Future Of The Australian Film Industry example essay topic

394 words
It seems Australia's film success is not determined by its quality but by its box office returns. The national identity of Australia has become nothing but a market strategy. The future of the Australian film industry seems doubtful, as it cannot command the crowds necessary to sustain high enough box office dollars, or market films sufficiently to attract local audiences. Sustaining a productive innovative film industry seems dependent on the complex process of acquiring film funding, and the prospect of future funding bodies.

Distributors and Exhibitors seem to add to the difficulties of getting local audiences to see Australian films as the major players seem to control who sees what, when and where. Independent distributors are constantly confronted by tough competition from these major distributors and exhibitors who lean toward the American more lucrative product. The glamorous packaging and blockbuster build up is attractive to local audiences and many Australian films, despite receiving award nominations from the A.F.I., do not achieve the acclaim they deserve from their own local audiences. The cultural American domination is reflected in the high box office returns on American product in cinemas everywhere. Australian filmmakers think that marketing and selling of a picture is a dirty exercise and that someone else should do it. Researching target markets and market testing are foreign and not preferred by Australian filmmakers yet this may be necessary in order to achieve cinema attendance.

Some actors in Australia make it clear from the beginning that they don't do publicity, however some actors say there isn't enough publicity for actors involved in film. This site looks at publicity as a potential cost effective option for the low budget Australian filmmaker and how publicity is handled in the American film industry. This site explores the successful marketing of Dating the Enemy and how sometimes the competition is just too great, when a film like Kiss or Kill opens on the same night as Men in Black. The prospect of marketing Australian film overseas before bringing films to local screens may attract Australian audiences, as they do not support local film culture easily. However, growing recognition of the Australian film industry in America seems to have spurred interested parties to search for Australian specialist films to fill a niche market in the U.S..