In the main, Australia's feature film production sector consists of a loose collection of 'kitchen-table' operators, poorly capitalised, going from one project to the next. The distribution sector, by contrast, is in very good health. Why is this the case? What environmental conditions have created this imbalance? More pressingly, what is it that producers have overlooked in their tendency to focus on one project at a time and to make projects at any cost?
In this paper, Australian producer Vincent Sheehan describes the structural imbalance between the production and distribution sectors, and outlines a number of important lessons that feature film producers should take on board. By watching the way that distributors operate, producers can improve their own business practices and perhaps achieve the holy grail of long-term sustainability.
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This paper was commissioned by the AFTRS Centre for Screen Business and also appears in Issue 1 of the new screen arts and business journal, Lumina.
Vincent Sheehan is a founding partner (with Liz Watts and Anita Sheehan) of Porchlight Films - an independent production company based in Sydney. Porchlight has produced award winning short films, documentaries, television programs and feature films including Mullet, Walking on Water and Little Fish (starring Cate Blanchett, Sam Neill and Hugo Weaving). An Australian box-office hit of 2005, Little Fish went on to win 5 AFI awards and premiered internationally at the prestigious Toronto Film Festival. Also in 2005, the award-winning short feature Jewboy, directed by Tony Krawitz, screened in Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival and the Sundance Film Festival 2006. Most recently, Vincent produced the feature film Prime Mover, written and directed by David Caesar and starring Emily Barclay.
The AFTRS Centre for Screen Business works to improve the sustainability of businesses in the screen content sector by disseminating knowledge, skills, data and ideas to business owners, managers and industry professionals.
