2022 Wrap Up
In 2022 Western Australia faced the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting production levels and employment opportunities for our practitioners. Despite its challenges, there is much to celebrate as the WA State Government continues its strong commitment to the local sector, including the launch of the WA Production Attraction Incentive and Digital Games Fund.
Locally-produced productions continue to shine on the national and international stage – 2022 has seen several incredible homegrown screen stories reach audiences around the world, with WA crew and creatives winning key industry awards.
Our industry is resilient, creative and well-placed to meet growth opportunities as the pipeline of production begins to pick up; I look forward to 2023, which is set to be an ambitious and exciting year for the WA screen sector.
– Rikki Lea Bestall, Screenwest CEO.
2022 HIGHLIGHTS
Below are some of the announcements, productions and releases that occurred over the last 12 months:
- The WA State Government is continuing their commitment to diversifying the economy through screen industry investments, with an additional $1M boost to local production, which will be spread across Screenwest’s existing Scripted and Documentary Production Funds for the remainder of the 2022-23 financial year.
- Screenwest and the WA State Government announced the launch of the WA Production Attraction Incentive, designed to attract world-class productions to Western Australia, as well as a $2 million boost for Western Australia’s digital games and interactive industry, supporting content development, capability development and strategic industry building opportunities.
- Screenwest and the WA State Government announced the development of the WA Screen Industry Strategy, which is set to provide a 10-year vision for development of the screen sector.
- The WA State Government announced that a new location for the State’s world class film and TV studio has been identified in Malaga, with the first production at the facility to be welcomed in 2025.
- Three WA productions premiered at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival in September. Blueback, Sweet As and Mystery Road: Origin were three of only five Australian productions selected for the festival.
- Blueback, directed by Robert Connolly, followed its TIFF world premiere with a run at Perth Festival, ahead of its New Year’s Day cinema release.
2022 releases: Shipwreck Hunters Australia, Mystery Road: Origin, How to Please a Woman and Aussie Gold Hunters Season 7
- Jub Clerc’s debut feature, Sweet As, screened at CinefestOZ following its premieres at Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) and TIFF, where it was awarded the Blackmagic Design Australian Innovation Award and NETPAC Award, respectively.
- Mystery Road: Origin premiered on ABC, officially becoming the most watched drama launch on iview ever.
- WA feature Kid Snow filmed across the Goldfields-Esperance region and Perth, marking the first feature film to kick off production in the state since our border opened.
- Locally filmed features How To Please A Woman and Avarice hit cinema screens.
- US feature film Where All Light Tends to Go, starring Billy Bob Thornton, Robin Wright and Hopper Penn, completed post-production in Western Australia, with a raft of editorial, sound, musicians, VFX and post-production crew joining an already-strong WA presence including director Ben Young, producer Jamie Hilton, Director of Photography Michael McDermott and actor Emma Booth.
- Shipwreck Hunters Australia premiered worldwide on Disney+. Filmed along the Pilbara, Kimberley, Gascoyne, Mid West and Fremantle coastlines, the series is one of the first Australian Original documentary series launched by the platform.
- Aussie Gold Hunters celebrated 100 episodes, with season 7 premiering on Discovery – an incredible milestone for WA production company Electric Pictures, which also celebrated 30 years of production in 2022. Season 8 kicked off production earlier this year.
- Six-part series Our Law, which explores the relationship between police and First Nations people, screened at CinefestOZ ahead of its upcoming 5 January premiere on NITV.
- Several additional documentaries and documentary series went into production or premiered this year, including: Ningaloo Nyinggulu, Every Family has a Secret Series 3, Children’s Hospital, The Bizarre Pet Vets, Black Cockatoo Crisis, Facing Monsters, Stage Changers, Me and My Tourette’s, Struggling Songlines, Keeping Hope, Walking Man and A Friend in Death.
Revelation International Film Festival’s 25th year opening night, Karla Hart and Mark Coles Smith speaking at CinefestOZ Broome’s Industry Program, Samantha Marlowe and Frances Elliott winning two AWGIE Awards for documentary Girl Like You
- WA productions and practitioners scored 24 nominations at the 2022 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards, with WA filmmakers securing wins at key national industry awards including the SPA Awards, AWG’s AWGIE Awards, ASE’s Ellie Awards and the ASSG Awards.
- WA Entertainment Lawyer, Executive Producer and major contributor to the Australian screen industry, Joan Peters, was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for her service to the performing arts, particularly to film.
- Revelation International Film Festival celebrated its silver jubilee in 2022, with its 25th festival program delivering an eclectic lineup of Australian and international films.
- CinefestOZ Broome launched its inaugural program, celebrating First Nations stories and talent across four days in WA’s Kimberley region.
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