AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2013

Ausfilm Television Week London

Ausfilm Television Week London will be taking place from 13 - 16 October 2013.

Ausfilm is hosting this targeted event, post MIPCOM, to develop co-production opportunities between Australian and UK producers for high-end television drama and animation productions.
The event includes focused 1-2-1 meetings, pitching sessions, workshops, networking events, and panel sessions.

Ausfilm is pleased to announce that the following Australian producers and companies have been selected to participate.

Australian attendees – Ausfilm Television Week London:

• Alan Harris, Keshet Australia              
• David Taft & Michael Harvey, Harvey Taft Productions
• Jason Stephens, Freemantle Media Australia             
• Joe Connor & Jen Livingston, Renegade Films              
• Leanne Tonkes, Mini Studios & Dust Bunny Productions
• Linda Klejus, Circa Media    
• Lisa Gray & Lizzy Nash, The Feds      
• Paul Barron, Sandpiper Entertainment          
• Paul Walton, Princess Pictures          
• Rosemary Blight & Kylie du Fresne, Goalpost Pictures          
• Susan Bower, Bower Bird Productions           
• Tanya Phegan, Porchlight Films  Pty Ltd         
• Troy Zafer, Zac Toons            
  

For futher information about Ausfilm Television Week London please contact Kristy Officer [email protected] or Caroline Raffan [email protected]

Ausfilm Week Los Angeles

Ausfilm Week Los Angeles will be taking place from 21 – 24 October 2013.

Ausfilm Week Los Angeles aims to create, build upon and develop international relationships between Ausfilm members and US clients to encourage international production to Australia.

This year’s Schedule includes:

• Australian Incentives Update - Representatives from the Australian Government and Screen Australia will provide an overview of the current status of the production landscape and updates on Australian screen incentives.
• Meet the New Australian Filmmakers - Panel session to introduce emerging Australian filmmakers, showcasing their work and discussing their style and vision.
• Australian Visual Effects Showcase – a presentation and networking event with Ausfilm post, digital & visual effects members including Animal Logic, Cutting Edge, Fuel VFX, Iloura and Rising Sun Pictures. The presentation will include an overview of Australia’s attractive 30% Post, Digital and Visual Effects Offset and Ausfilm members will showcase a project they have worked on.
  

Australian post Federal election update

In the election on 7 September the Liberal National coalition won government with a likely majority of 32. The complexion of the Senate is still being settled, but it is certain the government will not have a majority in the Senate.

There is no confirmation yet as to who will be the new Arts Minister.

During the election campaign no specific policy announcements in relation to the arts were made, nor was there any mention in the costing of savings and new measures released on 5 September 2013 by the Coalition. However, Senator Brandis both the Shadow Attorney General and Shadow Minister for the Arts in the previous Opposition did make a speech in which he stated the Coalition’s six core principles for the arts – excellence, integrity, artistic freedom, self-confidence, sustainability and accessibility.

In relation to film he said “…we believe that, wherever possible, funding should be structured so as to encourage commercial success – an approach which has, in particular, demonstrated its worth in the development of the film and television industry.”

Screen NSW Slate Loan Fund applications are now open

Applications are now open for production companies interested in an alternative path for development funding through the Screen NSW Slate Loan Fund (SLF).

Screen NSW is seeking to increase the ways in which it can support the screen industry in the State. The Slate Loan Fund offers speed to market and flexibility in development for established companies with proven volume of development and production in NSW.

NSW production companies which have produced at least two “eligible productions” with a combined NSW spend of at least $5M over the 3 years immediately prior to application (2010-2013) are eligible to apply.

Deadline for applications is 5pm Monday 30 September.

For full information, application forms and guidelines visit the Screen NSW website.

These Final Hours scores major distribution deal with Roadshow

Apocalyptic thriller, These Final Hours, from writer/director Zak Hilditch and producer Liz Kearney has sealed a distribution deal with Roadshow Films, Australia’s largest independent distributor.

