Film Finance Corporation Australia

Film Finance Corporation Australia (FFC) was an Australian Government screen-financing agency established in May 1988 under the government of Prime Minister Bob Hawke. It began operating in the following financial year and was designed to provide a commercially oriented alternative to the cultural-development role then associated with the Australian Film Commission and to the private investment incentives created by the 10BA tax concession. The FFC became one of the principal channels through which federal support reached Australian film and television production. The organisation was conceived as a kind of government-backed film bank. Rather than providing grants solely on cultural grounds, it generally invested in projects with an expectation of recouping part of its contribution from commercial revenues. Market evidence was central to the model: projects commonly needed financial participation or a distribution and sales commitment from a commercial partner before receiving support. This approach was intended to make government investment more disciplined, encourage private and international participation, and potentially allow the agency to become partly or wholly self-sustaining through recoupment. The FFC financed a broad range of screen works. Its feature-film portfolio included internationally recognised Australian productions such as Strictly Ballroom, Muriel's Wedding, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Rabbit-Proof Fence, Chopper, and Wolf Creek. These films represented different commercial and artistic directions, ranging from comedy and musical drama to Indigenous historical storytelling, crime drama, and horror. The agency also supported adaptations of literary and autobiographical works, including Rabbit-Proof Fence, Chopper, and the television film On the Beach. Television was another major area of activity. The FFC helped finance Australian children's drama, including H2O: Just Add Water, Spellbinder, Spellbinder: Land of the Dragon, and Wicked Science. Its funding operated within a wider broadcasting environment in which Australian commercial broadcasters were required to carry specified amounts of locally produced children's programming. The agency worked alongside the Australian Film Commission, the Australian Children's Television Foundation, the ABC, and SBS in supporting productions that met these cultural and regulatory objectives. It also participated in international co-production structures, particularly in children's television, helping Australian projects attract overseas financing and distribution. Documentary production was supported through arrangements involving Film Australia and the ABC. The FFC helped create a financing pathway for independently produced documentaries, many of which reached international markets and received awards. A later example was Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!, a feature documentary about Australian exploitation cinema of the 1970s and 1980s. Between 1988 and 2008, the FFC supported 248 feature films and invested approximately A$662 million in total across its activities, according to the cited reference material. Its commercial orientation increasingly connected Australian producers with international sales agents, overseas investors, and co-production partners. By the late 1990s and early 2000s, overseas sources were particularly important to the financing and recoupment of FFC-backed productions. From 2004 to June 2007, the agency used a two-door financing framework. Marketplace projects could qualify for automatic FFC support of up to 45 percent of their budget when they had already secured qualifying non-government finance exceeding one-quarter of the budget. Evaluation projects required a market commitment, which could be financial or non-financial, and were assessed by an internal committee. The framework attempted to balance commercially validated projects with films requiring a more considered evaluation. The…

The Film Finance Corporation Australia was created by the Australian Government in May 1988 and commenced operations in the following financial year. Its creation reflected a policy effort to reorganise federal support for screen production. The Australian Film Commission continued to concentrate more heavily on script, professional, and culturally significant development, while the new FFC was intended to operate as a commercial investment agency for production. The FFC's founding concept was often described as a film bank. It was expected to assess projects with regard to their market prospects and to seek recoupment from future revenues rather than treating all public support as a non-repayable grant. Distributor, sales-agent, broadcaster, or other market commitments therefore played an important role in determining eligibility. The model sought to combine cultural policy with commercial discipline and to attract private capital into Australian production. During the 1990s, the agency became a central source of production finance. Its portfolio included films that became prominent examples of Australian cinema, among them Strictly Ballroom, Muriel's Wedding, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Rabbit-Proof Fence, Chopper, and Wolf Creek. The supported slate covered comedies, dramas, literary adaptations, Indigenous stories, crime films, and genre productions. Rabbit-Proof Fence was particularly notable for bringing the experiences of Indigenous Australian girls affected by the Stolen Generations to a broad audience. The agency also supported television. Children's drama was an important area because Australian broadcasters operated under local-content requirements. In cooperation with the Australian Film Commission, the Australian Children's Television Foundation, the ABC, and SBS, the FFC helped finance programs such as Spellbinder, Spellbinder: Land of the Dragon, H2O: Just Add Water, and Wicked Science. Several projects used international co-production arrangements, including the Spellbinder productions with Poland. These arrangements increased the available production budgets and helped Australian children's programs circulate outside Australia. Documentaries were financed through arrangements involving Film Australia and the ABC. The mechanism supported independently produced factual programming and helped some projects obtain international distribution and awards. Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! is an example of a feature documentary associated with FFC financing and recognition. The FFC's commercial orientation became increasingly international during the late 1990s. International sales agents and overseas investors became more important sources of finance for Australian films, while overseas markets supplied a large share of the agency's recoupments. The reference material reports that, in the 1999–2000 financial year, FFC-funded features received 20 percent of their financing from the FFC, 64 percent from private overseas investors, and the remainder from Australian private investors. It also reports that 79 percent of the FFC's total recoupment came from overseas markets during that period. From 2004 to June 2007, the agency revised its investment process through a two-door model. Marketplace films, which had already secured qualifying non-government financing above one-quarter of their budgets, could receive automatic FFC support of up to 45 percent of budget. Evaluation films needed a market commitment, financial or otherwise, and were reviewed by an internal committee. The available comparison indicated little difference in box-office performance between the two groups, although Evaluation films were more likely to appear at important international festivals. The agency's financial performance was influenced by the success of its investments. The international performance of Strictly Ballroom was associated with an increase in FFC revenue from A$8.05 million in the 1989–90 financial year to A$18.3 million in 1992–93. The organisation did not become self-funding within the initially anticipated period, but its investment model remained an important example in Australian debates about public support for screen production. By the time it ceased independent operation, the FFC had supported 248 features and invested approximately A$662 million in total. The Screen Australia Act 2008 replaced the fragmented federal structure with a single agency. From 1 July 2008, the FFC was merged with the Australian Film Commission and Film Australia Limited, and Screen Australia took responsibility for the FFC's commercial financing functions alongside development and national-interest production activities.

