News

Profits Warning Follows Box Office Slide

Maoyan, the Chinese film ticketing agency and film distribution company, has issued a warning that profits for 2022 are set to take a steep dive. Revenue for last year is expected to come in at RMB2.27 billion and RMB2.37 billion, representing a decrease of up to 31% compared with 2021. Profit attributable to the owners of the company will range between approximately RMB70 million and RMB120 million, representing a decrease of approximately 67% to 81% compared with attributable profit in 2021, which had been RMB369 million. The company’s fortunes are closely allied to the trend of the mainland Chinese box office. Nationwide theatrical grosses took a huge tumble in the second half of the year as the government stepped up its battle against the Covid outbreak, causing the full year box office to fall by 36%.

The company is now trying to diversify away from cinema ticketing with moves into distribution and production.

Screen Queensland and the Australian Film Television and Radio School (Aftrs) have announced the launch of a new training partnership designed to provide Queensland practitioners with pathways for entry into the screen industry, as well as upskilling and career progression.

Supported through Screen Queensland’s Initiatives program and delivered through Aftrs, the Aftrs Training Partnership will consist of short courses and industry certificates over a 12-month period from this month in Brisbane and Cairns.

Screen Queensland will subsidise more than 50 per cent of the course costs for local participants, to enable accessible pathways for Queensland practitioners and address skills shortages in the state.

Screen Queensland’s chief creative officer Jo Dillon said the program was an exceptional opportunity for emerging talent to upskill in their practice and increase exposure with industry professionals and peers.

“This partnership with Aftrs provides a platform for emerging filmmakers, producers, and writers to receive fundamental...

Aftrs has received strong representation at Cilect Capa Awards, with two of the school’s student films winning prizes.

Capa is the Asia-Pacific Association of Cilect, the International Association of Film and Television Schools.

The winners of the Cilect Awards are chosen by the community of Cilect schools, which includes 180 institutions from 65 countries. Voting panels comprise students, professors and staff, amounting to hundreds of members on each panel.

Where is My Darling?, a 2020 capstone project of the Aftrs Master of Arts Screen, won the Best Film – Documentary in the Capa regional section and was placed fifth worldwide. Sunnies, also from the 2020 Master of Arts Screen, was jointly awarded the Capa Best Film – Fiction prize.

‘Sunnies’

Adam Finney wrote, directed and produced Where is My Darling?, which follows a charismatic homeless man who raises the money to personally deliver drinking water to the drought-stricken outback. Finney’s crew included fellow Master...

Aftrs is partnering with technology company Atlas Shorts for a new $10,000 scholarship designed to encourage creative excellence in screen storytelling.

Announced today, the Atlas Shorts Screen Excellence Scholarship will be awarded to one student commencing the Bachelor of Arts Screen: Production in 2022 to assist with their living expenses while studying at Aftrs.

The successful applicant will be chosen by a selection panel comprised of Aftrs staff and Atlas Shorts founder and CEO Karim Ford Sarhan.

“During these unprecedented times, we’re committed to creating new opportunities for independent filmmakers,” Sarhan said.

“The Atlas Shorts Screen Excellence Scholarship seeks to nurture outstanding, emerging creative voices who might not otherwise have adequate support to persist with their dreams as aspiring visual storytellers.

“We encourage applicants from all walks of life to apply.”

Aftrs CEO Nell Greenwood said the institution was delighted to work with Atlas Shorts in offering the scholarship.

“To inspire creativity and innovation,...

Aftrs is encouraging practitioners from across the industry to participate in a new survey designed to track career pathways in the film, television, radio, and other screen sectors.

Commissioned by Aftrs and conducted by Screen Audience Research Australia (Sara), the questions have been developed in consultation with a range of industry organisations, with a goal to gain data and recommendations on how government agencies, higher education, and private enterprise can better support talent across the industry.

Individuals are invited to share their insights and experiences, whether they have been in the industry for 20 years or two years.

Aftrs CEO Nell Greenwood said the professional environment for screen and broadcast creatives was constantly evolving.

“We all know that the screen and broadcast industries are in a state of near-permanent change and disruption,” she said.

