Australian Cinema Circa 2006

The Australian film industry reached new heights last year off the back of a number of box office hits and critically successful films. After a dearth of more than a decade films such as Little Fish, The Proposition, Wolf Creek and Look Both Ways revitalised the fickle industry. The question concerning 2006's crop of films isn't about equalling last year's effort, but about bettering it.

Naturally, after a having had a winning year, expectation of a repeat for 2006 is high. It is this anticipation that may leave producers anxious, causing them to be overly guarded.

"If we devote resources to the development process and if we are thoughtful about what films we push through that financing process, we can absolutely make films that stand very tall and are very successful," Chief Executive of Australian Film Commission (AFC) Kim Dalton told AAP.

With no established method that guarantees success and the uncertainty of the publics' likes and dislikes, filmmakers generally accept that success in the Australian industry is cyclical

Wolf Creek bad-guy John Jarratt told AAP: "I suppose if we knew something that was going to be great, we would make it every day.

"We just seemed to have nailed it in the last year or two and then probably three or four years down the track we will ask what is happening again. It fluctuates," he said.

AFC's Dalton acknowledged this but added, "We should be very cautious about using that as an excuse for not getting our films right.

"We always have to strive to do better and certainly strive to develop films and produce films that first and foremost speak to our local audience.

"If we can do that, the audience will still keep coming here and we will make films that are interesting to the rest of the world."

This year there are over fifty films already at some level of production. Here are a few to look out for:

Opal Dream – stars internationally acclaimed and AFI Award winning actors Vince Colosimo (Lantana, Chopper) and Jacqueline McKenzie (Romper Stomper, 4400). This Australian and UK co-production, has been selected to open the Kinderfilmfest at the 56th Berlin International Film Festival in February, this will be the film's international premiere.

Directed by Academy Award Nominee Peter Cattaneo (The Full Monty), Opal Dream is a funny, uplifting and touching story of the bizarre and inexplicable disappearance of Pobby and Dingan, nine year old Kellyanne's imaginary friends, and the impact this has on her family and the whole opal mining town. The story is told through the eyes of Kellyanne's eleven year old brother Ashmol.

Jindabyne – has an impressive cast lead by renowned Irish actor Gabriel Byrne. Debora-Lee Furness, John Howard, Max Cullen, Laura Linney, Leah Purcell and Charles 'Bud' Tingwell round out the line-up.

Beatrix Christian based her screenplay upon a Raymond Carver short story, So Much Water so Close to Home. Directed by Ray Lawrence (Lantana), the film boasts one of Australia's biggest budgets in recent years. This taut psychological drama tells the story of a group of friends on a fishing trip, which discovers the body of a murdered Aboriginal girl in the river outside Jindabyne. Instead of returning immediately to the town they continue fishing. They report their finding three days later resulting in a scandal that tears through their relationships and the town.

Music for the film is written by singer/songwriter Paul Kelly. Interestingly, one of his well known songs entitled, 'Everything's Turning to White' was inspired by the same Raymond Carver short story.

48 Shades – this coming-of-age teen flick stars Richard Wilson, Emma Lung, Michael Booth, Basia A'hern and Robin McLeavy. It is about 16 year old Dan who chooses to move in with his 22 year old bass playing Aunt, Jaq, and her roommate, Naomi, instead of going with his parents for a year in Geneva. He faces his final year in high school, survival in an adult world and falling in love for the first time.

The film is based upon 48 Shades of Brown, by multi-award winning Queensland writer Nick Earl. 48 Shades of Brown has been published internationally and won 1998's prestigious Children's Book of the Year: Older Readers Award from the Children's Book Council of Australia.

The screenplay for 48 Shades was written and directed by Daniel Lapaine, whose film acting credits include roles in Muriel's Wedding, Brokedown Palace and Helen of Troy as Hector.

Coincidently, 48 Shades of Brown was adapted for the stage by Queensland-born award-winning playwright Philip Dean and had a successful season at the Brisbane Arts Theatre in 2004.

Ten Canoes – tragi-comedy/drama. Jamie Gulpilil (son of David Gulpilil) stars in this Australian Indigenous film. Great lengths have been taken to produce a set for the Ganalbingu mythical past, and to portray life as accurately as possible in northeast Arnhem Land (Northern Territory) centuries before the influence of western culture. Ten Canoes is a cautionary tale of love, lust and revenge gone wrong that, incidental to its central story line, also explores something of the "old ways".

Written/Directed/Produced by Rolf de Heer, the film has a budget of just $A2.2 million. Rolf de Heer has written and directed many highly acclaimed award-winning feature films such as, The Tracker with David Gulpilil and Gary Sweet, Bad Boy Bubby, The Old Man Who Read Love Stories, and Alexandra's Project.

Extraordinarily, this is the first feature film to be shot entirely in Aboriginal language (predominantly Ganalbingu) and local Indigenous people have been involved in most of levels of production. It features English storytelling work by David Gulpilil and is subtitled in Ganalbingu language.

This film has a uniquely remarkable production background and, above all, is my most eagerly awaited release of the year.

A scene of traditional Aboriginal life on a platform in the swamps of Arnhem Land, NT, from the remarkable film Ten Canoes due for release this year. (vertigoproductions.com.au)

Jamie Gulpilil sits atop a platform over swampland in Arnhem Land, NT, in a scene from the Ten Canoes. (vertigoproductions.com.au)