Industry Advisory Group Committee Chair Report | August 2020
DOP Dave Le May and Writer / Director, Kimberley Benjamin behind the scenes of...
DOP Dave Le May and Writer / Director, Kimberley Benjamin behind the scenes of Barrba Wadbirra: Journey Together filming Bonni Ingram’s artwork ‘Mangroves Whispering’. Photo by Sabine Albers © Metamorflix.
Industry Advisory Group Committee Chair Report | August 2020
Looking towards the future of the Screen Industry in Western Australia
It goes without saying that 2020 has unfolded like a Bruckheimer film without the explosions. I’m sure many others in the WA Industry are feeling as relieved as I am that we have been largely unscathed health and production wise in the state. It is such a pleasure to be part of our tight knit screen family and the support for each other has been evident in the past months. We hold our colleagues around the country and internationally in our hearts and minds, including our many crew, for whom travel for work has been restricted.
The IAGC is thrilled and thanks Screenwest for responding with a reallocation of funds and the many pivots that are ensuring our state agency leads a positive, sustainable and vibrant industry. Our documentary sector continues to hold the fort, our drama sector is warming up again and XR screen continues to show great promise for the future.
The numerous responses to the recent call out for expressions of interest to join the IAGC were a fantastic example of how committed our local industry is. New members will be informed and announced in the coming months.
All sectors of industry are encouraged to engage with Screenwest, through your guild or association. Each quarter Screenwest hosts a WA Screen Industry Guild and Association Meeting. By getting in touch with the representatives from your screen industry guild or association or with the members of the IAGC, ideas and industry trends can be brought to Screenwest’s attention and discussed. The most recent meetings have included discussions on COVID-19 and its impacts on the local industry, infrastructure and terms of trade reviews.
The IAGC and Screenwest Board have formed a working group with management to explore different methods of alternative funding (Commercial, Philanthropy and Partnership) – please do reach out to myself, Justin McArdle, Grady Habib or Chris Veerhuis if you’d like to discuss further. This is naturally a huge area of focus as we enter a recession in this country; national and international commissions and sales are drop, and new health and safety measures increase budgets. The IAGC hopes to make Western Australia the envy of the world in terms of our screen agency support, and exploring models to secure targeted, impactful, alternative funding is a vital step towards that.
We are excited to see the Screenwest’s new strategic plan, currently a work-in-progress to drive Screenwest’s strategies over the next three years. 2020 has highlighted the need to continue to build a sustainable local industry and we are now in the position to take advantage of our isolation.
I end with a reminder to you all – as an industry we are ‘filmroaches’ – gregarious, hardy and persistent in survival. It is our responsibility as an industry to work with Screenwest to profile the quality and impact of West Australian productions and the benefits they bring economically and culturally to the state, country and world.
Kate Separovich
Chair of the Industry Advisory Group Committee
The Screenwest Industry Advisory Group Committee (IAGC) is an advisory group that assists the Screenwest Board to engage with, monitor and maintain currency with emerging issues and trends affecting the WA screen industry. The IAGC is a subcommittee of the Screenwest Board.
The IAGC helps the Board make policy and strategic decisions on a properly informed basis and provides a vital link and flow of information between the Screenwest Board and the WA screen industry.
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