“As processes, practices, and technologies have changed, so have the pathways people take to enter and progress through our industries.

Aftrs will welcome Audrey O’Connor and Oliver Williams as paid interns via a joint initiative with Bus Stop Films.

Both filmmakers, who both live with an intellectual disability and have participated in Bus Stop Films’ Accessible Film Studies Program, will work with the Aftrs production team over the coming year.

It comes after a selection process that included a tour of the Aftrs production work area to familiarise internship applicants with the workplace and allow the production team to get to know the potential new recruits.

The partnership between Aftrs and Bus Stop Films also includes Inclusion In Action training for staff, which aims to equip attendees to be more confident about and open to employing and working alongside people with disabilities.

Inclusion in Action was funded by the National Disability Insurance Scheme (Ndis) through an Information Linkages and Capacity Building grant and developed by Bus Stop Films and with...

Aftrs has announced the five recipients of its expanded graduate program, which this year is a partnership with ABC, Endemol Shine Australia, Fremantle, Sbs and Sky News Australia.

It sees the five recent Bachelor of Arts (Screen) grads, selected for their skills, creativity and motivation, take on a 13-week paid engagement with one of the participating organisations.

Belinda Parry will join the ABC, Jaimie Conlon will join Endemol Shine, Grace Anderson will join Fremantle, Danielle Abou Karam has joined Sbs, and Otto Khoo will join Sky News Australia’s Sydney bureau.

Aftrs CEO Nell Greenwood said: “Aftrs is so delighted with the expansion of the graduate program this year and the commitment and generosity of our partners. Internships are critical to building robust pipe-lines for Australian talent, and this program is an exciting opportunity for some of our most talented graduating students to hone their professional skills and creativity with...

Screen Australia and the Australian Film Television and Radio School (Aftrs) will have more money to invest in productions and skills training respectively thanks to extra funding from the Federal Government.

The Federal Budget to be delivered on October 6 will deliver an additional $22.9 million to eight cultural institutions including Screen Australia, Aftrs and the National Film and Sound Archive (Nfsa) to help offset declines in revenues due to Covid-19.

The allocations are $2.3 million for Aftrs, $2.5 million for the Nfsa and $1.1 million for Screen Australia.

Screen Australia is yet to spell out how it will spend the money but CEO Graeme Mason tells If: “This has been an incredibly challenging year for the screen sector and we welcome the additional support from the government.

“Our industry has shown great resilience and these funds will go straight out to the sector to help productions safely continue to make distinctive Australian stories for the screen.

Lynette Wallworth.

Artist and filmmaker Lynette Wallworth is set to be Australian Film Television and Radio School’s (Aftrs) inaugural artist-in-residence, where she will offer weekly ‘open door’ mentorship and advice to students.

The school will also provide space, support and facilities for the Emmy and Aacta award winner to conduct a research project into the creative potential of audio narratives.

“I am so delighted and proud to announce Lynette as our first artist-in-residence. She is a truly innovative, inspiring artist and a world leader in cross-platform storytelling. Having Lynette with us, particularly during this challenging Covid period, is going to be exactly the inspiration and creative tonic we need,” said Aftrs CEO Nell Greenwood.

“Encouraging industry-wide innovation and experimentation, pushing boundaries, testing form, are all key to our purpose and we are so excited to support Lynette and the storytellers who follow her. As much as our remit at...

Dr Romaine Moreton (Photo: Dr Lou Bennett), Con Apostolopoulos (Photo: Katie Vajda).

The Australian Film Television and Radio School (Aftrs) announced a series of new executive appointments today, with Dr Romaine Moreton set to lead the school’s First Nations and outreach strategy, while Con Apostolopoulos will spearhead business development.

The appointments come as the school implements a new structure that will see staff deployed over five divisions: teaching and learning; production and operations; partnerships and development; First Nations and outreach, and people and culture.

“Moving into the CEO role earlier this year has given me the opportunity to think really hard about strategy for the school and how we move forward in this rapidly changing world. How do we ensure our graduates are the best screen and broadcast graduates in the Australia; graduates who are able to make the screen and audio stories Australians need in this very complex world,...

Ioan Gruffudd in ‘Harrow’.

