2022 End of Year Wrap-Up
Tuesday, 20 December
There was an air of anticipation moving into 2022 and what the year would bring. After two years of lockdowns and restrictions, it was hard to be optimistic, but nevertheless, we prevailed! 2022 has been a successful year, both for the screen industry and the Screen Canberra community.
Some highlights from this year include:
- the release of the award-winning locally filmed and produced SISSY
- the Netflix premiere of ECHOES from Canberran creator Vanessa Gazy
- the return of Screen POD
- the launch of the Graduate Certificate in Screen Development in partnership with the University of Canberra
- the establishment of the CBR Screen Attraction Fund with the ACT Government
- a record number of projects supported by the CBR Screen Investment Fund
- Bus Stop Films winning the award for Inclusion in Education and Training at the Chief Minister’s Inclusion Awards
SISSY
SISSY saw enormous success in 2022! The horror-comedy feature was one of five Australian films invited to premiere at SXSW Film Festival 2022 in Austin, Texas, showcasing our incredible, growing local talent on the international stage.
The film won over audiences at the Bucheon and Sitges Fantastic Film Festivals, collecting Audience Awards at both, and was also nominated for three 2022 AACTA awards. The entire SISSY team was thrilled to be recognised by the Australian screen industry with nominations for Best Film, Best Direction in Film (for Hannah Barlow and Kane Senes) and Best Lead Actress in Film (for Aisha Dee).
SISSY was principally financed by AIE and received production funding from Screen Canberra through the CBR Screen Investment Fund (administered on behalf of the ACT Government), with further funding from Screen Australia, Freedom Films, Mind the Gap, Grumpy Originals, Running Girl Pictures and Arcadia.
Vanessa Gazy’s ECHOES
Canberra-local Vanessa Gazy’s new mini-series ECHOES, starring Michelle Monaghan, premiered on Netflix in August.
Within days on the streaming platform, the series accumulated over one million minutes of viewing time, beating out Netflix’s big-budget THE SANDMAN for the top spot at the time, and has since well surpassed one billion minutes watched!
Vanessa is a long-time Screen Canberra community member, receiving several project grants over the years. We are so proud of Vanessa’s achievements in 2022, and we’re excited to see what 2023 brings as she continues to cement herself on the international stage.
Screen POD
Screen POD continues to be a tremendous success and one of our most popular programs! This year, in conjunction with the final stream of the program – Pitch – we have also launched Pitch Fest. Coming up in February 2023, Pitch Fest provides participants with an existing idea or screenplay the opportunity to mingle with producers, specialists and leading creatives from the Australian screen industry and pitch their project or idea for the chance to get picked up and made into the next hit series or film.
Pitch Fest is the perfect event for anyone sitting on a project or idea and looking for where to take it next.
Make sure you head to our social media pages to check out the Market that we’ve secured for 2023 so far. With industry representatives including Catherine Nebauer from Northern Pictures, Paddy Macrae from Matchbox Pictures, Miriam Stein from Tama Films, and more, Pitch Fest is an exceptional opportunity you don’t want to miss!
Find out more and purchase your ticket to Pitch Fest here.
Graduate Certificate in Screen Development
The Graduate Certificate in Screen Development was launched this year thanks to a creative partnership between Screen Canberra and the University of Canberra. The inaugural intake for the course is due to commence in February 2023, and this brand new program has been specifically designed to give participants first-hand experience in the screen industry.
Students will learn how to develop and write ideas into scripts with mentorship from screen industry experts. They can graduate in 12 months with a high-quality screenplay with the opportunity to pitch to actual industry professionals.
Learn more about the course here.
CBR Screen Attraction Fund
The CBR Screen Attraction Fund, an initiative by Screen Canberra and the ACT Government, launched this year, providing an exciting new funding opportunity to increase our region’s appeal to large visiting productions and our local screen industry’s capacity.
This new Fund is a pilot scheme with $450,000 of funding available and will provide support of up to 10% of a visiting production’s expenditure in the ACT if they qualify.
Upon its launch, Screen Canberra CEO Monica Penders was thrilled with the new opportunity, saying, “Canberra’s reputation as a diverse and accommodating filming location is growing, and we believe this Fund will help to attract more big productions to our city.
“Big productions provide opportunities to nurture the professional development of local cast, crew and post-production companies, as well as other screen production service providers who can participate in development. It creates employment opportunities and generates income for our local practitioners, not to mention the accommodation, hospitality and other services utilised by visiting productions. As a result, this Fund will contribute to the growth and sustainability of Canberra’s screen industry and the ACT economy.”
CBR Screen Investment Fund
Delivered by Screen Canberra in partnership with the ACT Government, the CBR Screen Investment Fund (CBRSIF) continues to help to foster projects with creative merit, encourage market engagement and contribute to the growth and sustainability of the local screen industry. During the 2021-22 fiscal year, over $1 million was committed, and a record 23 screen projects were supported!
“The value of the CBR Screen Investment Fund for supporting local screen professionals, businesses, local and incoming productions and the growing sector continues to prove itself,” says Sophie Harper, Screen Canberra’s Senior Fund Manager.
“In 2021–22, the Fund committed over a million dollars to projects with Canberrans in key roles across its Development, Production, Enterprise and COVID support strands – 96% of all funds committed. Outstanding work is coming out of Canberra. More and more of it. Four years since its inception, the Fund is definitely making an impact.”
Some project highlights from 2021-22 include:
- 6 FESTIVALS (Feature) – Superlative Pictures – Production Investment
- KIDS RAISING KIDS (Feature Documentary) – Only Human Productions – Production Investment
- CHRONICLE (Streaming Service) – Wildbear Entertainment – Enterprise Loan
CBRSIF Production Round 19 and Development Round 19 are now open for applications – learn more and apply today.
Round 19 applications close 19 January 2023 at 11:59 pm AEDT.
Bus Stop Films
Screen Canberra is proud to continue to partner with and support Bus Stop Films (BSF). This pioneering, not-for-profit organisation uses filmmaking to raise the profile of people living with disabilities.
BSF recently won the award for Inclusion in Education and Training at the 2022 Chief Minister’s Inclusion Awards
We wish to congratulate the entire BSF team for being recognised for their fantastic work!
Excitedly, BSF will also be doubling the capacity of their Accessible Film Studies Program in 2023, running two programs in Canberra! This is a great step forward for the organisation and for inclusion and accessibility in the Canberran screen industry – find out more by visiting the BSF website.
Heading Into 2023
As we look ahead to 2023, the future of our local screen industry is looking brighter than ever. With the brand new Graduate Certificate in Screen Development and Pitch Fest both launching in the new year, 2023 is sure to provide even more opportunities to showcase the immense talent of our local screen practitioners and celebrate the successes of our local industry. We can’t wait to see what the next year has in store!
