Screen Australia has announced two audience-focused programs designed to enhance the theatrical release of Australian feature films, partnering with global film organizations Tatino Films and Publicam to provide editorial guidance and strategic release guidance to local filmmakers.
The First Cut Lab and Impact & Insights work forms part of Screen Australia’s revamped Market & Audience programming strategy and will be open to projects not previously supported by the agency. Both are limited to scripted narrative features intended for theatrical release.
Presented in collaboration with Tatino Films, First Cut Lab is aimed at early to mid-career practitioners entering or already in post-production with budgets under AU$8 million ($5.5 million). Up to four projects per round will receive workshops and mentorship from an international delegation selected from the festival’s programming, direction, editing and production. Tatino Films has worked with over 300 film talents in over 50 countries on 150 screen projects spanning features, series and shorts.
Impact & Insights combines established late-stage development or post-production practitioners with Publikum, a strategic audience advisor. Publikum’s methodology utilizes anthropological research and data analysis to map a project’s potential for national and international audiences. Up to three development projects and five post-production titles can participate in each round, with personalized workshops led by Publikum to inform creative, marketing and distribution positioning.
“Connecting Australian stories with local and global audiences has never been more complex, making it important that filmmakers have access to the right tools, expertise and audience insights,” said Raquel Tansley, Head of Markets and Audiences at Screen Australia. “Our aim is to help filmmakers realize the full potential of Australian stories to resonate at home and around the world.”
Screen Australia is also launching Audience In/Sight, a broader series of industry presentations and thought leadership pieces that examine how content makers can apply new production and marketing strategies to improve cut-through. The first event in the series, a webinar co-hosted by Publikum on leveraging audience data for individual projects, is scheduled for July 14th.
These three initiatives run in tandem with three recently launched Narrative Content Market & Audience programs: Assets, Audience Testing, and Channel Management. According to Screen Australia, it is expected to reopen in the coming weeks.
