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Creatives in Victoria’s film, television, digital games and online content industries will soon benefit from a new $40 million program launched today by Film Victoria which has today unveiled its new brand identity - transforming to VicScreen.
Announced by the state’s Minister for Creative Industries Danny Pearson, the ‘Video Production Fund’ will invest in Victorian-led productions and content for local and international audiences.
It is expected to inject $130.5 million into the state’s economy each year and create the equivalent of 3,700 full time jobs over four years.
“We’re backing Victorian-led productions that will support thousands of creative jobs and drive Victoria’s continued development as a global screen powerhouse,” Minister Pearson said.
In addition, the state government announced a new $2.06 million ‘Specialist Placement Program’ to address skill gaps across the screen ecosystem and grow the local talent pool to fill in-demand roles including production accountants, location managers, script editors, post-production supervisors and games marketers.
“Our screen production pipeline is increasing at a rapid pace and we are investing in the future of our local talent pool across film, television, digital games, animation and visual effects,” Pearson said.
Speaking about the rebrand, VicScreen CEO Caroline Pitcher said the new name better represents the entire scope of the screen industry in Victoria which comprises not just film, but video games and online content too.
“Today Film Victoria builds on its rich legacy of screen industry support and evolves into VicScreen, better representing the entire screen ecosystem and promoting Victoria as a world-leading centre for screen,” Pitcher said.
“Victoria is an epicenter for games development in our region, in fact our agency has invested in digital games for more than 25 years. I’m excited that our name now fully represents such important sectors of our industry.”
The change was welcomed by Liam Esler, managing director of games development company Summerfall Studios, which is behind the ongoing creation of ‘Chorus: An Adventure Musical’.
“Victoria has long been the home to a vast majority of Australia's game developers, who each contribute to making our state one of the best and most vibrant places to make games in the world.
“The transition to VicScreen is an exciting step for an organisation that has always been a key champion of digital games in Australia, and recognises the increasingly important role games play in the screen industry."
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