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Tag: Screen Australia

  • Oscars: Australia Picks ‘The Wolves Always Come at Night’ as International Feature Submission

    Australia has selected Gabrielle Brady’s Mongolian-language documentary The Wolves Always Come at Night as its submission for the best international feature category at the 2026 Academy Awards. Brady’s film will also run for consideration in the best documentary feature category.

    Blending documentary and fiction, the film tells the story of Mongolian herders Davaasuren Dagvasuren and Otgonzaya Dashzeveg who make the difficult decision to leave their homelands after the arrival of a powerful and destructive sandstorm, a situation made worse by the climate crisis.

    The Wolves Always Come premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival in the Platform Prize program, although there was drama at the festival after Davaasuren and Otgonzaya were denied visitor visas by the Canadian government. The film also screened in competition at the London Film Festival in 2024 and screened at Zurich Film Festival, IDFA, San Francisco International Film Festival, True/False and Sydney Film Festival.

    The Wolves Always Come at Night is the world’s first co-production between Germany, Australia and Mongolia. Executive producers include Oscar-winner Dan Cogan, Deanne Weir, Stefanie Plattner, Alexander Wadouh, and Emma Hindley. The film received principal production investment from Screen Australia and significant private investment from Weir Anderson Films, alongside Storming Donkey Productions. The Wolves Always Come at Night was also financed with support from BBC Storyville, SWR Arte, and Madman Films. Cinephil is repping for worldwide sales.

    Australia’s Oscar submissions are chosen by a committee of industry professionals selected by Screen Australia.

    Despite English being the de facto national language of Australia, the country has been consistently submitting films into the best international feature film (formerly the best foreign language film) category at the Oscars since 1996. As of 2025, sixteen Australian films have been submitted including Rolf de Heer and Peter Djigirr’s Yolngu Matha and Gunwinggu language film Ten Canoes (2006); Warwick Thornton’s Warlpiri language film Samson and Delilah (2009) which was shortlisted; Kim Mordaunt’s Lao language film The Rocket (2013); and Bentley Dean and Martin Butler’s Nauvhal language film Tanna (2016), which was awarded an official nomination.

    Abid Rahman

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  • Australia Reports Second Highest Expenditure Ever On Scripted Drama, While Spend On Australian Features Declines By 54% 

    Australia Reports Second Highest Expenditure Ever On Scripted Drama, While Spend On Australian Features Declines By 54% 

    Production expenditure on scripted screen production in Australia in 2022/23 was the second highest on record at $1.49BN (A$2.34BN) across 213 titles, according to Screen Australia’s annual drama report, but spend on Australian theatrical features declined by 54% from last year. 

    Spend on scripted screen production was down 4% on last year’s record expenditure but was still significantly above the five-year average, the report found. Australian titles made up $718M (A$1.13BN) of that expenditure with decreases in spending by Australian subscription TV and SVOD services. 

    However Free-to-Air (FTA) TV and Broadcaster Video-On-Demand (BVOD) providers helped offset those declines with spend on titles such as Total Control Series 3, RFDS Series 2 and While The Men Are Away.

    Meanwhile, Australian theatrical features saw total expenditure of $231M (A$363M) in 2022/23, down 54% compared to the previous year and 17% below the five-year average. Australian features produced during this period include Warwick Thornton’s The New Boy, Ivan Sen’s Limbo and Kitty Green’s The Royal Hotel.

    Screen Australia said the decline “can be attributed to having fewer big-budget theatrical features, with only one big-budget title in 2022/23”. In contrast, the previous year’s record high spending was driven by big-budget features such as Furiosa, Foe and Better Man.

    The report also found that Australia attracted record expenditure on inbound production in 2022/23, which reached $776M (A$1.22BN), up from $575M (A$904M) the previous year, due to titles such as The Fall Guy and The Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes shooting in Australia. 

    Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason said: “Big-budget foreign productions like The Fall Guy and The Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes have incredible flow-on benefits for local businesses, communities and the broader economy, and allow local cast and crew to acquire experience and new skills. Further, the international demand for our PDV expertise reflects the confidence of global companies in our talent and technology.”

    New South Wales set a new record for the third year running, with over $826M (A$1.3BN) in expenditure in 2022/23, accounting for 56% of the national total. Queensland also set a new record, with total expenditure of $369M (A$581M), 23% above last year. 

    Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia all saw declines with spend falling 45%, 52% and 9% respectively. Combined spend in the Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory and Tasmania declined to $2.5M (A$4M) in 2022/23.

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