The deadline for applications for ScreenACT support with AIDC 2006 registrations is this Friday, 9 December 2005. To be eligible, applications for assistance must be received by close of business (5pm) this Friday.

The Australian International Documentary Conference 2006 will be held from 13-16 February 2006 in Melbourne.

ScreenACT has three registrations available to documentary filmmakers residing in the ACT. To apply for ScreenACT support with AIDC registration, email screenact with "AIDC registration application"in the subject line and setting out your reasons for attending AIDC in 2006 (in particular, how attending AIDC will support either your professional development or business growth).

ScreenACT will consider all applications received by the deadline and the three available registrations will be awarded on the basis of merit. ScreenACT's decision will be final and will be based on how well the applicant has demonstrated in his/her email application that the AIDC registration will support the applicant's professional development or business growth.

Welcome

Welcome to the December 2005 edition of the ScreenACT Newsletter: a source of information from the ACT Government for the local Film, Television and Digital Media industry and enthusiasts. We welcome your feedback and news.

From the Editor

November has drawn to a close with seven businesses from our local film and television sector joining the fifteen member Australian Pavilion at the Asia Television Forum/Asia Film Market & Conference 2005, as part of the Asia Media Festival from 30 November to 2 December 2005.

It also saw attendances by 15 ACT public and private school teachers at the Harnessing the Future ﾅ Schools and Computer Games Summit at the Australian Game Developers Conference (AGDC) 2005 in Melbourne, with the support of ScreenACT and Micro Forte

Ahead of the launch of the seventh annual AGDC, the November 19-20 Weekend Financial Review included a spread on the growth and direction of Australia's games industry. The ACT's Micro Forteand Irrational Games rated a mention as part of Australia's games successes, demonstrating the depth of talent of some of our local games companies.

Congratulations to Brooke Goldfinch and her documentary Me & My Two Mums, the winner of the 5 in 3 on 1: AD-05 Art of Documentary Film Competition announced 26 November at a screening at the National Museum of Australia. Congratulations also to the four ACT documentary films that were short-listed finalists in the competition and listed in last month's newsletter.

December kicks off with Ausfilm holding its last board meeting of the year in Canberra on 1 December. ScreenACT is addressing the meeting with an update on the office.

Also this month, ScreenACT is offering to provide the registration for three ACT documentary filmmakers to attend the Australian International Documentary Conference 2006 being held in Melbourne from 13-16 February. Applications close on 9 December 2005, so be quick if you would like ScreenACT assistance!

This is the last ScreenACT e-newsletter for 2005, with the next e-newsletter due out early February. Best wishes to all our subscribers for a safe, happy and prosperous Christmas and New Year from the ScreenACT office.

Deadline for February 2006 Newsletter

Article submissions are due by COB 25 January 2006.

ScreenACT welcomes news stories, upcoming events and other items of interest from subscribers for inclusion in our newsletter.

Please ensure all articles are accurate and have been proofread prior to submission. ScreenACT holds no responsibility for the publication of inaccurate information submitted to it by external parties and reserves the right to edit and/or refuse articles at its discretion.

Articles should be submitted by email to screenact with ﾓNewsletter Itemﾔ in the subject line.

Holiday Office Hours

The ScreenACT office will be closed between Christmas and New Year, closing on Friday 23 December 2005 and reopening on Tuesday 3 January 2006.

The ScreenACT e-newsletter will return in February. However, please contact us if you have any important January news or events and we will consider issuing a special notice.

ScreenACT support to attend AIDC 2006

ScreenACT is once again offering support with registration for the Australian International Documentary Conference, being held from 13 to 16 February 2006 in Melbourne.

ScreenACT has three registrations available to documentary filmmakers residing in the ACT. To apply for ScreenACT support with AIDC registration, please email screenact with ﾓAIDC registration applicationﾔ in the subject line and setting out your reasons for attending AIDC in 2006 (in particular, how attending AIDC will support either your professional development or business growth). Applications must be received by COB 9 December 2005.

ScreenACT will consider all applications received by the deadline and the three available registrations will be awarded on the basis of merit. ScreenACT's decision will be final and will be based on how well the applicant has demonstrated in his/her email application that the AIDC registration will support the applicant's professional development or business growth.

5 in 3 on 1 AD-05: Art of the Documentary winners announced

The eight short-listed documentary films in the 5 in 3 on 1 AD-05: Art of the Documentary Film Competition screened on Friday night, 25 November 2005 at the National Museum of Australia, following a lecture by Helen Simondson, Screen Events Manager, Australian Centre for the Moving Image.

