Week 6-Petrelli's thoughts on Australia's Film Industry

In 1906, Australian film-makers produced what is thought to be the world’s first feature length film, The Story of the Kelly Gang, about the country’s most notorious outlaws. The film enjoyed enormous success at home and was shown in British and New Zealand cinemas. Today, the Australian film industry has a reputation for innovation and quality, producing films with a unique flavour and global appeal.

Australia’s actors, directors, producers, costume designers, writers, cinematographers and animators are attracting growing international acclaim. Actors such as Eric Bana, Cate Blanchett, Rachel Griffiths, Abbie Cornish, Geoffrey Rush, Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Heath Ledger and Naomi Watts have amassed a body of work that has won critical acclaim and commercial success. The Australian production Happy Feet won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2007.

The qualities that attract overseas film producers to Australia include its world-class studio facilities, highly-skilled local technical crews and the stunning diversity of the landscape.
In 2006–07, 28 Australian-produced and co-produced feature films, with a total production value of $270 million, and 45 television drama programs, with a total production value of $272 million, went into production in Australia. In the same year, the value of foreign film and television production in Australia was $49 million.

The Australian Government actively supports the film industry financially and provides tax incentives to private sector investors and assistance to training bodies. Direct government funding for production is channelled principally through the Film Finance Corporation. In 2006–07, government funding represented 17 per cent of the total funding for Australian produced and co‑produced feature films in production.The Australian Film Commission (AFC) operates as part of the Australian Government Film Program to support the creation, availability and preservation of Australian audiovisual content.The AFC provides marketing advice and support, including professional development and production opportunities. It coordinates an Australian presence in international marketplaces, promotes the availability of Australian content to Australian audiences, collects and analyses statistics on Australia’s audiovisual industries and administers the international co-production program. Australia has now concluded film co-production agreements with the United Kingdom, Canada, Italy, Ireland, Israel and Germany and memorandums of understanding with France and New Zealand.

To preserve Australia’s screen and sound heritage, the AFC administers the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA), which maintains Australia’s largest collection of recorded sound and moving image. The NFSA holds more than two million items, including television and sound recordings, newsreels, scripts, posters, film stills, memorabilia and other items produced during more than 100 years of Australian film‑making.