To support contemporary art we fund art galleries; in theatre we build new stages. Why isn’t the same approach taken with Australian cinema? This talk will look at how other countries' film agencies support alternative local film cultures, by funding regional film clubs, a wide array of festivals, online cinematheques and alternative arthouse theatres, to provide an inspiring vision of what could film culture in Australia could look like with the right support.

Lauren Carroll Harris is a writer, researcher and artist completing a PhD on Australian cinema and digital distribution at UNSW. She is the acting assistant editor of RealTime, the author of Not at a Cinema Near You: Australia's Film Distribution Problem (Platform Papers, 2013) and she writes film and television columns at The Guardian Australia and Kill Your Darlings magazine.