Victoria is set to become a global powerhouse for screen with the launch of VICSCREEN, a $191.5 million, four-year screen strategy, that includes an expanded Victorian Screen Incentive to attract more international projects to the state.

Minister for Creative Industries Danny Pearson said VICSCREEN aims to put Victoria on the world stage, building on the $46 million super stage currently under construction at Docklands Studios Melbourne and the boom in screen production in the state.

“We have an enormous pool of talent here in Victoria and this strategy will build on our strengths and position the industry for growth for decades to come.”

Danny Pearson, Minister for Creative Industries

Victoria is a hive of production activity with screen productions shooting under COVIDSafe protocols across the state. These include Universal Television’s La Brea, and NBCUniversal and Tony Ayres Productions’ Fires, while Werner Film Productions’ Surviving Summer for Netflix and Liam Neeson thriller Blacklight wrapped in Melbourne recently.

International productions remain a focus through the expansion of the Victorian Screen Incentive, which provides a grant of up to 10 per cent on qualifying production expenditure in Victoria. 

The strategy aims to grow the sector holistically, building on successful recent international partnerships such as Robert Connolly’s The Dry starring Eric Bana, which was produced by Made-Up Stories, the company co-founded by Los Angeles-based Australian Bruna Papandrea, and the Netflix series Clickbait from Melbourne’s Tony Ayres Productions.

At the launch of VICSCREEN, Ayres said Hollywood figures drawn to Melbourne were finding it an appealing place to set up shop more permanently. Emmy-nominated director Kate Dennis (The Handmaid’s Tale) agrees.

“Melbourne is a city with soul. And when you’re working 16 hours a day on a show, that means something,” said Dennis. “It’s a creatively nourishing place to work, and I’m hoping to entice some of my favourite UK and US producers here to experience it.”

Visit film.vic.gov.au to learn more about VICSCREEN.

To talk to Film Victoria about making your next project in Melbourne, contact:
Joe Brinkmann
Manager – Production Attraction & Support [email protected]

Featured Image Credit: Minister for Creative Industries Danny Pearson and Film Victoria CEO with (L-R) Kate Dennis, Daina Reid, Sullivan Stapleton, Robert Connolly, Tony Ayres, Eric Bana and Andrea Denholm. Photo Daniel Mahon.

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