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“We are the Storytellers… we need your help”

A who's who of the Australian industry sign an open letter to govt.

A who’s who of Australian actors, writers, directors, producers, crew and industry executives have collectively signed an open letter to Federal Parliamentarians to further protect Australian Film & Television.

The Make It Australian campaign comes at a time when networks are pushing to reduce or abandon local quotas for Children’s Television. There are also fears the Turnbull Government is planning to slash the local content quotas for (adult) television drama.

There are 215 signatories to the open letter, plus the Australian Directors’ Guild, the Australian Writers’ Guild, the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance and Screen Producers Australia.

WE are storytellers – writers, producers, directors, casts and crews who make screen stories that honour past Australians and connect present and future generations to our history and to our values.

YOU are elected representatives – the custodians of Australia’s stories, our unique culture. You create the environment within which our nation’s stories thrive or die.

Ours is a partnership. And we need your help.

Our ability to keep telling Australian stories on screen is at risk, our voices in danger of being drowned out by a deluge of overseas content.

And if our nation’s stories aren’t told, they die. And when they die, future generations won’t know who we are and what makes us us.

That’s why we need to ‘Make it Australian’.

We need:

Australian content rules to evolve, to cover new media like Netflix, Amazon, Telstra TV, telcos and ISPs;
Competitive tax incentives; and
Well-funded public broadcasters and screen agencies.
Then we can compete. Australians telling the diverse stories of our people, our country.

We call on parliamentarians, the custodians of our uniquely Australian stories, to commit to growing our screen industry so that our Australian stories will be told to our children, grandchildren and the generations of Australians that follow.

