Independent Oz cinema - a pure thing

A new initiative dedicated to supporting Australian independent films has garnered the backing and considerable weight of Panavision, Kodak, Engine and SAE Institute.

The brainchild of maverick independent filmmaker Jason Kent, Pure Independent Pictures and partners believe independent filmmaking can provide filmmakers with greater creative freedom. Commercial viability and connecting with audiences is also fundamental to the independent process.

Kent said independent filmmaking was the lifeblood of any film industry.

“We want to make it easier for independents to compete with the bigger budget foreign and government films,” he said. “Independent filmmaking liberates filmmakers to challenge cultural norms and established filmmaking practices or orthodoxy. Working outside the bureaucracy provides greater creative freedom to filmmakers who wish to push the boundaries and break free of entrenched clichés and formulas.”

The mission, according to the Pure Independent Pictures website is, “to build an exclusive distribution platform for Australian Independent Films. This means promoting quality independent films as well as the many benefits of independent filmmaking.”

Three of the most successful Australian films of all time are independents, being Crocodile Dundee, Mad Max and The Story of the Kelly Gang - the world’s very first feature film.

At the birth of cinema, Australia was a prolific filmmaking nation thanks to the efforts of independent filmmakers. This ended when the government banned production of all bushranger films, the most successful genre at the time, and imposed a strict regime of film censorship.

Pure Independent Pictures hopes to change attitudes to independent filmmaking with a vision to build the foundations of an entirely independent Australian film industry.

“Australia has the wealth and talent to build a thriving independent film sector. There’s simply no excuse for Australia not to have a self-sufficient commercial film industry,” Kent said.

Pure Independent Pictures will hold an official launch later in the year and keep details updated on its Facebook page.