Page 6 - 2015-06

AUSTRALIAN FILMS from the NFSA

David Donaldson

Back in December 2013, Reel Deals Screen Lending: just what the pub-
carried a three page article setting lic seemed to have been asking.
out the various ways by which Aus- With all that effort, though, it now
tralian films could be obtained from seems that the Online Shop at NFSA
the National Film and Sound Ar- has not made enough impression.
chive. There would be both lending Perhaps NFSA could not re-establish
and sales in future, but to be based contact with so many borrowers
on DVD rather than film prints. from what was once a major lending
While the pathways might seem service in celluloid. Perhaps the
confusing, there would be a wealth film-interested public just did not
of Australian material for both home catch on to NFSA’s newsletters or
users and screening groups, includ- discover the shop on the website —
ing schools. rather obscurely halfway down un-
der Visit.
In the two-and-a-half years since, a
lot has been achieved. Currently at Perhaps film screening groups be-
the Online Shop there are 565 Aus- came happy to buy a local-release
tralian feature films available! That DVDs and pay a license fee, rather
amazing number (try to find them than connect into a supplier rela-
in Woolworths!) includes both NF- tionship. In just that period, too,
SA’s own digitising and a lot of films the streaming market in digital dis-
sought out in the commercial mar- tribution has developed enormous-
ket. Also 311 DVDs from the Film ly. Even DVD is now flattening out
Australia Collection, together with as a medium — just look at the Sale
89 other Australian documentaries. pages of the commercial distribu-
So the Shop offers, for home users, tors.
a lot of Australian material. Further,
the postage costs have been re- On 11 May 2016, the CEO of Nation-
duced to just $4 for sales up to al Film and Sound Archive wrote to
$100, which would cover four fea- the people who had contributed to
ture films. the Strategic Plan 2015-2018. The
message, which is not at this time
The international DVD sales, which on the website, was that the budget
many people felt to be irrelevant, is still being reduced each year,
have been whittled down to just ten under the label of Efficiency Divi-
features, now at clearance prices — dend. In personnel overall, 19 peo-
Red River is one. Quite a lot of older ple have taken voluntary
Australian features have been given redundancy, including some Access
a digital transfer (and some a de- people. Another three have had
gree of restoration) for release jobs eliminated.
through the Shop and loan through
6 REEL DEALS June 2016