SIGNED

Camilla Ah Kin (Actor); Gillian Armstrong (Director); Su Armstrong (Producer); Tony Ayres (Director); Michala Banas (Actor); Tony Barry (Actor); Simon Baker (Actor); Natalie Bassingthwaighte (Actor); Steve Bastoni (Actor); Nicholas Beauman ASE (Screen Editor); Dion Beebe ACS ASC (Cinematographer); Nicholas Bell (Actor); Amanda Bishop (Actor); Wayne Blair (Actor); Rachael Blake (Actor); Cate Blanchett AC (Actor); Russell Boyd ACS ASC (Cinematographer); Patrick Brammall (Actor); Shane Brennan (Screenwriter); Tony Briggs (Actor); Anna Broinowski (Director); Jonathan Brough (Director); Bryan Brown AM (Actor); Chris Brown (Producer); Simon Burke AO (Actor); Jason Burrows (Producer); Mitchell Butel (Actor); Robyn Butler (Actor); Rose Byrne (Actor); Annie Byron (Actor); Rob Carlton (Actor); Peter Carroll (Actor); Michael Caton (Actor); Penny Chapman (Producer); Shareena Clanton (Actor); Dustin Clare (Actor); Justine Clarke (Actor); Adelaide Clements (Actor); John Collee (Screenwriter); Toni Collette (Actor); Ian Collie (Producer); Robert Collins (Actor); Robert Connolly (Director); Dany Cooper ASE (Screen Editor); Michael Cordell (Producer); Wendy Cork APDG (Costume Designer); Rodger Corser (Actor); Jai Courtney (Actor); Deb Cox (Producer); Stephen Curry (Actor); Helen Dallimore (Actor); Henry Dangar ASE (Screen Editor); Matt Day (Actor); Alexandre de Franceschi ASE (Screen Editor); Rolf De Heer (Director); Kate Dennis (Director); Jason Donovan (Actor); Terry Donovan (Actor); John Doyle (Screenwriter); Beverley Dunn (Set Decorator); Marta Dusseldorp (Actor); Harriet Dyer (Actor); Fiona Eagger (Producer); Joel Edgerton (Actor); John Edwards (Producer); Ben Elton (Screenwriter); Alexander England (Actor); Daniela Farinacci (Actor); Carl Fennessy (Producer); Mark Fennessy OAM (Producer); David Field (Actor); Angie Fielder (Producer); Jack Finsterer (Actor); Alan Fletcher (Actor); Roger Ford (Production Designer); Lucy Fry (Actor); Lizzy Gardiner (Costume Designer); Nadine Garner (Actor); Rebecca Gibney (Actor); Colin Gibson APDG (Production ); Designer); Antony I Ginnane (Producer); Rachel Gordon (Actor); Ian Gracie APDG (Supervising Art ); Director); Pippa Grandison (Actor); Gyton Grantley (Actor); Mac Gudgeon (Screenwriter); Don Hany (Actor); Anthony Hayes (Actor); Noni Hazlehurst (Actor); Chris Hemsworth (Actor); Damon Herriman (Actor); Scott Hicks (Director); Chris Hilton (Producer); PJ Hogan (Director); Frankie J Holden OAM (Actor); Wayne Hope (Actor); Sacha Horler (Actor); Lachy Hulme (Actor); Peter James ACS ASC (Cinematographer); Tom Jeffrey AM (Producer); Veronika Jenet ASE (Screen Editor); Ron Johanson OAM ACS (Cinematographer); Laura Jones (Screenwriter); David Jowsey (Producer); Claudia Karvan (Actor); Sean Keenan (Actor); Deborah Kennedy (Actor); Andrew Knight (Screenwriter); Samantha Lang (Director); Anthony LaPaglia (Actor); Michela Ledwidge (Director); David Lee (Sound Recordist); Steve Le Marquand (Actor); Jacinta Leong APDG (Art Director); Ewen Leslie (Actor); George Liddle APDG (Production Designer); Jeremy Lindsay-Taylor (Actor); Rob Mackenzie (Sound Editor); Deborah Mailman (Actor); Jessica Marais (Actor); Lex Marinos (Actor); Damian Martin (Prosthetic Makeup Artist); Catherine Martin APDG (Production Designer); Don McAlpine ACS ASC (Cinematographer); Catherine McClements (Actor); Andrew McFarlane (Actor); Jacqueline McKenzie (Actor); Ray Meagher (Actor); Nick Meyers ASE (Screen Editor); Sue Milliken AO (Producer); Heather Mitchell (Actor); Jocelyn Moorhouse (Director); Kestie Morassi (Actor); Geoff Morrell (Actor); Kate Mulvany (Actor); Nick Murray (Producer); Igor Nay (Production Designer); Sam Neill (Actor); Robyn Nevin (Actor); Phil Noyce (Director); Chris Oliver-Taylor (Producer); Ben Osmo (Production Sound Mixer); Hunter Page-Lochard (Actor); Helen Panckhurst (Producer); Georgie Parker (Actor); Owen Paterson APDG (Production Designer); Craig Pearce (Screenwriter); guy Pearce (Actor); Deborah Peart ASE (Screen Editor); Jen Peedom (Director); Rachel Perkins (Director); Jacquelin Perske (Screenwriter); Adrienne Pickering (Actor); Jo Porter (Producer); Susie Porter (Actor); Leah Purcell (Actor); Daina Reid (Director); Chloe Rickard (Producer); Deborah Riley (Production Designer); Brian Rosen (Producer); Richard Roxburgh (Actor); Bill Russo ASE (Screen Editor); Martin Sacks (Actor); Jan Sardi (Screenwriter); Fred Schepisi (Director); John Seale AM ACS ASC (); Cinematographer); Dean Semler AM ACS ASC (Cinematographer); Emile Sherman (Producer); Greer Simpkin (Producer); Sarah Snook (Actor); Dan Spielman (Actor); Kriv Stenders (Director); Barbara Stephen (Producer); Kat Stewart (Actor); Yael Stone (Actor); Gary Sweet (Actor); Nadia Tass (Director); Michael Tear (Producer); Lisa Thompson (Set Decorator); Erik Thomson (Actor); Sigrid Thornton (Actor); Lesley Vanderwalt APDG (Hair and Makeup Designer); Matt Villa ASE (Screen Editor); Jeffrey Walker (Director); Mandy Walker ACS ASC (Cinematographer); Stephen Wallace (Director); Damian Walshe-Howling (Actor); Tasma Walton (Actor); Rachel Ward AM (Actor); Elka Wardega (Prosthetic Makeup Artist); Hugo Weaving (Actor); Peter Weir (Director); David Wenham (Actor); Jo Werner (Producer); David Williamson (Screenwriter); Margot Wilson APDG (Costume Designer); Rebel Wilson (Actor); Stephen Windon ACS ASC (Cinematographer); Ben Winspear (Actor); Dan Wyllie (Actor); Julia Zemiro (Actor).

