OCTOBER 12

Ausfilm Welcomes New Board Members

Following our Annual General Meeting and board election, please join us in welcoming new board member Zareh Nalbandian (Animal Logic) and re-elected board members Catherine McDonnell (Fox Production Services) and Tony Clark (Rising Sun Pictures).

Ausfilm Week Los Angeles 2012

The Ausfilm team are busily arranging the final details for the upcoming Ausfilm October Mission for the US “Ausfilm Week Los Angeles”, October 24th to 31st 2012.

Ausfilm Week LA aims to create, build upon and develop international relationships between Ausfilm members and Australian producers with key clients in LA to encourage international production to Australia.

The event will comprise a series of interactive panel sessions highlighting Australia’s production incentives schemes, post production and filmmaking talent, networking experiences, producer collaboration meetings and learning opportunities between the Australian and US film industries.

We will also be joined by over twenty members participating in Ausfilm Week LA including OFTA, Screen Australia, State Screen Agencies and corporate members.

For further information please click here

Ausfilm at AFM

This year Ausfilm will be exhibiting at AFM following Ausfilm Week from November 1st to 7th. AFM is the premiere global marketplace for motion picture production and distribution and the largest gathering of film industry professionals in North America with over 8000 attendees.

Ausfilm’s purpose for participating in AFM is to enhance opportunities for co-production markets and promote Australia’s Screen Production Incentives via networking events and 1-2-1 meetings for Australian producers and potential co-production market partners.

The Ausfilm AFM office is located at Suite 307, Loews Hotel in Santa Monica and office hours are 9am to 6pm daily.

Practical labs for Members based in Los Angeles

Australians in Film, with the support of Brand Australia, have launched a series of practical labs for members based in Los Angeles. Starting with the Writing Lab and followed up by Producing and Editing & Visual Effects, the new strands are designed to provide Australian film and TV professionals in Los Angeles with access to expert panels, seminars and the opportunity to network with other industry professionals.

Building on the success of the Australians in Film screening program, the AiF Labs offer a practical environment with a view to developing individual film, TV and digital projects to the next stage.

Cinematography and Directing workshops are also in the pipeline.

Screen Australia has launched an exciting consumer-facing campaign called ARE YOU BUFF ENOUGH?

Are You Buff Enough? is a trivia and quiz App; with a difference. Australians are invited to test their knowledge and to challenge friends – earning prizes and badges along the way. As they explore the App they can also find out what’s on in cinemas or coming soon – and they’re reminded about classic local films and TV programs.

The Buff Enough App is available across multiple platforms – iPhone, Android, Facebook and online. People are able to play each other in a series of rapid-fire questions based around local talent, TV shows and films, as well as questions on Aussies doing well in international productions.

Play here anywhere, anytime, anyhow and tell everyone how buff you are!

Further funding for Perth Revelation International Film Festival

The Western Australian State Government has provided additional funding for the Revelation Perth International Film Festival, one of the most significant and highest profile events in Western Australia’s screen culture calendar.

Revelation is recognised as one of Australia’s five key international film festivals, annually attracting about 10,000 people and showcasing ground-breaking local, national and international films.

ScreenWest has been a sponsor of the festival since 1998, and its investment has helped to support the screening of more than 60 Western Australian works as well as hundreds of Australian films and world-class international shorts, animated features and documentary films.

The event, which also receives significant Government support through Lotterywest, has attracted more than 130 national and international guests, including renowned Australian film critics David Stratton and Margaret Pomeranz; actor/director Crispin Glover; and controller of ABC2, Stuart Menzies.

Roadshow signs output deal with The Hunger Games studio Lionsgate

Roadshow Films has signed a long-term deal to distribute Lionsgate's films, including The Hunger Games sequels, in Australia.

The Village Roadshow-owned distributor has previously distributed Lionsgate films such as What to Expect When You're Expecting ($8.04 million at the Australian box office) and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen ($4.64 million). Its biggest Lionsgate-hit was The Hunger Games, which grossed $31.17 million on its way to more than $US680 million at the global box office.
Roadshow, will now release the final Hunger Games films, starting with The Hunger Games: Catching Fire in November 2013.

Other recent Lionsgate-produced films include The Expendables 2, The Possession, The Cabin in the Woods, The Lincoln Lawyer and Margin Call.

For original article click here

WA film to use the force of Ewan McGregor

International star Ewan McGregor will star in the highly anticipated crime thriller Son of a Gun, slated to be shot in WA in early 2013.

The Western Australian State Government, through ScreenWest and Lotterywest is supporting Son of a Gun with funding support under the ScreenWest Drama Production Investment Fund.

This latest news that Ewan McGregor will star in a locally-made film further shows that the WA film industry is making its international mark following on from the success of Red Dog and the anticipation surrounding Drift, starring Sam Worthington.

Son of a Gun is a heist thriller, written and directed by talented WA expat Julius Avery, and is the story of young man’s apprenticeship to public enemy number one to be played by Ewan McGregor.

Western Australian animation companies explore China deals

A delegation of WA-based animation companies hoping to expand their business interests into Asia will head to China this weekend for the 7th International Animation Fair of Shijianzhuang, in Hebei Province.The visit is an exclusive initiative for ScreenWest clients by Mario Andreacchio of AMPCO films for WA companies wishing to explore co-production and financing in China.

The trade fair will create lasting links between industry professionals from both countries, as well as provide Western Australian practitioners with a chance to learn from Chinese counterparts about local industry resources, development and emerging opportunities.The delegation will have the opportunity to test their projects in the Chinese marketplace as well as gain a comprehensive understanding of the China production and financing market.

The 2012 China Shijianzhuang Animation Fair and Trade Show will be held from 28 September until 4 October. Events will include investment promotion forums, exhibits, wide and intensive media coverage across China and cooperation and development forums.
The WA delegation includes:

• Alan Lindsay - Vue Group
• Ian Abercromby - Symphonic Pictures
• Zallen Tallis - Symphonic Pictures
• Zaaron Tallis - Symphonic Pictures
• Merlin Cornish - Siamese
• Lindsay Fleay - Westcoast Institute of Training
• Aaron Kennedy – Raging Pixel Productions
  

Rising Sun Pictures Update

Rising Sun Pictures has celebrated wrapping their body of work on Alfonso Cuarón's Sci-Fi Thriller, Gravity.  They're currently delivering for Warner Brother's upcoming comedy, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, in addition to visual effects design and execution for Shankar's 'i'. The team is now looking forward to a busy 2012/2013 with a number of high profile awards on key releases for the new year. http://www.rsp.com.au/

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Congratulations to Australian / German Co-Production Lore

Lore has been selected as the Australian entry for consideration for Best Foreign Language Film for the Academy Awards® to be announced early 2013!

Tracks now in production

Production is now underway on Tracks, the latest film by Australia's Kings Speech producers Emile Sherman and Iain Canning of See-Saw Films.

Directed by John Curran, the film follows an epic desert journey from the middle of Australia to the Indian Ocean and stars Mia Wasikowska (Jane Eyre, The Kids Are Alright, Alice in Wonderland) and rising star Adam Driver.

Tracks is a See-Saw Films production, with investment from Screen Australia, Screen NSW, South Australian Film Corporation, Deluxe and Cross City Sales. It is co-produced by Julie Ryan, who last year delivered the hit Red Dog. International sales are being handled by HanWay, with distribution including Transmission Films and Momentum Pictures in Australia and the UK respectively.