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Boost to production in Canberra

A $5m CBR Screen Fund is set to lure more production to the ACT.

Canberra is getting a boost with a $5m initiative to lure more production.

The CBR Screen Fund, provided by the ACT Government, will be managed by Screen Canberra.

Recent TV dramas to film in ACT include The Code and Secret City, as well as features The Furies and Galore. ACT offers producers access and approvals, clear light, no traffic and a proactive film office.

Monica Penders, CEO of Screen Canberra, said “This is a game changer for our industry. We
can be strategic and are seeking to work closely with local and incoming producers to develop
projects that will have a meaningful impact on the local industry.

“This CBR Screen fund is the culmination of many years of close partnership with the ACT
Government and we are absolutely thrilled with this significant investment into the local screen
industry”.

The Fund will also allocate a minimum of 20% of its total funding to local emerging screen
content providers.

“This is very important in building local IP and capacity. We need projects that give Canberra
based crews and talent opportunity. It’s all about getting a balance between local and incoming
productions,” said Penders.

The CBR Screen Fund is expected to be open for business by the end of July.

2 Responses

  1. As someone who lives in Canberra, I hope we don’t see any productions with the typical “Canberra” themes – ie: Someone comes from interstate, gets a job in the public service, tries to expose corruption but his girlfriend is a politician and nothing is done. All with Parliament House and the War Memorial in the background of each scene.

    I know many might say “Well that’s Canberra, that’s what everybody expects”, but there are movie studios and production houses on the Gold Coast and they don’t just produce shows about meter maids and Warwick Capper.

    1. In the same vein, ‘Harrow’ was a pleasant surprise – it used Brisbane as a setting, rather than “hey, look – Brisbane!”, and more or less stuck to geographical reality (i.e. places across town weren’t portrayed as being right next to each other).

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