Released today, the Covid-Safe Guidelines developed by the Australian Screen Sector Task Force set the stage for an imminent return to screen production – but only after travel restrictions are eased and the insurance risk issue is solved.

The 41-page document is designed to help producers eliminate and minimise the risks associated with exposure of personnel to Covid-19 as production resumes.

The task force comprised reps of Screen Australia, Screen Producers Australia, the Meaa, Aftrs, state agencies, guilds, the ABC, Sbs, Ausfilm and a number of production companies.

Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason said, “These guidelines are an essential tool to help the Australian industry get back to the business of creating world-leading screen stories. Whilst each production will need to have their own individual plan, we hope that the Covid-Safe Guidelines will help inform practitioners on what they need to be considering before they get back up and running.

Nell Greenwood.

Working with remarkable speed, a screen sector task force and Australian Film Television and Radio School (Aftrs) CEO Nell Greenwood have completed a draft protocol setting out key principles and practices for a return to screen production.

The draft will be delivered to the office of Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy tomorrow and the screen sector roundtable chaired by Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason will convene again after that.

Depending on the feedback from Murphy’s team and consultation with Screen Producers Australia, state agencies, guilds and other stakeholders, the aim is to finalise and distribute the protocol in the next two or three weeks.

The document is expected to include a template for mitigating the risk of insuring productions and risk assessment while Covid-19 has been excluded by all insurance companies.

Several producers including See-Saw Films’ Emile Sherman and Film Finances Australasia CEO Dan Read have called...

Flinders University students are making short films remotely.

Talk about a baptism of fire: on Australian Film Television and Radio School (Aftrs) CEO Nell Greenwood’s second day on the job, the World Health Organisation declared Covid-19 a pandemic.

One of Greenwood’s first tasks was to implement Aftrs’ pandemic plan, with the initial step to close the school to the public, and postpone industry events.

The next was to think about how to run a screen and broadcast school – that by its nature involves high-touch production activities and shared equipment – while enforcing social distancing measures.

Eventually, the school moved to online delivery, though what that looks like depends on the cohort.

For Masters students, theory has taken precedence, with production pushed back until later in the year.

However, for students in the more conceptually-focused BA program, Aftrs is looking to try to keep some production elements in the course.

Dr Nell Greenwood.

Dr Nell Greenwood has been appointed the CEO of the Australian Film Television and Radio School (Aftrs), succeeding Neil Peplow who left the school mid-last year.

Over the past 12 years, Greenwood has worked at Aftrs in various roles, including lecturer, head of screenwriting, course leader Masters and head of programs, and, most recently, director of curriculum and student registrar.

As a screenwriter, Greenwood’s credits include the AFI Award winning False Witness, as well as Pride and Joy, which was nominated for Best TV Film at the 46th Monte Carlo TV Film Festival. She has also worked as head of development for the Irish Film Board, as well as production companies Natural Nylon Entertainment and Element Films. Greenwood holds a PhD from The University of Sydney on creativity and the unconscious in the screen arts classroom.

Announcing Greenwood’s appointment, Aftrs chair Russel Howcroft said: “Dr Greenwood...

Celeste Franklin.

Emerging Western Australian screenwriter Celeste Franklin has been awarded the Australian Film Television and Radio School’s 2020 Storytelling Scholarship, which supports Aftrs’ mission to discover and support writers from under-represented groups.

A former primary school teacher, Franklin worked in costume departments for more than 20 years on numerous productions including Paper Planes, Lockie Leonard, Last Train to Freo and Water Rats.

This year she began a Masters of Arts Screen: Screenwriting so the scholarship will cover her tuition fees for the two-year course.

Her maternal grandfather was a Kalkatung man who fought in Jimmy Sharman’s boxing tents. Her maternal great, great, grandfather was blackbirded from the South Sea Islands to be a kanaka on the northern Queensland cane fields.

She won the scholarship based on her creative response to the story provocations in the Aftrs brand campaign Storytellers Wanted, which was developed by the agency 72andSunny and directed...

Martin Armiger.