The winners announced on the night were:

First prize and the ABC 3-week internship award ﾖ Me & My Two Mums, Brooke Goldfinch (NSW)
Second prize ﾖ Who Am I?, Simon Weaving (ACT)
Joint third prize ﾖ Paper Mirror, Amy Power, Helene Walsh, Jackie Peters & Lucinda Shawcross (ACT) and Trimmy, Paula Gleeson (VIC)


Eye Candy Animation & Bearcage ﾖ GRAPEVINE TVC shortlisted for AEAF Awards

Local company Eye Candy Animation has recently been shortlisted for the third year running in the highly prestigious Australian Effects and Animation Festival Awards. This year's shortlisting is for Eye Candy's work on the ActewAGL "Grapevine" Television Commercial, which was created in collaboration with Bearcage Productions.

The international awards, which are the only ones of their kind in Australia, highlight excellence in animation and effects and have entrants ranging from major motion picture studios to student work. Other companies shortlisted alongside Eye Candy include the Oscar and BAFTA winning Animal Logic (of "Lord of the Rings", "Matrix" and "Moulin Rouge"); Oscar, BAFTA and Emmy award winning, Framestore (of "Walking with Dinosaurs" and "Harry Potter"); and Digital Pictures/Iloura (of "Holden Monaro - Game Over" and "Visa Piggybank" TVC's).

For more information, visit: www.dmw.com.au/html/DMF/dmf_syd_05/AEAF_finalists.htm.


Ausfilm Board Meeting

Ausfilm is holding its next board meeting in Canberra on Thursday 1 December 2005 in the Federal Parliament. The Board shall be honoured with the presence of Minister Rod Kemp. ScreenACT manager, Simone Carton, will also give a brief presentation to the board.

The day before (Wednesday, 30 November) will be a Canberra advocacy day, where Ausfilm staff and board members will seek meetings with key MPs and Senators and their staff to reinforce the role of Ausfilm and initiate further discussion on recent Ausfilm policy submissions on the issues of extending the Federal Film Tax Offset to include bundling and the Post-Production, Digital and Visual Effects (PDV) incentive.

AFTV Council AGM (and Xmas Drinks) and Membership Information
5.30pm, Wednesday 7 December, ACT Writers Centre, Workshop Room, Gorman House, Ainslie Ave

The ACT Film and Television (AFTV) Council (the ACT Region's peak professional industry body) is holding its Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, 7 December 2005. Only AFTV Council members can attend the AGM and nominate for a place on the board or vote for board members. Board nominations must have been submitted by 30 November 2005.

The AFTV Council is offering special discounted memberships for a limited time. Membership entitles you to: discounted entry into the 2006 AFTI Awards and other discounts, including Electric Shadows Cinema & Bookshop and Canberra Short Film Festival. Further information, membership forms and board nomination forms are available at www.aftv.com.au. For more information, contact the Council at info@aftv.com.au.

ACT Filmmakers Network AGM and Membership Information

The ACT Filmmakers Network Annual General Meeting will be held at 10:30am on Sunday, 18 December 2005 at the ACT Filmmakers Office, Canberra Technology Park, Watson (Block C, Room 201). All members are invited to attend. For more information and the necessary forms please visit: www.actfilmnet.org.au or email: admin.actfilmmakers@netspeed.com.au.

The ACT Filmmakers Network Membership Prize Draw will be on again next year with dozens of prizes up for grabs including: Movie Tickets, Magazine Subscriptions, Gift Vouchers, Equipment Vouchers and even free memberships to the Network. Membership forms are available from: www.actfilmnet.org.au.

Final Evening of Canberra Shorts for 2005
7.30pm, Thursday 1 December, Holy Grail, Civic

The final SNOWYfest Canberra Shorts for 2005 is on this Thursday, 1 December from 7.30pm at the Holy Grail in Civic. The evening features great short films, movie trivia, a short talk, and giveaways including beer, movie magazines, and annual subscriptions to FILMINK and INSIDE FILM magazines.

ScreenACT Manager, Simone Carton will speak on the role of the office and how it plans to contribute to the economic development of the region. The previously announced talk by Julia Overton from the Australian Film Commission on Indie Filmmaking has been rescheduled until the first Canberra Shorts of 2006 on 2 February 2006.

Entry is free of charge, so come along and enjoy a Christmas drink with likeminded filmmakers, screen professionals, and cinephiles. Canberra Shorts will return in 2006 on the first Thursday of every month, starting 2 February.

