the offset provides nearly $200 million to the sector each year. Since the introduction of the offset in July 2007, budgets of $4.5 billion have been triggered."

He boasted that the agency has reduced staff numbers and its annual operating costs, which were $29 million in 2008-09 and are projected to fall to $17 million in 2016-17. 

Mason noted 161 Australian films, including 100 co-funded by the agency, are screening on Netflix and Stan.


 

  1. Lest we forget – the successful Muriel’s Wedding took ten years in development before being produced. A film which recouped all production costs prior to being released.

  2. Lest we forget – Scott Hicks had Shine in development for nigh on a decade, and look where that got him.

    Good to see Graeme Mason’s got his eye on getting the right sort of projects for the times, and not some specious, meaningless and arbitrary line in the sand.

  3. Other films in development for 10+ years:

    RED DOG
    HOLDING THE MAN (which he approved himself)
    TRACKS
    DOWNRIVER (he approved himself)
    MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
    TOMORROW WHEN THE WAR BEGAN
    THE DRESSMAKER (another one he approved)
    NOISE

    Does this mean he thinks all of these films shouldn’t have been made?

    It’s an ignorant remark clearly made by somebody who doesn’t understand the passion, perseverance and proper timing it takes to get a film made.

  4. Funding cuts are not the problem. Projects in development for 10 years are not the problem. They’re only highlighting the problem.
    In macro economic terms, the film and tv production industry has not grown in 25 years. We are generating the same amount of dollar (inflation adjusted) production as we were 25 years ago. Despite GDP growing every year around 3-5%. Despite the increased numbers of people coming into the hyped up industry. Despite the literally billions of dollars of government investment over 25 years.
    There have been occasional fabulous successes, but the big experiment that began in the 1990’s has been a failure in growing the industry, which is highlighted now by evaporating government funds.
    The problem is the structure of the industry. We ignore this at our peril.

    The current government-centric funding model (both federal and State) is obsolete by the very fact that it hasn’t worked in growing the dollar production output of the industry and relies on continuing government funds.
    New ways of funding and distributing projects are just the tip of the iceberg. 10 year development for some projects are a symptom.

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