Filmed over five weeks in Western Australia, the apocalyptic thriller tells the story of a self-obsessed young man (Nathan Phillips) as he makes his way to the party-to-end-all-parties on the last day on Earth and stars an ensemble of rising Australian acting talent.

A release date for the film has not yet been set.

These Final Hours is proudly supported by ScreenWest, Lotterywest, Screen Australia and the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) Premiere Fund.

New Head of Production position to oversee development and production investment at Screen Australia

Screen Australia’s Head of Production Investment Ross Matthews and Head of Development Martha Coleman will depart the agency at the completion of their contracts in December 2013. The agency’s organisational structure has been reviewed to ensure good transition and business continuity for the industry during a time of significant change.

After close consultation between Screen Australia’s Chief Executive Ruth Harley, incoming Chief Executive Graeme Mason and the Board, as well as consideration of industry comments, Screen Australia has decided to combine the roles of Head of Production Investment and Head of Development into a new Head of Production position.

This position will oversee the Development, Production Investment and Documentary functions at the agency. The position will be recruited jointly by Ruth Harley and Graeme Mason.

2013 annual MPA APSA Academy Film Fund Opens

The Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) submissions are open for the 2013 MPA APSA Academy Film Fund. Four USD$25,000 grants will be awarded to projects to further their stories from treatment stage to final script.

An initiative of the Motion Picture Association (MPA) in collaboration with APSA, the MPA APSA Academy Film Fund is available exclusively to APSA Academy members. The Asia Pacific Screen Academy was established in 2008 and brings together some 600 of the region's most respected names in film. This influential alumnus of filmmakers is comprised of APSA nominees, winners, and members of both the International Juries and Nominations Councils to date.

Recipients of the 2013 MPA APSA Academy Film Fund will be announced at the 7th Asia Pacific Screen Awards, to be held on 12 December 2013 at the recently renovated Brisbane City Hall in Brisbane, Australia.

The criteria, rules and regulations are located on the APSA website www.asiapacificscreenawards.com or by clicking on the following link http://www.asiapacificscreenacademy.com/film-funds/

Submissions close on November 15, 2013.

Applications for the 2013 Natalie Miller Fellowship grant of $10,000 are now open

The grant provides financial assistance to women working in the screen industries, to pursue professional development in their fields through attachments, internships, secondments, travel and other means.

The NMFellowship is open to Australian women working in the screen industry who have demonstrated initiative, entrepreneurship, excellence and the potential to inspire and provide leadership. While the grant is not available for production investment, the Fellowship encourages applications from producers, distributors, exhibitors, businesswomen, entrepreneurs and others.

Each applicant is required to submit a proposal outlining how the grant would assist them to reach their full potential, and in doing so deliver significant benefits to the applicant and the wider Australian screen community.

All applications for the NMFellowship must be received by 5pm on Monday 16 September and the recipient will be announced in November 2013.

For guidelines and an application form visit the website: http://www.nataliemillerfellowship.com

Deluxe Entertainment’s Australian VFX studios, Iloura and Method, sink their claws into The Wolverine.

Filmed in Australia, The Wolverine undertook a significant portion of its VFX down under.
Fox Studios called in the world-class VFX talent housed at Iloura (Melbourne) and Method Studios (Sydney) to help demonstrate Logan’s (Wolverine’s) incredible strength and his ability to heal, as well as promoting the intricate architecture of Japan.

The Iloura crew, led by VFX Supervisor, Glenn Melenhorst, completed just over 100 shots for the film, including a sequence that featured a futuristic medical ‘Pin Bed’ made up of steel pins that follow the contours and movements of the patient’s body

Iloura also helped bring life to a tiny robotic medical ‘beetle’. The crew modelled, rigged and animated the 3D beetle based on production artwork and gave it an aggressive personality. Despite its diminutive size it threatens Logan in one highly memorable sequence.

Cutting Edge Establishes New Facility in Melbourne

Cutting Edge has opened a new facility in the post production precinct of South Melbourne, which will be led by Executive Producer John Fleming.

