Is our art made up of soggy imitations?

The arts bureaucrats keep hustling for greatness. Does it work? In screen at least, the festival directors have serious reservations.
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Image: suffused with meaning, in Sweet Country. 

There is a standard rhetoric across the arts and screen sectors when creators appeal to agencies for money. Everything is supposed to be challenging, cutting edge, innovative and preferably international. 

The arts are part of a discourse, while screen is about telling our stories. One essential skill for every arts bureaucrat is the ability to read these cliches dozens of times a day without throwing a computer through the window. 

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David Tiley was the Editor of Screenhub from 2005 until he became Content Lead for Film in 2021 with a special interest in policy. He is a writer in screen media with a long career in educational programs, documentary, and government funding, with a side order in script editing. He values curiosity, humour and objectivity in support of Australian visions and the art of storytelling.