Boxoffice-November.1997

to see international companies (liice Fox Studios) moving into the
Australian marketplace that are dedicated to "developing a body of
original Australian work for production in Australia intended for
international audiences."
At the Thursday "independent" day, specialized film distributors
announced the formation of the Australian Independent Distributors
Association (AIDA). Richard Becker, managing director of the Becker
Group, which owns REP and recently bought Dendy's arthouse
distribution and theatre circuit, said the independent distributors had
joined forces in order to have a stronger voice in the industry. By the
end of the convention, 15 companies had joined the new trade group,
including REP. Dendy, New Vision, Potential Films, Ronin, the
Australian Film Institute, Reid and Puskar, Sharmill, Globe, Total
Film and Television, the Other Film Co. and Palace Films. Some of
the issues the association hopes to address will concern censorship,
rental terms and classification fees. In January 1996, the Office of
Film and Literature Classification upped the per-film fee to
AUS$500 (US$373) from AUS$245 (US$182), and insiders say the
fee will rise again near the end of 1997 due to a government edict
that says the office must fully recover its costs by year-end 1999.
Independent distributors claim that another hike will keep many
smaller films from being distributed in Australia. Before the AMC
began, some independent exhibitors and distributors questioned the
convention's ability to accommodate the independents, but by the
end of the convention—which included the independents' halfday—many
of those distributor indies appeared to be won over. In
fact, the only complaints regarding this year's convention concerned
what many saw as limited time for the trade show. MPEAQ head
Richard Parton noted that the trade show was open an amount of time
that equaled last year's (under six hours), but he acknowledged that
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JOHN GAMBLE
POWER PLAYERS: MPEAQ president Richard Parton with Bob Wallis of
Wallis Theatres at the 1997 Australian Movie Convention.
the growth in the number of booths made it difficult for delegates to
see everything. "I suppose it's the price you pay for getting bigger,"
he said. "It's difficult. But we try to accommodate everybody."
Parton added, "We're aware of [the problem] and we'll address it,
and I'm sure we'll come up with the answers."
Parton felt this year's convention was "terrific," noting that the
distributors had been especially cooperative. "UIP made the effort to
get 'The Peacemaker,' which hadn't been shown even to the American
critics," Parton said. "And the effort that Polygram made to get
a print of 'The Borrowers' is providing us the type of film that people
like to see [at the convention]. They want to see a film that's two or
three months away, rather than one that's one or two weeks away."
Parton also said the media response made this year's convention
really stand out. "We proved we can launch the media coverage of a
film from here as Columbia did with 'My Best Friend's Wedding.'
I think we've gotten to the stage where we can get those people—the
executives as well as our own Australian directors—here to support
their films and give them the media release [they deserve]."
And it wasn't only film product being successfully showcased at the
AMC. Said Jim Murray, international business development manager
of Digital Theater Systems, "There is no other conference quite
like the MPEAQ' s Australian Movie Convention. I find it valuable,
not only in developing the local markets but also in the international
markets." Murray noted that business was brisk at the trade show.
"DTS has received substantial orders," Murray said, "and we are
working toward Australian films being produced in the DTS format."
Murray added that, given the excitement and growth in the Australian
industry, "next year's convention can only be bigger and better." HH
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Response No. 441
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