VOTE FOR IF AWARDS

We had a very positive screening at Dungog Film Festival!

The audience that saw the film all seemed to have a reaction to it: wether they were frustrated by the state of the Australian film industry, impassioned to do something about Australian film culture or simply soaked in the film - even a few laughs along the way which was cool.

If you saw the film at Dungog then show your support by visiting theIF AWARDS website. Here you can register and vote for
INTO THE SHADOWS. The winner is decided by the overall score given not the amount of votes so if you liked the film get behind it and hopefully we can encourage more people to see it and begin discussing, debating the issues that come out of the documentary.

Cheers-
Andrew.

SHOWTIME for MEN'S GROUP

I interviewed John L Simpson for Into the Shadows, late December 2007, and we spoke about Men's Group. From then on I had hoped the film would work for him and for those that took that leap of faith in the project and above all I hoped it would turn out to be a great film.

I saw it for the first time at Spaa Fringe 08 and it was very compelling. And it has now won a bag of awards at the INSIDE FILM AWARDS 2008. This is a great triumph for independent film and for the creative team behind the film!

It goes to show that if you want to make a film, do not take no for an answer, do not feel you have to be confined to the traditional ways of making a film. We live in an interesting time, when technology and film making culture is changing, anything is possible.

John L is working closely with independent exhibitors to find an audience for Men's Group and I hope he does. This is a film that all men should watch and will get something out of. The distribution and exhibition of this film is very telling of the market place for Australian films - there is none.

Well that is not entirely true, but it is very hard to find an audience for a low budget Aussie film and John L is a good example of how we as filmmakers can work with the distribution and exhibition industry and help find that core audience.

What's at Risk: Justice Leauge or the Australian Film Industry?

Justice League Mortal is the film everyone is talking about and its not even in cinemas, yet-

Background:
A new tax incentive for Australian producers has been introduced, its called the Tax Offset (formally the Tax Rebate) and it provides up to a 40% Offset of budget of the film, which goes to the Producer. Like all incentives this one comes with its Red Tape. On this occasion a film must qualify under QAPE (Qualifying Australian Production Expenditure) to be able to access the Offset. This means that when a film is submitted, to the powers that be, a panel of assessors decide if the film is Australian 'enough' and if it is, then it gets the tick of approval. If not? Then find another country to film in with better tax breaks or change the script.

The Situation:
Justice League Mortal now sits in production limbo as, rumour has it, the Film Finance Corporation (FFC) rejected the producers preliminary request for the 40% Offset. So the question remains, are an Australian director, some key cast and crew enough to be an Australian Film? Or does the story have to be about a man cooking 'shrimp' on a Barbie in the outback? In today’s times, when filmmaking is becoming an increasingly global phenomenon the question is asked, what is an Australian film? And does an industry, that seems to be all but fading away, have the capacity to let such an investment go?

Well, on Wednesday, Dr. George Miller (director of Justice League) gave an impassioned response when interviewed by Fran Kelly on ABC Radio National about why he feels Justice League Mortal should receive the Offset.

There is an audio file of the interview and an interesting write up in The Sydney Morning Herald.

What do you think?

Want to know more about Justice League the comic? Find out here.

-Andrew.