For more information, visit: www.canberrashorts.com.

Free documentary screenings at the National Film and Sound Archive
8-11 December, National Film and Sound Archive Theatre, McCoy Circuit, Acton
To mark the first meeting in Australia for many years of the International Federation of Film Archives' (FIAF) executive, the National Film and Sound Archive will present the screening program The Archive Plays Itself, a selection of recent documentaries examining the role of film and television archives in our popular culture and everyday lives. It will be the first Canberra, and sometimes first Australian,ﾭ screening of these works.

FIAF is the peak body representing the world's major moving image archives. The group will meet at Canberra's National Film and Sound Archive to discuss the key issues confronting archives in the preservation of the world's film, television and now digital media heritage. For further details on the International Federation of Film Archives visit: www.fiafnet.org.

Screening Details:

Thursday 8 December, 6.15pm - Tell Them Who You Are (M)
Friday 9 December, 6.15pm - Remembrance of Things To Come (Le Souvenir d'un Avenir)
Friday 9 December, 7.10pm - Friendship is the Harbour of Joy
Saturday 10 December, 2pm - Los Angeles Plays Itself
Sunday 11 December, 2pm - Henri Langlois: The Phantom of the Cineatheue (Le Fantome d'Henri Langlois)

Admission is free. Except where noted, films marked ﾓUnclassifiedﾔ are restricted to entry for those 18 years and over, in line with Australian classification legislation.

For more information, phone 02 6248 2000 or visit www.nfsa.afc.gov.au.

SNOWYfest 2006 Call for Entries
Entry deadline: 31 March 2006

Entries are now open for the 2006 SNOWYfest International Film Festival. To be held in Thredbo from 16-18 June, the 2006 festival will again feature the Best Capital Region Filmmaker category. Congratulations again to Serge Ou who won the category in 2005 with his film, Gimmie Shelter.

Entry forms are available at www.snowyfest.com.

Tropfest 2006 Call for Entries
Entry deadline: 19 January 2006


The Sony Tropfest 2006 entry form is now available. To download the official entry forms and filmmaker info guides, visit the Sony Tropfest website www.tropfest.com.

Keeping with the Sony Tropfest tradition, all short films must not exceed seven minutes and must include the Tropfest Signature Item (TSI) to show that the film has been made specifically for Sony Tropfest. The 2006 TSI is ﾑBubble' and we encourage you to incorporate it into your film creatively and in any way you like.

Entries close on Thursday January 19th 2006 at 6pm giving you just under two months to transform your ideas into a short film!

Sydney Film Festival 2006
Entry deadline: 17 February 2006

The Sydney Film Festival is now accepting submissions for its 53^rd event. With over 235 screenings of features, documentaries and shorts, attracting over 130,000 film-goers a year, the Sydney Film Festival is a great way to get your film seen by a large, film-loving, film-literate audience.

We are seeking features, documentaries, short films and animations for the 53^rd annual festival. Films over 30 minutes in length must be NSW premieres, films under 30 minutes in length must be Sydney metropolitan premieres. Entry forms, rules and regulations are available from our website - www.sydneyfilmfestival.org.

Festival dates are: 9 to 25 June 2006.
Deadlines for entries: 17 February 2006.

Details of our Australian short films competition will be circulated in the coming weeks.

Bearcage Productions Positions Vacant

Bearcage Productions is seeking to employ two producer's assistants. For more information, visit www.bearcage.com.au.

Any enquiries should be directed to employment@bearcage.com.au.

ACT Filmmakers Network Equipment Hire Deal
Valid from Wednesday 30 November ﾖ Friday 23 December

The ACT Filmmakers Network is offering a deal on equipment hire from 30 November to 23 December. When you hire the Panasonic DV Camera for a weekday or weekend, you will also get all the Sound Equipment free. The sound equipment includes: Sennheiser ME 66 Microphone and Power Module, Softie, Microphone Mount and Pistol Grip, Sony, High Definition Sound Headset, 3.2 Metre Fishpole & Two Channel Field Sound Mixer and the Sony Cordless Radio Microphone. The deal represents a saving of over $60.00 for a weekday and over $125.00 for a weekend.

For details, email: admin.actfilmmakers@netspeed.com.au.

AIDC 2006 registrations open

Early Bird registrations for the 2006 Australian International Documentary Conference in Melbourne have opened. The early bird rate will end at midnight on Sunday, 18 December.

