I think we need more films just exactly like the type/style you suggest…!

An interesting thought: the `national myths’ in Australia often do tend to revolve around `David and Goliath’ type stories, but: Goliath always wins. (eg Gallipoli, Breaker Morant, Picnic, Ned Kelly, etc…)

Also, we use the trope of `the Pyrrhic Victory’ a lot (the heroes may win – but at too great a cost…) Be nice to see a change.

Side note – I enjoyed `NOISE’ as it `started with a bang’ (a great `hook’) and the Tone was unusual/fresh (for an Aussie film).

In my opinion – Australia needs to look at making more $1m – $1.9m films max, if the film is going to be a `distinctly Australian story’ (portraying our own stories). – Given our population, a film with a budget over $2m has a really hard time making an ROI. Also – Aussie films I’ve personally loved include `Chopper’ (brilliant), `Noise’, `The Castle’ and `Crocodile Dundee’… `The Square’ was also terrific.

Alternately, tell more universal, `internationally-friendly’ stories. ie – Do both. (They’re not mutually-exclusive…) – Some filmmakers can/should tell the less-expensive `Australian’ stories (as their passion dictates), and also others, the `more deliberately-international’. Sounds like the 2nd group are `sell-outs’, but I don’t see it that way; the profits from the latter group (assuming they work) can be re-invested in the former…

ie As an interesting exercise:

What If – for a few years, there was a limit of $1.1m budget (so they can claim the rebate, ie – only just >$1m) on `Australian’ stories (ie forcing film stories to be set in more limited locations, eg Imagine maybe `Reservoir Dogs’ as an Australian film… as a starting point. I am not saying Reservoir Dogs is the greatest film ever, just clever, `restricted-cost’ storytelling…) and – impose a $2m limit for more `international stories’ that happen to be made in Oz (but – may also use international acting talent/characters/situations).

Just a thought…

Anyway great post. A nice `call-to-action’, as commented below.
(also – very funny pics, ie `SOAP’ + box…) :)

Cheers,

JT Velikovsky
High ROI Film/Story/Screenplay Consultant
https://storyality.wordpress.com/

Unfortunately the problem lies in a funding body rife with nepotism, and an aversion from private investors to invest in commercially viable films due to the poor track record of previously released films that have been created as a result of the aforementioned nepotism.

Cynical? No.

It’s a fact.

Imagine if the Australian film industry made cars instead of films. In the rest of the world, they’d be making big cars, little cars, expensive and cheap ones, sophisticated ones and rubbish ones.

But they’d all have four wheels.

In Australia, meanwhile, we’d be making cars with three wheels.

Some of these three wheelers would get good reviews for being unusual and challenging. Out of curiousity or loyalty, some Australians would buy these cars. One car might even win an award at the Cleveland three-wheeled car festival.

But the rest of the world, and most of Australia, would still stubbornly persist in their attachment to cars with four wheels.

Once in a while, largely by accident, we’d make a car with four wheels, and people would buy it. But mostly, we’d spend our time arguing about what sort of three-wheelers we should be making