Ausfilm executive vice-president of international production Erin Stam will join the board of directors of the Association of Film Commissioners International (AFCI), serving a two-year term.
Stam is one of five new board directors for the association, which represents film commissions from around the world.
Other new members come from Columbia, Ireland, Kenya and the UK, helping to create what will be the most geographically and culturally diverse board in AFCI’s 45 year history.
Continuing members represent film offices is Austria, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway and the United States. AFCI aims to provide advocacy, connectivity and education to help its members foster economic growth.
Stam joined Ausfilm last year, and leads the organisation’s Los Angeles office. Her remit is to attract international productions to Australia, marketing the country’s financial incentives, production infrastructure, businesses, locations and talent. Prior to, Stam held roles at Film Victoria and Screenwest, and served as SVP of production at Participant Media and Spyglass Entertainment.
Her appointment to AFCI comes at a time when international production is on an upswing, given Australia’s relative handling of the pandemic and the Federal Government’s $400 million Location Incentive Program.
Projects announced to be heading Down Under in recent weeks include NBC Universal series Young Rock, Joe Exotic and Irreverent; Netflix’s Escape From Spiderhead and Pieces of Her; feature film Blacklight, starring Liam Neeson, and Ron Howard’s film about the Thai cave rescue, Thirteen Lives.
These join already scheduled productions such as Thor: Love and Thunder, AppleTV+’s Shantaram and Netflix’s Clickbait, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which recently wrapped at Fox Studios, and Hulu’s Nine Perfect Strangers, which relocated to Australia early on in the pandemic.
“It is a great honour to have been elected to the AFCI Board and I look forward to working with my fellow film commissioners,” said Stam.
“Now more than ever we need the world to be more connected and to support each other where we can. I’m ready to roll my sleeves up and work with this dynamic team of global experts.”
AFCI board chair and commissioner of the Buffalo Niagara Film Office in New York said: “Erin Stam is a respected and influential voice among film commissioners all over the world.
”Her knowledge and expertise will help AFCI continue to fulfill its mission through the pandemic and into the post-COVID world.”