Australian Directors’ Guild; Australian Writers’ Guild; Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance; Screen Producers Australia. With support from Australian Production Design Guild, Australian Screen Editors, Australian Guild of Screen Composers, Australian Screen Sound Guild, Women in Film and Television, Visual Effects Society.

10 Responses

  1. This topic raises its ugly head every couple of years – I remember demonstrating with other actors back in the ’70s, protesting about Government plans to cut back on Australian content! When will these morons learn that maintaining and/or increasing Australian content is vital to the existence of the industry and Australian jobs?

  2. Has anyone noticed that Australian by the Au film and TV industry’s definition seems to be “majority = Caucasian”. I am sorry but storytellers are totally out of touch with what audiences want to watch. Look around you, it’s not white Australia anymore. Throwing in a few ethnic faces for good measure is no longer acceptable. That’s why Aussies prefer US content: it’s more inclusive and contemporary. If you need government funding, that says it all—you are not making content that is commercial or relevant to Australians or the world. If there was demand for your content, you wouldn’t need it. There simply isn’t any demand and Caucasian filmmakers are too narcissistic to realise the country has moved on. The industry needs to learn from the US and implement its own inclusion measures before it dies out. I have been saying this for decades. No more Australia desert movies trying to be…

    1. Not sure if you are new to the site but this has been covered numerous times here and continues to be. Recent steps by Screen Australia and the SDIN charter are amongst key initiatives. Even today’s post on Pine Gap cast indicates we have come a long way than merely tokenistic. It is also a mistake to interpret diversity as a caucasian issue, there are many representations needing visibility. Always room for improvement.

  3. I think that being in Australia there should be a minimum level of Australian product available. Especially when the film and TV industry do tell our uniquely Aussie culture. I have commented in the past my dismay at the Americanisation of our culture and I think our TV/Film and music industry need to be protected not only for our culture but the industry and employment as well.

    1. There already is a rule.
      55% of all content of primary channels between 0600-2400 must be Australian.
      Combined Network Multi-channels must have at lease 1460 hours per year.

  4. We must ensure our storytellers have our support in every way. I rue the day when “the government” relaxed the law requiring ads to be voiced by Australian Talent. I hate hearing voices from overseas trying to sell product when Australians should be doing it better. Already some work has been taken by overseas announcers. Lets stand together and make our voices are heard. No overseas country can make a series like we can. We don’t want to lose another industry that generates jobs, income and taxes like the car industry, oil refining and other manufacturing….the list goes on. Come on Australia lets stand up and be counted.

  5. Of course if they made stories that Australians wanted to watch instead of the stories they wanted to tell, they wouldn’t need so much government welfare, paid for by the people who don’t want to watch their stories. So far there has been no decrease in Australian production. The quota on children’s TV for commercial FTA is only producing low quality stuff that kids don’t want to watch because they have access to better stuff. without ads on the ABC, internet and Foxtel. Which is what inevitably happens when you try to force a business to produce something that isn’t profitable.

      1. You aren’t serving children, who are already a watching more TV than medically recommended, by forcing the production of more low quality children’s TV that they don’t want to watch (and which their parent’s don’t want to watch) solely to keep actors, directors and producers employed. FTA has public spectrum highly subsided to entertain and inform the public. They should be using less of it as technology advances and paying market value for that used to flog dodgie vacuum cleaners to free up spectrum for 5G, which we are going to need.

        1. You’re presuming it is low quality… it isn’t just about keeping talent employed. It is about enriching lives, adding to imagination, investing in culture. Kids respond to content, such as Dance Academy but it has to be accessible, promoted etc. Make it, put it on, where kids can find it. I accept we will agree to disagree and your argument is expressed.

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