Good Aussie films a thing of the past

Of course, it isn't fair to compare Australian films to American product, since we are not even playing on the same financial field. We can never compete with Hollywood on its own terms (perhaps with the exception of Baz Luhrmann, whose epic Australia was largely financed by US 20th Century Fox).

But blaming the dominance of American films for the lacklustre Australian field is also somewhat of a cop-out. American films dominate the box office in virtually every country they get a release - it's not as if Australia is an anomaly. Yet other countries, such as France, England and Germany, also have a healthy local industry.

In 2007, Australian films took 4 per cent of the box office; American films took 77.7 per cent; with the remaining 18.3 per cent going to foreign films. Perhaps it is this last category of filmgoers we should be aiming for: audiences that are drawn to foreign films.

It is this share of the audience that made Lantana one of the most successful Australian films and who will support other Australian filmmakers who seek to tell real stories, not simply churn American style movies with an Australian-style budget.

“Australians want to see Australian films. But they only want to see good ones,” says Melanie Coombs, Oscar winning producer of short animation Harvie Krumpet and upcoming feature Mary and Max.

It's time to stop blaming audiences for not watching our films and start giving them more reasons to do so. It's time to go back to the “solid well-crafted plots” and “believable characters” without relinquishing our “distinctive national flavour”.

When Australian filmmakers hit these marks, we produce world-class films that our audiences flock to: Lantana, Muriel's Wedding, Babe, even Wolf Creek. It's been done before, and it can be done again.