Victoria Boosts Film Investment

The board of state film agency body Film Victoria announced Monday that it has allocated an additional AUS$1 million ($740,000) to its production investment program, taking its total available investment budget for the financial year ending June 30 to just over AUS$4.3 million ($3 million).

The additional funding will come through Film Victoria's Special Initiatives Fund, which aims to boost state-based production.

The agency board said the allocation reflected increased industry demand for production investment finance over the past six months.

"The board is confident that this additional allocation will see a positive flow-on effect to the number of Victorian projects that move into production, resulting in business opportunities and employment for the local industry," board president John Howie said.

Since July 2005, Film Victoria has confirmed production funding for 14 film and television projects with a total commitment of more than AUS$3 million ($2.2 million). This investment represents support for three films, two documentary features, one dramedy series, one miniseries, two telefilms, two documentary series and three stand-alone documentaries.

The additional funding will go toward three television drama productions and four documentaries, including a feature documentary.