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until 1986, when we signed a memorandum of understanding
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compared to others across the world. As our burgeoning
industry started to catch the world’s gaze during our golden
era in the 1970s and 1980s, creatives overseas displayed
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ing Australian stories – albeit with bigger budgets and greater
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domestically^2 – there have been many others that didn’t take
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shot at two markets, which they wouldn’t normally get domesti
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tive budgets and bigger crews. Put simply, they offer strength in
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this. This means they are better set up to attain a global reach
compared to a typical Aussie feature that may do well domesti
cally but subsequently has to rethink and drastically rebrand in
order to be competitive in foreign markets.
Traditionally, Australia’s domestic market has been tough
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fare have also drastically dropped off, especially in certain
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to the big screen must then compete with huge blockbusters
bolstered by Hollywood’s massive marketing machine, which
rides roughshod over any local product.
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much of an effective blueprint do they offer for the Australian
screen industries?
The power of marketing
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overseas productions for many years. A particularly notewor
thy project is the shark thriller!@HS #(2012), an Australian–
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funding from China and premiered at the Venice Film Festival.
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marketed properly. It was just tossed out. I was a bit down in
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to marketing that was much more aggressive and unasham
edly more focused on the spectacular:3GD "GHMDRD CHC @M @L@YHMF L@QJDSHMF B@LO@HFM m FH@MS RG@QJ
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(CV@KJNTS@MCkQDVNQJROpposite, clockwise from top left:The Railway Man;Guardians of
THEŭ4OMB;Maya the Bee Movie;The Tree;"AIT $;A Few Less Men
Picture Partnership
CO-PRODUCTIONS AND THE AUSTRALIAN SCREEN INDUSTRIES
CO-PRODUCTIONS ARE, BY NOW, ESTABLISHED COGS IN THE AUSTRALIAN-CINEMA MACHINE, EVEN
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SPEAKS TO SEVERAL INDUSTRY INSIDERS TO SCOPE OUT THE BENEFITS AND DRAWBACKS OF SUCH
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