UNESCO title will re-energise industry: Judge
The UNESCO City of Film title granted to Sydney will provide the city and the state with “considerable long-term value”, according to NSW Minister for the Arts Virginia Judge.
“What’s important about being made a UNESCO City of Film is that it gives the industry the opportunity, with partners in Government at all levels – Federal, State and Local, to re-energise the industry here and to refocus our efforts to attract production and build a sustainable industry,” Judge told Encore.
“Both the City of Sydney and the NSW Government were solidly behind this bid. We recognise the issues, including current international production levels and the importance of a centre for screen culture, and want to work with the industry to find solutions. It also gives us an opportunity to forge relationships with the other cities in the UNESCO Creative Cities network to benefit our industry.”
The announcement was made on December 9, with a number of industry practitioners questioning its relevance; Sydney is the second city to receive this title, after Bradford in the UK, while places with a strong filmmaking tradition such as Los Angeles, New York, London, Paris and Tokyo are not yet considered ‘Cities of Film’.
“The honour isn’t bestowed, but rather, cities wishing to become part of the Creative Cities network can bid for the title. The City of Sydney and the NSW Government supported the bid because we believe there is considerable long-term value in being part of this network,” explained Judge.
“While the industry is certainly doing it tough at the moment in respect to international productions, what this honour recognises is Sydney’s long and undeniable history as the centre of screen production in Australia as well as its diverse and extensive line-up of screen culture events – from the Sydney Film Festival, to Tropfest to the plethora of smaller, successful film festivals and other screen activities that take place across the city, all year round.”
The Minister said the audience will benefit “with more productions, as the industry continues to strengthen”.
Sydney also joined UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network and, according to Judge, the management committe involved in the bid preparation will determine the next steps to capitalise on the City of Film/Creative Cities programs. The Committee is led by Abigail Thomas (ABC Innovation) and includes Tania Chambers (Screen NSW), Sue McCreadie (Industry & Investment NSW), Renato Rispoli (Events NSW), Ilana Kaplin (City of Sydney), Clare Stewart (SFF), Virginia Gordon (Screenrights), Rachael Turk, Judith Bowtell (Arts NSW) and Margaret Tillson (Creative Industries Innovation Centre, UTS).
Good start there!
Keep in mind that people are interested in past films as well as current films. Sydney has plenty of gems from the past. Short as well as feature.
Start by “helping” NFSA to formulate that Search for Captain Thunderbolt (1955) which was “launched” at SFF last June?
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