$9m in screen support

The Age

Saturday September 26, 2009

By PAUL KALINA

TWELVE film and TV businesses will share $9 million under Screen Australia's inaugural enterprise program announced yesterday.A cornerstone of Screen Australia's vision for the industry, the program helps established companies develop diverse projects, and aims to minimise the reliance on project-by-project funding determined by agency "gatekeepers".The successful companies are mostly centred in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. It is understood that some companies will use the funding to expand into other cities.Melbourne-based Renegade, producers of RocKwiz and Ned Kelly Uncovered, receives $700,000.Matchbox, whose principals include award-winning filmmakers Tony Ayres and Michael McMahon (The Home Song Stories, Saved), receives $750,000 to develop high-quality, longer-running TV programs in factual, drama and children's genres.Warp Films, based in Melbourne, receives $400,000 for its slate of low-budget genre films.The single largest allocations of $1 million each go to Cordell Jigsaw (Bondi Rescue, Two Men in a Tinnie), Brisbane-based digital company Hoodlum, and Hopscotch Features.