less of how clear and objective our guidelines are, a lot of what It is an issue for a number of reasons. One is an extent to which we do is about opinion. It’s actually better for the industry if there its existence is a mark of the economic health of the industry. is a range of opinions, rather than just one. It would be terrible We are a small country, with a small feature film production if the combination of the AFC and the state agencies meant that industry. People need to work in other ways and other places to there was effectively a closed funding shop. earn a living. If they are not doing a feature film, there has to be There have been some real differences of opinion between the other opportunities to practise their craft or technique. Infra AFC and the state bodies in the area of film culture. With the structure which requires constant work in order to turn over the possible exception of Film Victoria, the AFC has always had a cash flow for the companies that own it is important in that sense. much stronger commitment to film culture, both in intellectual and Infrastructure is also important from the point of view of the financial terms. There have been periods where the state agencies capacity to do things in Australia. It would be a sad day, for haven’t pulled their weight, and it’s been left to the AFC to struggle economic and cultural reasons, if we had to send stuff offshore. with the really difficult questions of how to help the development Indeed, that happens now, because we don’t have the capacity in of that culture. At the same Australia. time, we have been roundly There is a sense in which criticized by everybody, in the presence of infrastructure “IT WAS CLEAR FROM THE INDUSTRY cluding the state agencies, for also underpins a notion of not doing it well enough. creative control. It provides THAT IT WAS LOOKING FOR AN ORGANIZATION T here is an enorm ous the capacity for overseas peo THAT WAS A RESOURCE, NOT ONLY IN TERMS OF amount of competition be ple to come here and make tween the state agencies them films. The intermingling be MONEY BUT ALSO IN TERMS OF INTELLIGENCE. selves, and also between the tween Australians and for THE QUESTION WAS HOW COULD WE BEST states and the C om m on eigners on these films can be wealth. At a time where is a good thing from the point COMBINE THE TWO TO SUIT [...] THE INDUSTRY. sues of productivity and of view of developing skill THERE WAS A VERY STRONG FEELING WITHIN performance are important and technique, experience to those governments pro THE AFC [...] ABOUT THE NEED FOR CHANGE. and flexibility. viding financial assistance to The com p arative e ffi these organizations, the com ciency of the Australian in petition for profile has inten dustry is also a source of pride sified. There is a view that the AFC has suffered as a result. We for a lot of the people involved in it. That is a direct result of the have perhaps been too modest about our achievements, in that infrastructure. we have, in standing behind the filmmakers, rather than with Inevitably, the states will have a perspective about infrastruc them or indeed in front of them, allowed ourselves to lose out in ture which is about attracting business to their state. There will be the race for copy about who has done what best. competitive aspects to that. I don’t actually think that it’s sensible to assume that you can have sophisticated infrastructure in each If there is anything in common among the interviews C in em a state in Australia. Some states simply don’t have the economy or P apers has done recently with the state film body executives, it the population size to sustain it. If one has a particular aspect of is the desire to maximize credit for films in which the states were infrastructure that other people don’t, then that’s terrific. But there only minority investors. In a way, the state bodies seem to resent is an extent to which the expectations about the kind of industry being junior financing partners to the AFC. structure which can be replicated around the country is ultimately That is one of those things that is not worth worrying about. We detrimental to the entire industry. are here to help make films happen. We are here to help them There does seem to be an increasing sense of the states’ sorting reach audiences and help audiences grow. We are here to help out their strengths. For example, Film Victoria doesn’t wish to critical debate. It’s important not to lose sight of that. pursue offshore production in the way, or to the degree, that Film However, the question of profile is a difficult and important Queensland does. one, especially given that state agencies are selling a regionallyspecific product. They are naturally going to want to make as much of their achievements as they can. I don’t have any difficulty with that. The only thing I do have some difficulty with is the failure to acknowledge the participation of other parties. In my view, it doesn’t do anybody any good to pretend that one is the only source of finance in a particular endeavour if one is not. I think we’d all be a lot happier if this business about claiming sole responsibility just disappeared, and we were more sensible and collaborative in our acknowledgment about the roles other people have played, not only in funding films but also in working together on events, publications ... the works. The other issue common to the state corporation interviews is the great concern about infrastructure, particularly within a state. How much is infrastructure a concern of the AFC’s?
I think that is right. And that sorting out is something that has happened in the past three or four years. People have made some quite sensible judgements about what they are good at, and what they shouldn’t be doing. The South Australians and the Western Australians have recently been grappling with these kinds of questions, and coming to quite realistic views about what they can best do to support their industry. There is much more effective talk about these issues between the agencies than in the past. This has led to less confusion internation ally about what it means to come to Australia, which is a good thing. The formation of Export Film Services Australia has been a useful exercise in helping some of these issues become clearer, and dealt with more sensibly and effectively. CINEMA
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