SCREEN AUSTRALIA COMES TO AWG

AWG VIctoria's meeings for 2010 continue to go well. On March 2, 2010, Martha Coleman, Head of Development at Screen Australia, and Mike Cowap, Development Manager came along to tell us about how the federal agency assists writers and producers to develop screenplays.

The session focussed on feature films, as does the agency. It was a great session. Martha said that their guidelines are about to be revised - so stay tuned to www.Screen Australia.gov.au

In other news the Melbourne industry also heard from Dr Ruth Harley about the review that will happen over this coming year. She said that next year Screen Aus's funding would be cut by $4.5 million across the board, which will obviously affect production and development.

My report on Ruth Harley's address on the review is here:

Screen Aus Review 2010

And the report on what she said in conversation with journalist Steve Hewlett is here:

Ruth Harley at AIDC 2010

MARK POOLE

Martha Coleman, Screen Aus.

Shining a Light: 50 Years of the Australian Film Institute.