Similar Look Both Ways, Ten Canoes, Somersault, Strangerland, December Boys | ||
An Australian Independent Film is an Australian film which is produced without government funding. This does not include deductions in the form of special tax concessions or rebates, but refers to up front financial investment from any local, state or commonwealth government authority, or the state and federal film funding bodies, such as Screen Australia, The New South Wales Film and Television Office, Screen Queensland, ScreenWest, The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and The South Australian Film Corporation.
Contents
Australian Independent Films do not include films that would be classed as Studio Films, yet Australia does not have a studio system as such. In Australia the central and most powerful film bureaucracy is the government and the industry is dominated by government-funded films.
Early films
Australia was a prolific independent filmmaking nation through the early days of cinema. During the period from 1910-1912 some 33 feature films were produced. Following the success of The Story of the Kelly Gang in 1906, there was a mini boom in 'bushranger films'. This ended in 1912 when the government banned production of all bushranger films due to a perceived civil unrest they were causing. This marks the period where the government become active in film production, by funding and commissioning films. Since then Australian Government Films have come to dominate the Australian film landscape.
List of films
There have been some very successful Independent Australian Films, arguably more successful than the Australian Government Films. A list of Australian Independent Films is below: