Premier Carmen Lawrence today announced details of a $2 million package to promote Western Australia as a film production centre.
"The incentives package is designed to stimulate investment in local production, as well as encouraging inter-state and international film makers to come to WA," Dr Lawrence said.
"Unlike most film industry assistance schemes which subsidise production through concessional loans or investments, this proposal will reward successful producers.
"The idea is to create a domino effect in film activity in WA to achieve much more than direct investment at a comparable level."
The Premier said the package contained two key initiatives:
· a WA Film Employment Scheme which would make money available to commercial film productions undertaken in the State according to their WA content ($1.5 million a year); and
· a finance facility for low-budget productions of less than $1.5 million on a dollar-for-dollar basis ($500,000 a year).
The incentives would be funded by the WA Lotteries Commission and would be reviewed in three years.
Dr Lawrence said the package had the potential to provide between 500 and 750 Western Australians with jobs on film and television productions.
In addition to the incentives there would be a number of awards for film excellence, including a major prize of $500,000, for films made in WA which achieve national or international acclaim.
Another award of $200,000 for documentary excellence and several smaller awards for individuals would also be available.
The Premier said consideration was also being given to capital grants for advanced audio-visual technology to support the use of computers in audio visual productions.
In a video link to a conference of screen producers in Canberra, Dr Lawrence said she believed WA was the perfect place to make films.
As well as having just about any location a film maker could want, WA's developing film industry had nurtured the talents of a growing pool of creative and technical people.
"The State Government wants to stop the drain of film-making talent out of WA - in fact we want to reverse the trend," Dr Lawrence said.
