The Australian Film Development Corporation was an organisation created and funded by the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...

in the 1970s, intended to allow

filmmakers Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screenwritin ...

in the

Australian film industry The cinema of Australia began with the 1906 production of ''The Story of the Kelly Gang'', arguably the world's first feature film. Since then, Australian crews have produced many films, a number of which have received international recogni ...

to create

movie A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

s for everyone to see. In 1975 it was replaced with

Australian Film Commission The Australian Film Commission (AFC) was an Australian government agency was founded in 1975 with a mandate to promote the creation and distribution of films in Australia as well as to preserve the country's film history. It also had a product ...

History

Creation of the Corporation

The AFDC was created so that Australians could create and distribute high-quality Australian films, for everyone to see. In 1970,

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

John Gorton Sir John Grey Gorton (9 September 1911 – 19 May 2002) was an Australian politician, farmer and airman who served as the 19th Prime Minister of Australia, prime minister of Australia from 1968 to 1971. He held office as the leader of the leade ...

asked five people to become a part of the AFDC. Those people were John Darling, Ronald S. Elliott, Talbot S. Duckmanton, Denys E. Brown, and Barry Jones. John Darling IV was the chairman of Darling & Co., as well as a member of the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

Council. Ronald S. Elliott was a General Manager for the Commonwealth Development Bank. T. S. Duckmanton the General Manager of the

Australian Broadcasting Commission The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is a ...

. D. E. Brown was the Producer-in-Chief for the Film Division of the Australian News and Information Bureau, as well as a member of the Australian National Film Board. Barry Jones was a lecturer in history, a member of the

Australian Council for the Arts Creative Australia, formerly known as the Australia Council for the Arts and the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announc ...

, and a governor of the

Australian Film Institute The Australian Film Institute (AFI) was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Cinema of Australia, Australian film indu ...

.Gorton, John. "Australian Film Development Corporation". No. 84, The Australian Government, 1970 The AFDC was brought to the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Australian Senate, Senate. Its composition and powers are set out in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. ...

in March 1970. The House of Representatives did not hesitate to pass the Corp, which had bipartisan support. Tom Stacey was the manager of the corporation.David Stratton, ''The Last New Wave: The Australian Film Revival'', Angus & Robertson, 1980 p14

AFDC Replacement: Australian Film Commission

In 1975, the Australian Film Development was replaced by the Australian Film Commission. This was partly due to the fact that the Australian film industry is a fast-paced environment, which endures change quite often. Another reason was that the Australian Film Commission made a point of focusing on cultural and artistic excellence, rather than economic success. With the change to the Australian Film Commission, directors were given more funding in order to create better quality films for the public.

Films funded

Among the films in which the AFDC invested were:“Ozmovies - Australian Film and Television Database.” Ozmovies, www.ozmovies.com.au/ *'' Devlin'' (1971) *''

Stockade A stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls, made of logs placed side by side vertically, with the tops sharpened as a defensive wall. Etymology ''Stockade'' is derived from the French word ''estocade''. The French word was derived f ...

'' (1971) *''Stork'' (1971) *''Marco Polo Jnr'' *''Spyforce'' *''

Private Collection A private collection is a privately owned collection of works (usually artworks) or valuable items. In a museum or art gallery context, the term signifies that a certain work is not owned by that institution, but is on loan from an individual ...

'' (1972) *''

Sunstruck ''Sunstruck'', also known by the alternative title of ''Education of Stanley Evans'', is a 1972 British–Australian comedy film directed by James Gilbert (producer), James Gilbert and starring Harry Secombe, Maggie Fitzgibbon and John Meillon ...

'' (1972) *'' The Adventures of Barry McKenzie'' (1972) *'' Night of Fear'' (1972) *''Libido'' *'' A City's Child'' *''Boney'' *''Seven Little Australians'' (1973) *''Homicide'' (1973) *'' Alvin Purple'' (1973) *'' Avengers of the Reef'' (1973) *'' Naturally Free'' (1974) *'' Promised Woman'' (1974) *''Petersen'' (1974) *''Inn of the Damned'' (1974) *''

Stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

'' (1974) *'' The Cars That Ate Paris'' (1974) *'' The True Story of Eskimo Nell'' (1975) *'' The Man from Hong Kong'' (1975) *'' The Great Macarthy'' (1975) *''The Devil's Playground'' *''The Removalists''

References

{{reflist

External links

Australian Film Development Corporation
at

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

Film production companies of Australia