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Perth Now
3 days ago
- Business
- Perth Now
WA's film and TV production boom is set to continue
The screen production boom looks set to continue in WA, after the State's peak funding body, Screenwest, announced on Monday the nation's richest incentive of its kind for filmmakers. The Cook Government can't afford for its ballyhooed Malaga film studio to become a white elephant, but attracting productions to the West depends less on facilities — there are already well-established options in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria — and more on the bottom line for studios. In a tacit acknowledgement of this fact, Screenwest has boosted its post-production rebate scheme, which had previously been capped at 10 per cent of qualifying expenditure for productions with budgets over $500,000. From July 1, the rebate, which is funded by the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries, will increase to 20 per cent, doubling the payments made to eligible bigger-budget projects for post-production, digital and visual effects carried out in WA. The new rebate is in addition to a 30 per cent post-production Federal Government offset for productions of at least $500,000. Studios spread post-production work around the globe to chase the most attractive incentives, which is why you'll see VicScreen and the South Australian Film Corporation listed in the closing credits of even the biggest Marvel movies. The increased WA incentive should see the Screenwest logo appear more frequently in the credits now, but the funding body's chief executive Rikki Lea Bestall said it's about something more than brand recognition. The second season of The Twelve. Credit: Binge 'This is . . . squarely aimed at encouraging more post-production projects to Western Australia to do business with our skilled practitioners, from editors to sound designers, VFX artists and animators,' Ms Bestall said. 'WA has a steady pipeline of scripted and documentary productions, which are being filmed on-location and in studios across our state, and that is only going to increase next year when the Perth Film Studios open in Malaga. 'But many of these projects take the next phase of their production elsewhere. We want to make sure our State is being considered as a good place to do business for all facets of screen production.' Nicolas Cage in The Surfer. Credit: Madman The WA economy received nearly $65 million worth of screen production expenditure in the past financial year, up from $41.5 million the previous year. Productions brought to WA by existing incentives in the past financial year included Season 2 of The Twelve, starring Sam Neill, and The Surfer, starring Nicolas Cage, which can currently be seen in cinemas.
West Australian
4 days ago
- Business
- West Australian
Screenwest lures film and TV projects to the West with Australia's richest post-production screen incentive
The screen production boom looks set to continue in WA, after the State's peak funding body, Screenwest, announced on Monday the nation's richest incentive of its kind for filmmakers. The Cook Government can't afford for its ballyhooed Malaga film studio to become a white elephant, but attracting productions to the West depends less on facilities — there are already well-established options in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria — and more on the bottom line for studios. In a tacit acknowledgement of this fact, Screenwest has boosted its post-production rebate scheme, which had previously been capped at 10 per cent of qualifying expenditure for productions with budgets over $500,000. From July 1, the rebate, which is funded by the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries, will increase to 20 per cent, doubling the payments made to eligible bigger-budget projects for post-production, digital and visual effects carried out in WA. The new rebate is in addition to a 30 per cent post-production Federal Government offset for productions of at least $500,000. Studios spread post-production work around the globe to chase the most attractive incentives, which is why you'll see VicScreen and the South Australian Film Corporation listed in the closing credits of even the biggest Marvel movies. The increased WA incentive should see the Screenwest logo appear more frequently in the credits now, but the funding body's chief executive Rikki Lea Bestall said it's about something more than brand recognition. 'This is . . . squarely aimed at encouraging more post-production projects to Western Australia to do business with our skilled practitioners, from editors to sound designers, VFX artists and animators,' Ms Bestall said. 'WA has a steady pipeline of scripted and documentary productions, which are being filmed on-location and in studios across our state, and that is only going to increase next year when the Perth Film Studios open in Malaga. 'But many of these projects take the next phase of their production elsewhere. We want to make sure our State is being considered as a good place to do business for all facets of screen production.' The WA economy received nearly $65 million worth of screen production expenditure in the past financial year, up from $41.5 million the previous year. Productions brought to WA by existing incentives in the past financial year included Season 2 of The Twelve, starring Sam Neill, and The Surfer, starring Nicolas Cage, which can currently be seen in cinemas.
West Australian
21-05-2025
- Sport
- West Australian
Speedway stalwart Kevin Theyer wins Mike Stidwell Medal as National Volunteer Week kicks off in Albany
Kevin Theyer, a doyen of Albany Speedway Club, was awarded the prestigious 2024 Mike Stidwell Medal at a presentation to mark the start of National Volunteer Week on Monday night. Theyer joins a long list of outstanding volunteer sports administrators from across the Great Southern recognised by the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries. A former president of the speedway club, Theyer said he was humbled by the honour. 'I'm living the dream, it's all good, but one person doesn't take home an award in a volunteer situation,' he said. 'The whole club has supported me and supported the vision because having a vision and making it work are two different things.' He was instrumental in securing funding for the Atwell Park track and has volunteered for 30 years in various capacities for the club, Speedway WA and Speedway Australia. Theyer stood down as club president in 2022 but is still on the grants committee, preferring to be a follower, rather than a leader but said the club is in good hands. The achievement of which he is most proud was the development of Atwell Park Speedway. 'It's the best track outside Perth and we should bear in mind that the Perth Motorplex is a government facility,' Theyer said. 'Our Albany track was achieved entirely by volunteers and that's a major achievement.' At no point along his speedway journey did Theyer, a former competitor, get frustrated or overwhelmed. 'It has been a joy the whole time,' he said. 'We always had a great relationship with government and the City of Albany have been so supportive. 'We talk to them about everything we do. 'We are a country town and in country towns the sports clubs hold everything together. 'Mike Stidwell was a big figure in this community and was passionate about his job, so it has been an honour to be awarded the medal in his name.' Other nominees for the Mike Stidwell Medal were Rebecca Gleeson (Albany Little Athletics), Silke Fischer Malpass (Albany Swimming Club), Samantha Stevens (Friends of the Stidwell Bridle Trail), Kelly Holzknecht (Katanning Netball Association), Paul O'Donnell (Albany Mountain Bike Club), Sam Keenan (Denmark-Walpole Football Club), Natalie Jarvis (Albany Roller Derby Club) and Nicola Harris (Great Southern Soccer Association). In the evening's other major presentation, Rosemary Wolter received the 2025 service to sport award in recognition of her dedication and longstanding contribution to netball. She has been the Albany Netball Association's development officer for the last decade but her involvement in the sport in the Great Southern started 25 years ago. 'We moved to Denmark 25 years ago and I vowed I wasn't going to get involved because I had been heavily involved in sport where I lived previously,' she said. 'But within 12 months I was back in it again,' she said. As well as netball, she was also a driving force behind the development of eight tennis courts in Denmark. The fifth recipient of the award, she said she was overwhelmed and thanked her association's executive committee for 'making my role a pleasure'. State volunteering minister Hannah Beazley thanked all the hardworking volunteers. 'Volunteers are the heart and soul of our regional communities, their contributions are truly inspiring,' she said. Monday night's event was held at the Albany Entertainment Centre.
