FESTIVAL BUZZ
- NZ’s Doc Edge Festival announces 2021 hybrid program
The NZ documentary festival has announced a 2021 program of over 80 films, which will be available to watch both online and in cinemas. - Brisbane International Film Festival finds its new director in the heart of Queensland
Emily Avila has just taken up the position of festival director for BIFF 2021, to build a broad event across the wider city. The festival will take place 21-31 October.
Funding & opportunitiesÂ
- Sydney Film Festival creates new form of Indigenous support
The Deutsche Bank Fellowship has some heartening design features which will make one Indigenous screen person very happy and may inspire some imitations. - Asia Pacific Screen Awards announces 2021 Jury for $100k in screen funding
The project development support from the Asia Pacific Screen Academy is the most unusual program in Australia, but it offers a lot to the right applicants. - MIFF opens applications for Critics Campus and 37 South Market
In the leadup to the festival’s 69th edition, MIFF opens applications for two of its iconic programs, Critics Campus and the screen financing-focussed 37 South Market
INDUSTRY NEWS
- Huge sinkhole drama ‘La Brea’ comes to Victoria via NBCUniversal
The state’s biggest international production in a decade, ‘La Brea’ will see Melbourne double for LA in the story of a family separated by disaster. - 30% Federal tax offset for videogame development announced
Australia’s first-ever nationwide tax offset for game development will be included in the next Budget, supercharging the local videogame industry. - Western Australian documentary ‘Laura’s Choice’ to get international audience
Laura’s Choice, a documentary about 90-year-old Laura Henkel navigating a radical approach to dying, has secured an international distribution rights deal with Dutch company Off The Fence. - PlayStation and chat platform Discord to join forces following Sony investment
Sony has invested in the popular communication software company, with the aim to create integration with PlayStation consoles.
The industry by numbersÂ
- Box Office: After an Oscar win, how does Nomadland compare to Parasite?
The weekend after the Oscars, Nomadland is shaping up to be the worst performing Best Picture winner in decades. You get two guesses as to why. - Epic Games paid millions to give away ‘free games’ according to court documents
The court hearing between Epic Games and Apple have shown Epic has invested millions into ‘free games’ to try and onboard users. - Activision Blizzard hits record revenue off the back of Call of Duty
Activision Blizzard is the latest videogame publisher to mark record revenue, with Melbourne Call of Duty studio Sledgehammer Games also seeing continued growth.
On screen
- See What You Made Me Do? SBS tackles Domestic Abuse Crisis
Jess Hill’s gripping and essential documentary series spearheads SBS programming during Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month
- Sometimes videogames are bad, and we should say it
Despite the report’s limitations, Four Corners’ recent inquiry into predatory monetisation in games is insightful. The videogame industry is going to have to develop a better attitude to criticism if it wants to be taken seriously. - Bringing a new lens to arts coverage on the ABC: Namila Benson talks Art Works
The host of ABC TV’s new weekly arts program promises to be much more than just a talking head. - Will Drag Race Down Under erase our ocker drag past?
Having been accused of mainstreaming drag, eliminating its subversive impetus, it will be intriguing to see how this slick show — built on US histories of drag — approaches the Australian drag tradition, writes Joanna McIntyre. - Disney+ dives into WA for ‘Shipwreck Hunters Australia’ series
The streamer’s first dip into local documentary is a 6-part series exploring the wrecks that litter WA’s famous treasure coast.
In videoGAMES
- 30% Federal tax offset for videogame development announced
Australia’s first-ever nationwide tax offset for game development will be included in the next Budget, supercharging the local videogame industry. - Nintendo’s Game Builder Garage lets everyone be a game developer
Nintendo’s foray into experimental creativity and education continues, announcing Game Builder Garage for Nintendo Switch. - PlayStation and chat platform Discord to join forces following Sony investment
Sony has invested in the popular communication software company, with the aim to create integration with PlayStation consoles. - Epic Games paid millions to give away ‘free games’ according to court documents
The court hearing between Epic Games and Apple have shown Epic has invested millions into ‘free games’ to try and onboard users. - Activision Blizzard hits record revenue off the back of Call of Duty
Activision Blizzard is the latest videogame publisher to mark record revenue, with Melbourne Call of Duty studio Sledgehammer Games also seeing continued growth.
In review
- TV Review: How to Stay Married defies TV trends for Season 3
Peter Helliar’s family sitcom is unashamedly mainstream, a rare stayer with solid comedy cast and cozy, reliable characters. - Film Review: June Again adds lucid wit to a tale of second chances
Warm, wise and playful, this polished debut features yet another great performance from Noni Hazlehurst, says critic Mel Campbell.
