News in Brief: the Arts honoured, most anticipated films, AIDC and Screen Forever programs

For this edition of the news in brief, we have program announcements, digital dramas, and the big story of the week: the Australia Day Honours. On one hand, it was a great year for the arts, with the sector garnering more awards than sports. But the day was not without controversy. Veteran broadcaster Kerry O’Brien joined Dr Clara Tuck Meng Soo in refusing the award, after it was announced that virulent homophobe, transphobe, and former tennis player Margaret Court would receive a second honour for her work since her sports career ended. 

Events and opportunities 

• Screen Producers Australia has announced the program for their belated 2020 Screen Forever conference, which will run 16-18 February, 2021, and it’s all killer, no filler. 
• Applications are now open for the 2021 Screenrights Cultural Fund, and this year’s focus is New Teams.
  You can apply for funding of up to $50,000 per project, with applications closing 5pm AEST Wednesday 28 April 2021. More information including the Cultural Fund guidelines and application process can be found on the website.
• Screenwest and streaming platform Stan have announced a new development fund of $20,000 to boost Western Australian production. Further information is available on the Screenwest website, and expressions of Interest close Monday, 15 February 2021 at 5:00pm AWST.

AIDC News 

• AIDC’s full program has just been announced, which features  huge array of panels, talks, pitching events, and sessions on excellent factual content. It will be wrapped up by their annual AIDC awards. The full program is available on the website.  
• AIDC announced their films that comprise their 2021 international pitching showcase. The showcase is divided into three strands: Central, New Talent, and Roughcut, all of which are pitched to a variety of funders, buyers, broadcasters, sales agents and distributors. Read the full list of showcased films here. 
• After four years of taking risks and trusting her instincts backed by passionate documentary makers and a determined staff, CEO Alice Burgin will leave the AIDC after this year’s conference.

Australians on the big and small screen

• The inimitable David Tiley has assembled a list of the most anticipated Australian films of 2021. Featuring a roster of long-awaited gems that experienced COVID-19 delays, and new and exciting flicks, 2021 is shaping up to be an excellent year for Australian film

Firestarter: The Story of Bangarra is due out in 2021. 

• Australian audiences are coming out for local films right now, with 20% of box office revenue coming from stellar recent releases like Roadshow Films’ Penguin Bloom, which has taken over $1.51 million at the Australian box office since it opened in cinemas on Thursday, and the ongoing success of The Dry, which has made $12.09 million since release. 
  https://www.screenhub.com.au/news-article/news/film/david-tiley/box-office-australian-share-of-market-now-at-20percent-261797

• In our monthly What We’re Watching column, Artshub writer Sabine Brix expressed her enjoyment of Australian Netflix feature Teenage Kicks, an indie that follows the story of teenager Miklos Varga, who is navigating family, adolescence, and sexuality in the wake of his brother’s death.

• In this longform interview with former violinist in The Go Betweens and longtime screen composer Amanda Brown, she talks AACTA wins for Brazen Hussies and Babyteeth, juggling jobs, facing fears and why she wishes LESS music was used in film and TV.

Reviews

• Sarah Ward praises Naomi Watts’ compelling performance in the box office favourite Penguin Bloom, a story of resilience that sticks closely to the true account and to the formula for heartwarming family-friendly fare. 
• Australian feminist horror anthology Dark Whispers Volume 1 takes us from giggles to shivers in a scream of dark joy, writes Mel Campbell. 
• Occupation: Rainfall is a blockbuster on a scale rarely seen in local productions, but don’t expect all the threads to be tied up by the credits, writes Anthony Morris.
• Tracing a year on the frontline of Australian environmental activism, Sally Ingleton’s documentary Wild Things is most powerful in its portrait of youthful eco-warriors.
• Documenting the rise of the legendary Polynesian record label in 90s’ and 00’s Aotearoa/NZ against a backdrop of racism, Dawn Raid – Southside and the Polynesian Sound this is an important and entertaining film about culture and identity, says Sonja Hammer.
• High Ground is an enthralling addition to a new canon of films about historical injustice to our First Peoples, writes Sarah Ward.
• Adrian Martin reflects on Wong Kar Wai’s remarkable body of work. 

Games industry 

•  The Australian Writers’ Guild is working in collaboration with the Games Committee to understand more about the issues that games writers and narrative designers face.In order to summarise trends, standards and rates of pay across contracts, The Australian Writers’ guild are asking the game development community to please send examples of contracts to AWG’s industrial team, who can be contacted at: industrial@awg.com.au. All information received by the industrial team will be aggregated and kept anonymous.
• French studio Nacon has announced  the acquisition of Big Ant Studios, one of Australia’s biggest video game development studios, for €35m. Big Ant Studios are best known for developing sports games, including the Don Bradman Cricket Series, and AO Tennis 2. The studio will retain full creative rights.

• New Zealand Game Developers’ Association releases statistics indicating that the local games industry profits grew by $120 million during COVID-19. The NZ industry is currently work $324 million in annual revenue, 96% of which is export-driven. Read the full stats on the NZGDA website. 
• In discussion with game developers Terry Burdak and Moth Loths, Jini Maxwell goes deep on the environmental impact of videogames, and how they can be used as a force for good in the climate conversation. 
•  We compiled a list of code-free game engines that will let you get started making games, regardless of programming experience. 

DIgital Drama 

• The ACCC’s proposed media code has Google threatening to pull Google Search out of Australia — but Tama Leaver thinks there’s still a chance it could be made to work. 
• Redditors from popular Reddit page r/WallStreetBets have a history of taking advantage of unexpected and absurd market opportunities, and over the past month they have turned their attention to the dwindling bricks and mortar videogame outlet, Gamestop. By targeting short-sellers, they have  forced Gamestop share prices up 1,700%. While this began as a joke, some trading platforms are now restricting the sale of the stock due to this wild inflation. This has caused outrage, as normal people are gaming the system, rather than Wall Street moguls. CNN has a good explainer.