Statement – Wide Angle Tasmania, 21 September 2020
RESPONSE TO THE PROPOSED REVIEW OF ARTS FUNDING ASSESSMENT PROCESS
We are concerned by a statement made by Arts Minister Elise Archer last Friday in relation to Screen Tasmania’s investment in the feature documentary ‘Wild Things‘.
The documentary, which followers Australia’s ‘next generation’ of activists in protests around the country over the course of a year, is produced by Northern Territory-based company 360 Degree Films and directed by Sally Ingleton. We note that Ingleton is a highly regarded filmmaker and that the project has also been supported by Screen Australia, Screen Territory and Film Victoria.
In response to a claim from Labor’s Shane Broad that the film encourages illegal protest activity, the Arts Minister defended Screen Tasmania’s involvement in the project. However, she later amended her position, saying:
“The Cultural and Creative Industries Act 2017 includes an independent system of peer assessment and expert advice in all funding decisions under Screen Tasmania and Arts Tasmania.However, all grant recipients have a responsibility to ensure they use funding appropriately and within the guidelines of the law. Accordingly, to maintain the integrity of this independent process, I have asked for the assessment process to be reviewed to ensure that illegal activities are not promoted or endorsed.”
The Minister’s full media release can be read here https://elisearcher.com.au/arts-funding-assessment-process/.
Our position is that, far from maintaining the integrity of the process, such a review threatens the independence of screen funding in the state.
The decisions of Tasmania’s arts funding bodies Screen Tasmania and Arts Tasmania must remain independent of the politics of the day.
Interference in this process, or even the suggestion of it, will tarnish these agencies’ reputations, their relationship with filmmakers and artists and the state’s reputation as a place of artistic excellence.
At a time when creative workers face diminishing opportunities and great economic uncertainty, the last thing they should have to worry about is a fight to maintain their artistic integrity.
We agree with Minister Archer’s statement that Screen Tasmania’s production funding decisions are based on an independent system of peer assessment and expert advice. The process is appropriately at arms-length of government and therefore the assessment process does not need to be reviewed in this case.
We call on all members of parliament to throw their support behind Tasmanian screen businesses and filmmakers during this challenging time so that we can get back to work – work that shapes and reflects culture and contributes to the state’s economy.
If you would like to add your support to this statement. add your name online here https://www.wideangle.org.au/industry_response.
STATEMENTS: Wild Things.
