12 Gold Coast screen businesses to share in $5m grant from Australian government

Australia's government has announced the 12 Gold Coast screen businesses to share in $5 million in screen production boosting capital grants.

The Capital Grants Program, delivered by Screen Queensland, is providing matched funding of up to $750,000 to these small-to-medium businesses, bolstering capacity on the Gold Coast to meet growing demand for local screen production services.

The recipients include Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin, who will establish new headquarters for their celebrated production company Bazmark, and Queensland-born businesses Cutting Edge and Myriad The Studios will be supported to expand their Gold Coast bases.

The capital grants will support a range of business-boosting investments including fitting out state-of-the-art post-production facilities, acquiring premium equipment for visual effects, editing and underwater filming, and partnering with industry to provide opportunities for emerging screen practitioners.

The 12 Capital Grants Program recipients are: 

Bazmark – production company founded by Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin of Elvis and Faraway Downs

Club Handy – Queensland costume specialists for the screen sector relocating their storage facility to the Gold Coast 

Chrysaor – new creative hub providing access to filming equipment, virtual and post-production services and training for local independent filmmakers

Cutting Edge – Queensland sound and picture post-production company (In our Blood, Apples Never Fall, Good Cop/Bad Cop)

Elysium Studios – new Gold Coast-based venture focused on virtual production, motion capture, animation and visual effects (Beast of War)

Fin Design + Effects – interstate visual effects and design company establishing­ a new facility on the Gold Coast (Elvis, Ticket To Paradise, Thor: Ragnarok) ­

Myriad Studios – 3D scanning services company (Thirteen Lives, Ticket to Paradise, The Portable Door)

Pinnacle Films Studios – production facility servicing local, interstate and international productions (The Portable Door, Mortal Kombat 2, Young Rock)

PROXi VP – virtual production company specialising in high-level action design for blockbuster films and series

SteadiWaves – Steadicam and underwater camera operating services company (Eden, Dangerous Animals)

The Post Lounge – Queensland post-production company now establishing a new Gold Coast facility (Elvis, In limbo, ScaryGirl)

The Rebel Fleet – image and digital workflow and post-production specialists (Boy Swallows Universe)

• 'War Machine' with 'Reacher' star Alan Ritchson begins production in Australia