Screen Australia has announced it is turning over its share in the profits of 1200 films, documentaries and television series to the producers. The titles include Australian favourites The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Strictly Ballroom and Muriel's Wedding.
The federal government funding body is hoping a greater financial incentive will breathe new life into the old titles, encouraging producers to pursue re-releases and even stage shows.
It's a move independent producer Sue Milliken told SBS Movies she and other film-makers lobbied for.
"There is an increasing movement to take less of a financial interest in Australian films by the government agencies and put more money into support," Sue Milliken said.
The films pre-date Screen Australia which was established in 2008 - merging the Australian Film Commission, the Film Finance Corporation and Film Australia into one body.
The returns are minimal, but that money is taken away from the producer and the producers are generally all independent.
New projects funded by Screen Australia are contracted with a seven-year rights period before its share of returns are handed back to producers.
When Screen Australia formed, there was a decision made to apply a seven-year period to projects the body inherited before the rights would be handed back to producers.
“Now these films, almost all of them have ended their commercial life. So it’s not as though this is a bonanza. It’s not. It simply means that if you make a few thousand dollars a year return from one of the successful films, you’ll make another 500 or something,” Milliken said.
“Of the 1200 titles that the Film Finance company invested in over about 10 years, only 11 went into profit. So the returns are minimal, but that money is taken away from the producer and the producers are generally all independent,” Milliken said.
Even Milliken, an established Australian producer, believes the decision won't greatly impact her.
“No it won’t, because my back catalogue is past its big earning capacity… I think I’ve got three titles which this will affect – Sirens, Black Robe and My Brother Jack, the mini-series,” Milliken said.
“In all cases I’ll get a little more money back, but other than that nothing will change – for me.”
Today's announcement cuts the planned seven-year period by six months, with the change formerly due to come into place January 1 2016.
“It’s a recognition that we’re not actually in the business of earning money from rights, we’re in the business of supporting an industry," Screen Australia's Richard Harris told SBS Movies.
“And that sort of decision making is also being reflected in the decisions of the state agencies like Film Victoria and the South Australian Film Corporation, who are actually reverting rights quicker, but actually also providing money as grants.”
While we're unlikely to see a Sirens stage show anytime soon Harris says he knows of a number of films whose producers are "flirting with the idea".
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