Martin Armiger, composer or music arranger of such movies as Yahoo Serious’ Young Einstein, Alex Proyas’ Dark City, Cherie Nowlan’s Thank God He Met Lizzie, Jane Campion’s Sweetie and Kriv Stenders’ Red Dog, has died in France, aged 70.

UK-born, he began his career as a singer, songwriter and guitarist for legendary Melbourne-based rock band The Sports.

In 1972 he embarked on composing, initially on a short film called Drac. From From 1984 he was the musical director for the the ABC series Sweet and Sour as well as providing backing vocals, lead guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, drums and lyrics and producing the soundtrack album.

His other screen credits include the series The Secret Life of Us, The Surgeon, Come In Spinner and Police Rescue and the documentary Cane Toads.

For 14 years he was the head of screen music at the Australian Film Television and Radio School, where he...

Martin Armiger, a musician turned record producer, academic, and film and TV composer, based in Australia has died. He was 70.

Born in the U.K. as John Martin Armiger, he relocated to Australia with his family as a teenager. He is known for Australian film classics Yahoo Serious’ “Young Einstein,” and the Alex Proyas-directed “Dark City,” on which he was music producer and arranger.

Armiger kicked off his music career as a singer, songwriter and guitarist for legendary Melbourne based rock band The Sports. In 1972, he started his screen profession composing music for a short film called “Drac.” From 1984, Martin was musical director for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation series “Sweet and Sour,” a 20-episode, weekly pop music, drama TV series. He provided backing vocals, lead guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, drums and lyrics and produced the soundtrack album.

His other screen credits include the feature film “Thank God He Met Lizzie,...

Trudi Houston Refshauge.

Aftrs has announced that Trudi Houston Refshauge will be the recipient of this year’s $20,000 Foxtel Screenwriting Scholarship for Diverse and Under-represented Students.

The scholarship will enable Houston Refshauge, a regionally-based female writer in her 50s, to complete the Aftrs Masters of Arts Screen: Screenwriting, which she commenced earlier this year. She may also have the opportunity to undertake a work attachment at Foxtel.

While working on her family’s property at Woodstock in the Central West of Nsw, Houston Refshauge has focused on developing her writing skills. She won the Banjo Patterson Short Story Writers Competition and was lauded by her lecturers as one of the best online students they had taught when completing an Aftrs Open screenwriting course.

The Foxtel Screenwriting Scholarship for Diverse and Under-represented Students has been awarded over the past three years to develop Australian screenwriting talent, with a focus on diversity.

Nell Greenwood.

Nell Greenwood has been appointed director of curriculum and registrar at Aftrs, succeeding Ian Lang.

Over the past 11 years, Greenwood has worked for the film school in various roles including lecturer, head of screenwriting, Masters in Screen course leader and, most recently, head of programs.

A screenwriter and script consultant, Greenwood co-wrote the AFI Award winning False Witness for UKTV with husband Ronan Glennane, and their first telefilm Pride and Joy was nominated for Best TV Film at the 46th Monte Carlo TV Film Festival.

Greenwood has also worked as the Irish Film Board’s head of development, and as a development executive for various production companies such as Natural Nylon Entertainment and Element Films.

Aftrs CEO Neil Peplow said: “Nell’s extensive experience in screen education, coupled with her industry background, ideally positions her to lead the Aftrs award course division. Nell’s work as Head of Screenwriting,...

'Psychoanalysis', written and directed by Aftrs grad James Raue.

Aftrs is getting into the feature game, with two micro-budget features set to be directed by Masters of Screen Arts directing students.

Kyle Hedrick.s Into The Waves is a drama about two brothers who hitch-hike across Tasmania to get to their mother.s funeral, while Tom Wilson.s The Greenhouse is described as "a queer magic realist drama that documents the tale of Beth Tweedy-Bell, who has discovered a tunnel into the past."

Both features are crowd funding via the Australian Cultural Fund. ..

For Rowan Woods, director of The Boys and Aftrs' Head of Directing, it's about going beyond the short-as-calling-card.

"From web-series to TV pilots, micro features, Vr and interactive storytelling, aimed at production companies, networks, film distributors and the internet fan base," said Woods, Aftrs is looking for "screen stories that make a difference."

Masters Course...