❓ Mr Britza inquires about future projects in the successful WA film industry. The Minister details the success of 'Red Dog' and 'Drift', and funding for 'The Children' and 'The Turning', highlighting ScreenWest's role. There is some interjection about new money.
AnsweredQoN 429Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
WESTERN AUSTRALIAN FILM INDUSTRY
429. Mr I.M. BRITZA to the Minister for Culture and the
Arts:
As I have a son who enjoys scripting, producing and directing
short films, I was delighted to hear that the Western Australian film industry
has been experiencing outstanding success in the last couple of years. I wonder
whether the minister could inform the members of the house about any future
projects and initiatives.
429. Mr I.M. BRITZA to the Minister for Culture and the
Arts:
As I have a son who enjoys scripting, producing and directing
short films, I was delighted to hear that the Western Australian film industry
has been experiencing outstanding success in the last couple of years. I wonder
whether the minister could inform the members of the house about any future
projects and initiatives.
AnswerView source ↗
As implied in the question, and I thank the member for it,
the growth and development in the Western Australian screen industry in recent
years has been one of the great success stories of this state. By way of
background, in 2011 the total amount grossed in Australian cinemas was
approximately $1.09 billion. Of the titles that were shown, 44 were Australian,
and together they accounted for about $43 million, or 3.9 per cent, of box
office earnings. Of that amount, almost 50 per cent, or $21.3 million, was
produced by the film Red Dog , which
was filmed here in Western Australia and is a great success story in itself. It
told a story that is uniquely Western Australian. The production was supported
by ScreenWest and also the royalties for regions program.
The challenge is to build on this success. I was pleased to
attend an advance screening of the recently completed feature film Drift , which tells the story of
pioneering surfers. It was filmed in the Vasse electorate to a large extent,
particularly around Margaret River and off the coast of the capes region and
also in Nannup. It tells the story of pioneering surfers in the state's
south west in the 1970s. It has some great vision of surfing scenes off the
south west coast. It stars Sam Worthington. The film has received support
through ScreenWest and also the royalties for regions program.
Mr J.N. Hyde : But
there's no new money, minister.
Mr J.H.D. DAY :
There is a new feature film called Drift that has recently been filmed in Western Australia.
Mr J.N. Hyde : No new money from your government. You
keep singing your praises.
Mr J.H.D. DAY :
They do not use money that has been used previously for something else. It is
always new money allocated for a particular project out of ScreenWest's
budget and out of the royalties for regions budget in this particular case.
To go on and tell a good story about what is happening in the
screen industry, another production that is about to occur is The Children , which has been selected to
receive $750 000 in production funding through ScreenWest's West Coast
Visions initiative. Only one allocation of that magnitude is made each year. It
is a program that gives local practitioners experience in the screen industry
in Western Australia. It also increases the amount of feature film production. The Children is an adaptation of
Charlotte Wood's best-selling novel. It follows a successful war
correspondent as she is forced to confront her own guilt and post-traumatic
stress. I was pleased to join the producers, Claire McCarthy and Melissa Kelly,
and cinematographer and producer, Denson Baker, when they visited the Armadale
region recently to identify particular locations that will be used for the
filming.
Another production that has recently received funding of $175
000 for production costs is the Tim Winton film project, The Turning , which is a
feature film based on a collection of 17 short stories by Tim Winton. Six of
those 17 short stories will be filmed here in Western Australia. They are a
number of the projects in the pipeline in the screen industry in the state.
They help to demonstrate the strength of the industry, the increased expertise
and capacity and the very strong leadership that is provided by ScreenWest in
fostering the industry in this state.
the growth and development in the Western Australian screen industry in recent
years has been one of the great success stories of this state. By way of
background, in 2011 the total amount grossed in Australian cinemas was
approximately $1.09 billion. Of the titles that were shown, 44 were Australian,
and together they accounted for about $43 million, or 3.9 per cent, of box
office earnings. Of that amount, almost 50 per cent, or $21.3 million, was
produced by the film Red Dog , which
was filmed here in Western Australia and is a great success story in itself. It
told a story that is uniquely Western Australian. The production was supported
by ScreenWest and also the royalties for regions program.
The challenge is to build on this success. I was pleased to
attend an advance screening of the recently completed feature film Drift , which tells the story of
pioneering surfers. It was filmed in the Vasse electorate to a large extent,
particularly around Margaret River and off the coast of the capes region and
also in Nannup. It tells the story of pioneering surfers in the state's
south west in the 1970s. It has some great vision of surfing scenes off the
south west coast. It stars Sam Worthington. The film has received support
through ScreenWest and also the royalties for regions program.
Mr J.N. Hyde : But
there's no new money, minister.
Mr J.H.D. DAY :
There is a new feature film called Drift that has recently been filmed in Western Australia.
Mr J.N. Hyde : No new money from your government. You
keep singing your praises.
Mr J.H.D. DAY :
They do not use money that has been used previously for something else. It is
always new money allocated for a particular project out of ScreenWest's
budget and out of the royalties for regions budget in this particular case.
To go on and tell a good story about what is happening in the
screen industry, another production that is about to occur is The Children , which has been selected to
receive $750 000 in production funding through ScreenWest's West Coast
Visions initiative. Only one allocation of that magnitude is made each year. It
is a program that gives local practitioners experience in the screen industry
in Western Australia. It also increases the amount of feature film production. The Children is an adaptation of
Charlotte Wood's best-selling novel. It follows a successful war
correspondent as she is forced to confront her own guilt and post-traumatic
stress. I was pleased to join the producers, Claire McCarthy and Melissa Kelly,
and cinematographer and producer, Denson Baker, when they visited the Armadale
region recently to identify particular locations that will be used for the
filming.
Another production that has recently received funding of $175
000 for production costs is the Tim Winton film project, The Turning , which is a
feature film based on a collection of 17 short stories by Tim Winton. Six of
those 17 short stories will be filmed here in Western Australia. They are a
number of the projects in the pipeline in the screen industry in the state.
They help to demonstrate the strength of the industry, the increased expertise
and capacity and the very strong leadership that is provided by ScreenWest in
fostering the industry in this state.
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