To add to the last post, I thought I would state the irritations that have come to pass about the offset.
1. Funding pressure for features.
The mid-range feature is quite difficult to fund. This feature sits in the range of $10-$25 million. There were no independent features made last year in this budget range so Government support is considered warranted. Is it perhaps the tactics or the stories being told in these budget ranges that investors are concerned about?
The other issue with funding for features is the $1million dollar threshold. This is considered too high and discussion to drop it to $500 thousand are popular. This means that any film made for $500 thousand intended for theatrical release would be eligible for the 40% producer rebate.
2. Timing
The timing of the introduction of the Offset was considered a factor of its failed success. The offset encouraged foreign and private investment but was introduced at the onset of the GFC. While this may be considered an excuse for the failure of offset, it had a considerable impact on the number of people capable of investing in Australian films.
3. Certainty
The certainty of receiving the producer offset is difficult to determine and has producers confused about whether they qualify to apply. For tax secrecy reason, Screen Australia can not provide feedback for Producer who do and do not receive approval for the Producer Offset. The significant Australia content test has been described as a holistic test but can not be revealed for tax secrecy reason. Screen Australia have acknowledged the problem requesting patience from those working in the industry.
If the Producer Offset threshold is to drop to $500 thousand, to be eligible, the film has to be intended for theatrical release, meaning release in a cinema. My opinion is that this approach is "old school". Many of our stories do not warrant a theatrical release and may actually make a profit if they are release via alternative distribution networks. We need to be more innovative with the release of our films and the big screen is not the only answer. Luckily as I mentioned this at the forum I was directed to a new initiative that will fund films which are not theatrically released. When I get more details I will be sure to update!
Overall it was an interesting forum, but the audience was mostly talked at rather than talked with. While there were questions being asked and answers being thrown around, no conclusive decisions really came out of the forum. It was like Screen Australia had already decided what was wrong with the Offset and they showed us in a slideshow. These kind of inquires need to be workshopped where people engage with material and actually come up with results. The other problem with this type of forum is that information will be collated in a report and we were told that it may take a year for result to come about for the Offset. This kind of turn around is worse than that of the films in the industry. Yes the minister must be busy but if Screen Australia are determined to get results then, like the industry workers who should be working hard to find alternative funds, so should Screen Australia be working hard to write up the changes to the offset. Why does everything take so long to produce results. No wonder our industry doesn't make any money!
For those of you who are thinking - Why don't you go out and raise money to make films - my answer for you is this is an inquiry and these are the discoveries I'm making. I plan to put my findings into practice when they culminate into a thesis in October.