Call for Screen Australia to proactively cultivate productions with a more Australian look and feel

‘Nobody talks about Australianness on our Screens’ by veteran industry journalist Sandy George was launched yesterday at the Sydney Film Festival by a discussion with celebrated producers Emile Sherman and Kristina Ceyton, and Screen Australia’s Grainne Brunsdon.

George’s expertly-researched New Platform Paper in the current issue within the Currency House series calls for clear policy on how much Australia should put into drama with local cultural value, compared to drama without it, and explains why that value is threatened by a fixation on economic value.

Australian film and television is delivering less local cultural value to our audiences, authentic dramas are fewer, and much of it now feels a lot less Australian – even unrecognisable as made in this country – according to another trenchant issue in the New Platform Paper series.

George is calling on the new Federal Government to review and regulate all video-on-demand and other online platforms, review generous foreign rebates, and for Screen Australia to proactively cultivate film and television that is Australian in look and feel, making cultural value more than just a box-ticking exercise for producers to get funding.

George notes “concerns about locally-made drama competing with big budget foreign film and television are nothing new.

“But it’s now exacerbated by the huge disruption by streaming services on viewing habits and the way business is done, by inattentive and patchy governance and nothing being done about the significant blockages of Australian films getting into cinemas.”

“There’s something else which nobody talks about, especially as local producers chase overseas markets: if there is nothing recognisably Australian on the screen, it carries little cultural value. Australianness is what excites local viewers, and cultural value is the main reason why taxpayer funding underpins our drama production.”

George writes passionately about her wide experience reporting on our film and TV industries, and the recent home-grown screen stories she loves, like Fires and Total Control, Mr Inbetween and Babyteeth.

“All have roots which go down deep into Australian soil,” she says.

Ultimately George sees Australianness on our screen as best driven by local audiences, informed by new content websites, and celebrating dramas tackling stories of national importance.

The Paper includes interviews with prominent producers Emile Sherman and Tony Ayres.

Sandy George’s New Platform Paper No.3 is available free on www.currencyhouse.org.au

CURRENCY HOUSE is a not-for-profit organisation established in 2001 that promotes the interests of practitioners and researchers in the arts and humanities. Volume 1 of the New Platform Papers is now available through Currency Press 

Image: Promotion for Ride Like A Girl. In her paper, George notes “The ten most popular Australian films in 2019, led by ‘Ride Like a Girl’, together attracted nearly $37 million worth of ticket sales, compared to the nearly $436 million taken by the ten most popular films overall, led by Avengers: Endgame 4 .