The move is in direct response to increasing client demand, and promises to provide an innovative and client focussed option to the local market, catering to post production services and workflow solutions.

Cutting Edge currently also have existing operation in Sydney and Brisbane.

To view the facility, click here: www.cuttingedge.com.au/info/facility

Four Australian Films Premiering at Toronto International Film Festival

The Toronto International Film Festival has unveiled a first wave of titles to screen, including new Australian features by Jonathan Teplitzky, Matthew Saville, Ivan Sen and John Curran. The films have been selected for the festival’s premium Gala and Special Presentations programs. 

Jonathan Teplitzky’s Second World War drama The Railway Man, starring Oscar® winners Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman, has had its world premiere as part of the Gala Presentations program, the festival’s high-profile sidebar. The Australian-UK co-production feature is produced by Andy Paterson, Chris Brown and Bill Curbishley. The film, written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and Andy Paterson, is an emotionally-charged true story based on Eric Lomax’s best-selling account of confronting his World War II torturer 30 years on.

Matthew Saville’s thriller Felony will have its world premiere as part of the festival’s Special Presentations program. Joel Edgerton scripts and stars in this story of a decorated cop, whose attempt to hide his complicity in a traffic accident makes him the target of a dogged investigator. The film is produced by Rosemary Blight, Michael Benaroya and Joel Edgerton, and stars Tom Wilkinson, Melissa George and Jai Courtney.

John Curran’s Tracks will screen in a Special Presentation. Mia Wasikowska stars in this astonishing true story of Robyn Davidson, who in 1977 set out on a solo 2,700km journey by foot across the Australian outback. The film is produced by Emile Sherman and Iain Canning and is co-produced by Antonia Barnard and Julie Ryan.

Mystery Road, Ivan Sen’s murder mystery produced by David Jowsey and starring Aaron Pedersen, Hugo Weaving and Ryan Kwanten, will also receive a Special Presentation slot at the festival. The film tells the story of a police detective who undertakes an investigation into the brutal murder of a teenage girl, bringing the town’s long-simmering tensions to the surface.

The Toronto International Film Festival is taking place now from 5–15 September 2013.

http://tiff.net/thefestival

Location: The Flinders Ranges and Outback South Australia

Distance from Capital City / local production facilities: The Flinders Ranges and Outback South Australia is approximately 250kms north of Adelaide. Hawker and Leigh Creek are two mains town within the Flinders Ranges region which are frequently used as production bases. Other popular towns include Parachilna, Peterborough, Port Augusta, Quorn and Coober Pedy. There are many stations and resorts available for use with Adelaide Studios offering an ideal purpose built production base from Adelaide.

About the location: The Flinders Ranges stretch 250 kilometres north of Adelaide and then for another 800 kilometres into the SA outback. The ranges are broken into three parts: the southern, central and northern ranges with each region containing a national park.

The Rover, written and directed by David Michôd and produced by Liz Watts, David Linde and David Michôd through Porchlight Films, in association with Lava Bear Films LLC, completed seven weeks of principal photography in South Australia utilising the unique desert landscape SA offers to provide the perfect backdrop for the film’s storyline.

“The ability of South Australia to offer dramatic, unique and stunning landscapes, mixed with towns of distinctive original character, all supported by world class facilities (as those at the Studios) was a major part of our decision to shoot in South Australia”, Liz Watts, Producer of The Rover.

Production credits: The Rover (starring Robert Pattinson & Guy Pearce), Wolf Creek & Wolf Creek 2 (Starring John Jarrett), Tracks (Starring Mia Wasikowska), The Infinite Man (FilmLab feature)

Fun fact: The Flinders Ranges covers 80% of South Australia’s area but has less than 1% of the state’s Population.

For more information contact: South Australian Film Corporation – Location Services
+61 8 8394 2000 www.safilm.com.au

Image Credits: (L to R) 1.Flinders Ranges, Outback SA Image courtesy of the South Australian Tourism Commission, 2.Tracks Robyn (played by Mia Wasikowska) © See-Saw Films Pty Ltd, Photography by Matthew Nettheim.