Mark Shea I couldnt help myself, I just had to add my one comment to the 250 comments people have added to the blog post below, bagging the film funding bodies …
I couldn’t believe her response. She informed me my work was not documentary, and didn’t believe a 3-5 minute film could be classified as documentary! At this stage my eyes glazed over, here I was in a meeting with the head of the Tasmanian Film Funding body, and she couldn’t understand the future distribution medium of the internet!
http://blogs.theage.com.au/schembri/archives/2008/12/impotent_rage_w.html?page=fullpage#comments
Hi Jim
Thank you for your article and your honesty. I wholeheartedly agree and wish to tell you of my own experience local government film bodies.
I do self funded travel videos. I pretty much do everything myself, film, edit, even the cover design of my dvds. I know this is not perfect, and sometimes an extra set of hands would be helpful, but I suppose I wanted to prove to myself, that with today’s technology, one person can produce a film singlehandedly.
My concept is to travel to different locations interviewing a local people in a documentary/travel style.
While recently living in Hobart, and discovering that Screen Tasmania provided funding for local filmmakers. I organised a meeting with Karena Slaninka, the director. I told her of my plans to put together an online travelogue featuring different Tasmanian locations and interviews with different characters, from bikies to fisherwomen. I told her the stories would be 3-5 minutes in length, suitable for online. I also outlined the ways I wished to make my venture commercially viable.
I couldn’t believe her response. She informed me my work was not documentary, and didn’t believe a 3-5 minute film could be classified as documentary! At this stage my eyes glazed over, here I was in a meeting with the head of the Tasmanian Film Funding body, and she couldn’t understand the future distribution medium of the internet!
I then did a bit of research with regard to Screen Tasmania’s previous funding decisions. I discovered that a majority of funding went to one or two local production houses, and still does! I then made a request to watch a film that was funded in June 2005 for $41880, called Returning Gilbert. I was surprised to discover, the film was never made.
I raised my issues about Screen Tasmania with local politicians, and the media coverage that followed, made me aware that I was not the only filmmaker that had issue with Screen Tasmania. But it seemed I was the only one willing to raise the issue, other production companies were afraid of losing government contracts if they ‘stirred the pot’.
As a filmmaker trying to promote Australia to the world, I just feel film funding bodies don’t seem to be geared towards filmmakers wanting commercial success, the industry is like a sheltered workshop, the same faces lining up every year for their handouts.
I want to make commercial projects, I want to be self sufficient, and I am! But it is extremely disappointing, when I do contact the likes of Screen Australia, as I did recently, for some advice and they couldn’t even give me a list of international program buyers, despite their staff going to every major damn film festival, every year. I know if I went to these festivals, organising international deals and contacts would be my first priority!
I just think it is time for a re think, make it easier for filmmakers to make films without going cap in hand to these funding bodies.
Better Tax incentives, cutting government fees like National Park filming fees. Then you might see some decent films.
