SPA SAYS NSW SCREEN & DIGITAL GAMES STRATEGY A
STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION…
WITH MORE TO BE DONE
Screen Producers Australia (SPA) has welcomed the release of the NSW Government’s Screen and Digital Games Strategy.
“SPA has long advocated for greater independence and better resourcing for Screen NSW, which would enable it to be more responsive to industry, and the new administrative arrangements with reporting to a Deputy Secretary are a step in the right direction towards this.
“Our members will also welcome the commitment to reducing red tape and making it easier to work with local councils when filming on location.
“SPA believes it is vital for Australian stories to stay under the ownership and control of Australian screen storytellers as much as possible, so recognising the importance of keeping Australian stories in Australian hands through the optioning support is a great new initiative, as is the AI industry working group,” said SPA CEO Matthew Deaner.
“Our intellectual property is our true wealth. It is way past time to take concrete steps to protect it and supporting the optioning of Australian stories assists this.
“SPA acknowledges that the work needed to realise the potential of the screen industry as one of the State’s economic powerhouses is a work in progress and that more remains to be done to support our industry to reach its full potential, including delivering on much-needed studio space and growing the base funding for the agency.
“There’s no doubt that Minister Graham is strongly committed to working with our creative industries on this long-term project of growing our industry, and the Screen and Digital Games Strategy is a positive initiative towards that goal.
“The strategy also comes as a much-needed confidence boost at a difficult time for the industry, with the current downturn in production, difficult commissioning conditions and the stalled regulation of dominant streaming platforms being felt everywhere.
“The NSW Government has an important role in creating the right regulatory and administrative conditions for the screen industry to thrive. We share the strategy’s ambition to grow production spending over the next four years,” said Mr Deaner.