Film Finance Corporation Australia

The Film Finance Corporation Australia (FFC) was the government agency responsible for funding commercial productions of Australian film, documentary, and television from 1988 to 2008. Unlike other publicly funded organisations responsible for financing media production in Australia, the FFC operated as a commercially oriented funding agency,[1] backing projects with the intention of recouping part of its funding through investment. The organisation was responsible for financing several notable Australian feature films, among them Strictly Ballroom (1992), Muriel's Wedding (1994) and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994). During its lifetime, the FFC supported 248 features with a total investment of A$662 million.[2] In 2008, the FFC was succeeded by Screen Australia, which merged the similar film financing bodies operated by the Australian government.

History

The Film Finance Corporation was established in May 1988 by the Australian Government under prime minister Bob Hawke, with the organisation beginning operations in the following financial year.[1]

Film and media contributions

Successful feature films funded by the FFC include the drama film Rabbit-Proof Fence, an adaptation of Doris Pilkington Garimara's novel Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence about three Indigenous Australian girls' experiences as part of the Stolen Generations. It is one of many other notable FFC financed productions spotlighting indigenous stories and culture in Australian film. Other notable novel adaptations include the crime drama Chopper about the celebrity criminal Mark “Chopper” Read which adapts his autobiographies, and the television film On the Beach, adapting Nevil Shute's novel of the same name. One financially successful original production is the low-budget horror film Wolf Creek.

In addition to financing feature films, the FFC funded Australian children's television drama productions. Australian commercial broadcasters were required to broadcast a certain number of publicly funded children's programming. The FFC alongside the Australian Film Commission, the Australian Children's Television Foundation, and the public broadcasters the ABC and SBS, were among the major sources financing these mandated acquisitions.[6] Between 1995-96 and 1999-2000 the FFC funded 20 out of 52 children's drama programs, contributing approximately a third of their finances.[6] Between 2000 and 2003 the FFC funded 15 out of 33 programs.[6] Notable titles include the fantasy teen drama H2O: Just Add Water, the fantasy adventure Spellbinder and its sequel Spellbinder: Land of the Dragon which were both international co-productions with Poland, and the science fiction series Wicked Science.

The FFC also financed the production of documentaries through a program with Film Australia and the ABC. Between 1990 and 2004, the ABC was annually mandated to pre-purchase up to 24 hours of independently produced programs which would be mediated through an FFC funding mechanism.[5] Laughren notes that FFC financed documentaries were often successful in international markets and often won awards.[7] The documentary Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! about the history of Australian exploitation B-movies from the 1970s to the 1980s was awarded the Best Feature Length Documentary by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts and Best Documentary by the Australian Film Critics Association.

formed	May 1988
dissolved	July 2008
superseding1	Screen Australia
jurisdiction	Australian Government

Film Finance Corporation Australia

History

Film and media contributions

Production and financing

Financing by the FFC

Federal Government Support

International activity

Dissolution

Further reading

External links

References