• 2008

  FFC becomes part of Screen Australia

  [1]Film Finance Corporation Australiaen.wikipedia.org

  The Screen Australia Act 2008 consolidated the FFC with the Australian Film Commission and Film Australia Limited, with the new agency operating from 1 July 2008.

• 2004

  Two-door financing framework introduced

  [1]Film Finance Corporation Australiaen.wikipedia.org

  The FFC introduced Marketplace and Evaluation routes to distinguish projects with substantial private backing from projects requiring internal assessment.

• 1994

  FFC supports Muriel's Wedding and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

  [1]Film Finance Corporation Australiaen.wikipedia.org

  Two internationally recognised Australian films joined the agency's portfolio, reinforcing its association with commercially successful national cinema.

• 1992

  Strictly Ballroom becomes a prominent FFC-backed production

  [1]Film Finance Corporation Australiaen.wikipedia.org

  The international success of Strictly Ballroom helped demonstrate the potential commercial returns of the FFC's investment model.

• 1988

  Australian Government establishes the FFC

  [1]Film Finance Corporation Australiaen.wikipedia.org

  The Film Finance Corporation Australia was established in May 1988 as a commercially oriented public agency for financing Australian film, television, and documentary production.

A commercially oriented public-sector screen financier that connected Australian cultural production with private, distributor, sales-agent, and international investment.

• Film financing · 1988

  Feature-film financing

  The FFC invested in Australian feature films using a commercially oriented assessment model. Projects commonly needed a distributor, sales agent, investor, or other market commitment, and the agency sought to recoup part of its investment from exploitation revenues. Its portfolio ranged from mainstream comedy and drama to Indigenous stories, literary adaptations, crime films, and genre productions.

• Television financing · 1988

  Television-drama financing

  The agency financed Australian television drama, including children's programming made within the country's local-content and broadcasting framework. It worked with broadcasters and other public screen organisations and supported productions that could combine Australian public support with commercial and international finance.

• Children's television · 1995

  Children's television financing

  FFC support contributed to Australian children's drama, including H2O: Just Add Water, Spellbinder, Spellbinder: Land of the Dragon, and Wicked Science. International co-production structures, including the Australia–Poland Spellbinder collaboration, helped these programs secure larger budgets and overseas circulation.

• Documentary financing · 1990

  Documentary financing

  Through arrangements involving Film Australia and the ABC, the FFC supported independently produced documentaries. The program helped projects reach international markets and receive recognition, including the feature documentary Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!.

• Production investment pathway · 2004

  Marketplace financing

  Under the two-door system used from 2004, Marketplace projects were productions that had already secured qualifying non-government finance exceeding one-quarter of their budget. These projects could qualify for automatic FFC support of up to 45 percent of budget.

• Production investment pathway · 2004

  Evaluation financing

  Evaluation projects had to demonstrate a market commitment, which could be financial or non-financial, and pass review by an internal FFC committee. This route could provide larger support than the Marketplace route and was associated with films more likely to appear at major international festivals.

• 2008

  Merge into Screen AustraliaM&A

  Background

  The Australian Government legislated to consolidate federal screen-support bodies and combine commercial financing, industry development, and national-interest production functions.

  Action taken

  The FFC was merged with the Australian Film Commission and Film Australia Limited, with Screen Australia assuming operations from 1 July 2008.

  Aftermath

  The FFC ceased to operate as a separate agency, while its commercial production-financing role continued within Screen Australia.

  Source

• 2004

  Introduce Marketplace and Evaluation funding routesStrategy

  Background

  The FFC sought to streamline the way Australian producers applied for support while preserving a route for projects with strong market validation and another for projects requiring substantive internal assessment.

  Action taken

  It created a Marketplace route for projects with qualifying private finance and an Evaluation route for projects with a market commitment that also passed internal review.

  Aftermath

  The two categories showed little reported difference in box-office performance, while Evaluation films were more likely to screen at significant international festivals.

  Source

• 1988

  Adopt a commercially oriented public-investment modelStrategy

  Background

  The FFC was created to complement the Australian Film Commission and replace some reliance on the 10BA tax concession with a centralised government financing mechanism.

  Action taken

  The agency funded projects with market commitments and sought to recover part of its investment through commercial revenues.

  Aftermath

  The model made the FFC a major federal source of production finance and increased the importance of distributor, sales-agent, and international-investor participation.

  Source

1. 1Film Finance Corporation Australiaen.wikipedia.org