What do you consider Australian content?
Screen Australia (a government funding body) introduced the Producer Offset Scheme in 2007. One of the criteria for Producers to receive a 40% rebate on their film’s budget is if they have ‘significant Australian content’.
They measure ‘significant Australian content’ according to:
- subject matter
- where the film is made
- the nationalities and places of residence of those who make the film
- the details of production and expenditure
For those of you who are thinking “Oh no not another Aussie nationalistic film” don’t despair. I have just been advised that there is a minimum threshold of 30% Australian content. The new film Daybreakers released in cinemas Thursday 4th Feb is an Aussie and US co-production and is a fantastic zombie film! The script was written by two Australians, who hold the rights, there are numerous Australian actors in the film, even though they speak with American accents, Producers both from Australia and the US worked on the film and this is enough to satisfy the Australian content quota.
I must admit I was a little dubious about this clause at first glance. However it appears that I was wrong and it’s not that bad after all. The 30% allows for our production crew and cast to make money in our industry and the some 70% allows us to take our films to other parts of the world and gather funding from various sources.
