Film Australia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Film Australia is a company established by the Government of Australia to produce films about Australia. Its mission is to create an audio-visual record of Australian life, through the commissioning, distribution and management of programs that deal with matters of national interest or illustrate and interpret aspects of Australian life.

In 1945, the Australian National Film Board was established to produce documentary films and in 1946, Stanley Hawes began work as the first "producer in chief" of what was to become Film Australia.[1] Stanley Hawes is best-known as the Producer-in-Chief (1946-1969) of the Australian Government's filmmaking body, which was named, in 1945, the Australian National Film Board, and then, in 1956, the Australian Commonwealth Film Unit. In 1973, after he retired, it became Film Australia.

Some of Michael Thornhill's first films were short documentaries made for the Commonwealth Film Unit (now Film Australia) including The Esperance story (1968) and Cheryl and Kevin (1974).

One of Film Australia's most successful films is A Steam Train Passes [1][2]. It has won many awards and is generally regarded as Australia's finest railway film[3].


[edit] Current operations

Today, Film Australia is one of the nation's leading producers of television documentaries and educational programs. Film Australia produces programs under the National Interest Program: a contract with the Australian Government to devise, produce, distribute and market productions that deal with matters of national interest or illustrate and interpret aspects of Australian life. Additional funding for a ten-part series on Australian history was provided by the Government from 2005.

Film Australia is the executive producer of these productions, drawing the creative and technical talent needed to produce them from Australia's independent documentary production industry. The company also provides support to the Australian documentary sector through a range of services and facilities, under its Community Service Obligations.

The Film Australia Library manages over 5000 titles and 150,000 photographs, reflecting a century of Australia's history. This unique archive of footage and stills is made available to the production industry. Film Australia Digital Learning creates projects targeted to the developing market for educational resources, primarily for delivery online. It draws largely on the materials in Film Australia's Library, and creates opportunities for documentary filmmakers and multimedia producers in education and new media production.

Film Australia Distribution markets both National Interest Program productions and independently produced documentaries to Australian and international broadcasters, and to libraries, schools, universities and community groups.

Film Australia Studios in Sydney is a purpose-built film and television production facility and provides screening venues, a sound stage, sound post-production facilities, a film laboratory, production offices, editing and transfer suites. These are used by many Film Australia and low-budget independent film and television productions, and by long-term tenants who operate production facilities and service companies.[1]

Film Australia’s Digital Resource Finder[4] is a quick, convenient and easy-to-use search engine for teachers and educators. It features FREE FOR EDUCATION video clips from Film Australia’s remarkable archive—one of the nation’s largest and most historically significant collections. Clips are matched with print-friendly two-page resource sheets that include background information and engaging student research and classroom activities written by leading teachers.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b About Film Australia. Film Australia. Retrieved on 2007-08-23.
  • Judith Adamson (1991). A Film Australia miscellany. Lindfield, N.S.W. : Film Australia. ISBN. 
  • Brian McFarlane, Geoff Mayer, Ina Bertrand (Ed.) (1999). The Oxford companion to Australian film. Melbourne, Australia ; New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-553797-1. 
  • Albert Moran (1991). Projecting Australia : government film since 1945. Sydney : Currency Press. ISBN 0-86-819292-9. 

[edit] External links