It's shaping up to be a fantastic program with superb guests, debates, discussions and loads of pitching opportunities, including: Alternative Financing for Docs, Futuredocs, World Domination: Producers of the World Unite, Michael Donovan and Charles Bishop masterclass: The Making of Bowling for Columbine, John Hughes masterclass: A Documentary Archive, National Geographic masterclass: The Making of Killer Flu, Roger Graef masterclass: Icepck in the Brain, Doing Business in Asia: Opportunities and Obstacles, Scenes from a Marriage: Co-Production Horror Stories.

For the 3rd year running, the Arts and Entertainment Department of ABC TV have announced they will finance a pitching competition at the AIDC. Another two Pitch and Punts are soon to be announced and 30 commissioning editors and buyers have already confirmed they will attend and sit at the DOCUmart table! Visit the AIDC website to see who is coming: www.aidc.com.au/program/featuredguests.html.

There are many great pitching opportunities but the deadlines are sprinting towards us so check the website and get your applications in: www.aidc.com.au/marketplace/marketplaceintroduction.html.

Don that tracksuit and get fit for the Doco Games! Log on and secure your place at Australia's premier documentary event: www.aidc.com.au/delegates/registernow.html.

See also the ScreenACT AIDC registration offer above.


Electronic Games Investment Fund launched

Senator Helen Coonan officially launched the Electronic Games Investment Fund on 7 November 2005. The EGIF is an initiative of the finance and games industry registered under the Australian Government Pooled Development Fund scheme. It is aimed at establishing a much-needed pool of capital for early-stage investment in the development of new games titles. A copy of Senator Coonan's launch speech (ﾓPlaying for keeps: commercial investment in the electronic games industryﾔ) can be found at: www.minister.dcita.gov.au/media/speeches.

AFC Broadband Cross-Media Production Initiative
Deadline: 3 February

A new partnership between the AFC and ABC New Media and Digital Services, the Broadband Cross-Media Production Initiative (BCPI) seeks to fund innovative documentary projects for multi-platform delivery, particularly via digital television and broadband. The initiative seeks projects that target young and/or educational audiences in innovative, challenging and original ways. For more information, visit: www.afc.gov.au.

AFC Podlove initiative
Deadline: 10 March

Podlove, a new initiative developed and funded by the AFC and SBSi, will explore the impact of digital communications on our relationships with friends, family, lovers and strangers. Five avant-garde documentaries of five minutes each will be broadcast on SBS television and be placed on an advanced interactive website. The Podlove films will use mixed media, utilising digital technologies and hybrid content to maximise the visual and aural aesthetics of the work, producing challenging and compelling stories with a strong narrative and universal appeal. Live action, animation, composite imagery, visual and aural processing, and archival as well as alternatively sourced material may be combined in the production of each documentary. Guidelines and application forms are now available on the AFC website: www.afc.gov.au.

AFC Travel Grants extended to digital sector
The AFC has extended its support for the digital sector with the introduction of a new funding strand in its Travel Grant program. The Type E Travel Grant will provide support for Australian interactive digital screen content practitioners to attend key international workshops, forums, conferences, festivals, events and financing markets. Created in response to the increase in innovative digital screen content, the grant expands the opportunities for local practitioners to represent their work in an international context, engage with leading industry figures, and further develop and finance their projects. New Travel Grant guidelines are now on the AFC website: www.afc.gov.au.

AFC Travel Grant Deadline
Deadline: 1 December
The deadline for Type B and Type C Travel Grants for producers to attend the European Film Market (EFM) is 1 December. Producers should note there are new Travel Grant guidelines on the AFC website (www.afc.gov.au). EFM runs from 9-19 February 2006 and is on in conjunction with the Berlin International Film Festival.

2005 Lexus Inside Film Awards

On Wednesday, November 23, the Australian film awards season continued with the people's choice Lexus IF (Inside Film) Awards at Sydney's Luna Park featuring a star-studded red-carpet. Thirty filmmakers, actors and film industry figures presented IF Awards to their peers during the live SBS telecast with presenters giving their insider's view into working in the Australian film industry. Visit: www.ifawards.com for more details.

L'Orel Paris 2005 AFI Awards

The L'Orel Paris 2005 AFI Awards were held November 25 and 26 at Melbourne Central City Studios at Melbourne Docklands. Over 800 members of the film industry attended the lavish black tie event, which was hosted by film icon and AFI supporter Russell Crowe. To read the AFI media release, visit: www.afi.org.au.