QLD Government to reel in more blockbusters with $71m screen funding

The Queensland Government has today announced a $71 million injection into the state's flourishing screen industry, including $53 million for the Production Attraction Strategy (PAS) which has already brought in such icons as Godzilla, Thor and Baz Luhrmann's Elvis biopic.

The new PAS funding will be rolled out over two years and is aimed at delivering a pipeline of international and domestic productions, including broad economic benefits for homegrown screen creatives and companies.

The latest boost adds to the $100 million invested in the scheme since 2015.

Local studios and expertise will also be bolstered by an additional $4 million allocation for the Screen Finance Fund for domestic film, television and games production, so that companies such as Ludo Studio, Hoodlum and WildBear can continue to export content around the world.

The government will dedicate $10 million for the Post, Digital and Visual Effects (PDV) Incentive, facilitating an increase from 10 to 15 per cent - the most competitive on the eastern seaboard.

A new North Queensland Regional Program has also been created to grow screen opportunities in the state's north, and is set to receive $4 million over four years.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says the new funding will cement Queensland's reputation as a production powerhouse, create jobs and support the state's economic recovery.

"Queensland attracted more international productions than any other State in 2020 and this funding will help us to attract even more," the Premier says.

"From competitive incentives and first-rate studio facilities, to highly skilled local crews and diverse locations it's no surprise that screen production demand is at an all-time high in Queensland.

"Our screen success is not an accident, but the result of long-term planning and strategic investment in the industry, led by Screen Queensland."

Palaszczuk claims Queensland's COVID-19 management and industry successful management has made the state a "safe haven" for local and international productions while others were shut down, keeping cameras rolling on COVID-Safe sets.

"And now we're taking the next step, building on the overwhelming interest and momentum in our screen sector with this new funding," she says.

Treasurer and Minister for Investment Cameron Dick says blockbuster projects have contributed more than $1 billion to the local economy and created more than 12,000 jobs.

"That includes films like Thor: Ragnarok, Aquaman, Dora and the Lost City of Gold, Godzilla vs. Kong, Love and Monsters, Escape from Spiderhead, Thirteen Lives, Ticket To Paradise and Baz Luhrmann's Elvis biopic," Minister Dick says.

"From big blockbusters to local productions, this is about having a pipeline of projects to support a sustainable industry and to create local jobs - from crew right through the supply chain to set designers, construction workers, drivers and hospitality."

Screen Queensland CEO Kylie Munnich thanks the Queensland Government for its continued support, which has put the state's screen facilities, talent and expertise in focus.

"This budget support will allow us to further maximise benefit from the current boom for the widest possible cross-section of the Queensland screen industry," Munnich says.

"It will stimulate crew jobs that flow from big productions like Thirteen Lives, Australian Survivor and Young Rock, increase the volume of Queensland-grown screen projects we can finance, and support development programs we can offer to emerging creative talent.

"Building a sustainable industry, which attracts and retains the best and brightest talent in our state, is core to the Screen Queensland mission."

Munnich is particularly upbeat about the PDV incentive and benefits for the regions. Last year, the Queensland Government committed almost $12 million for two new screen facilities $6.8 million for a new studio facility in Cairns and $5 million for a TV production hub on the Gold Coast.

Productions currently filming in Queensland include Ron Howard's Thirteen Lives, Season Two of the Amazon Original series The Wilds starring Rachel Griffiths, and The Portable Door, a co-production between Brisbane company Story Bridge Films and the renowned The Jim Henson Company.

Upcoming productions for Queensland include Joe Exotic, filming at Screen Queensland Studios from July; Netflix's Jessica Watson biopic, True Spirit; Matchbox Pictures' TV series, Irreverent, filming in South East and Far North Queensland, and the much-anticipated Ticket To Paradise, starring Academy Award winners George Clooney and Julia Roberts.