SCREENWEST

www.screenwest.com.au

"Private finance (whether grant, equity investment or distribution finance) is treasured by us and we seek to encourage it at all times. Given our current tax context, investment in film and television productions is not competitive with other products in the marketplace, so we seek to encourage private investment recoupment substantially in precedence to our own finance.

We are determined to encourage private finance back into our industry, whether grants from foundations or individuals or investment, where investors are prepared to risk any part of their investment.

Surfing the Menu by Mago Films is an example of a documentary production that has had a number of individual/company investors. Also, funding was provided by way of grants from a range of tourism organisations/agencies. Preferential recoupment was given to private equity investors, in this case.

Last Train to Freo: $1.2 million budget, ScreenWest finance $750K. We provided our funding by way of a Distribution Guarantee, the investor then invested the full $1.2 m amount, received tax deduction and the Distribution Guarantee was paid in the recoupment schedule as Gross Proceeds. The recoupment of that DG was also split with the investor in a significant level of priority or with a weighted pro rata recoupment, with a greater % to the investor vs recouping DG at other times etc.

Other than short films or early career developmental productions, ScreenWest does not co-finance productions, which do not have market place attachment in the form of presales or guarantees:

• In assessing which in projects we will invest, we take into account a whole range of key factors which include Australian broadcaster or not, nature and size of market attachments, co-production and/or other market partnership relationships which will develop for the company via the project, private investment attached (we seek to encourage), nature of the project in developing the company's national and international track record and other factors about how the project enhances the production company's viability/sustainability and decreased reliance on government finance overall. Of course we also consider the value of the project in relation to other key creatives and Heads of Department etc.
• Priority will be given to projects with an Australian broadcaster attached, however we will consider other projects on above criteria.
• We consider the reasons why an Australian free-to-air broadcaster is not attached and the likelihood that the program will ultimately have a post-sale to an Australian subscription television channel and therefore be seen by audiences, in any event.

Direct funding through ScreenWest will usually not be considered for the following:

• Productions primarily intended for corporate, educational, training or promotional purposes;
• Productions for non-commercial outlets, or which do not have national and/or international market attachment.

Tania Chambers, Chief Executive , ScreenWest