Staying power. The enduring footprint of Australian film

This report reflects on the shaping of Australia’s national identity through its produced film content. Its ability to tell our stories through image and sound, infused with cultural nuances, has a powerful impact on how Australians see themselves, how they see others and how others see Australians. Feature films lead this charge. They start with a buzz amplified by the big screen before traversing every small screen possible and remaining accessible in different ways, in many corners of the world, for many years after release. When our very vernacular changes we know they make a difference. In 2011, Screen Australia published Beyond the Box Office: Understanding Audiences in a Multiscreen World. 1 This was followed in early 2012 with What to Watch? Audience Motivation in a Multi-screen World, This discussion paper analysed the patterns of screen media consumption in Australia over a five-year period, helping to map shifts in what people are watching and how they are watching it. 2 Together they reveal valuable insights into how audiences are engaging with professionally made and distributed screen stories amid collapsing release windows, converging distribution platforms and fragmenting devices. a companion piece that not only looked at the size and shape of audiences but also questioned why people watch what they watch and to what extent their motivations change for different content on different platforms over time