Mercury CX, formerly Media Resource Centre (MRC), is a not-for-profit film and television training organisation based in the

Lion Arts Centre The Lion Arts Centre, also known as Fowler's Lion Factory and Fowlers Building, with the main music venue within known as the Lion Arts Factory (formerly Fowler's Live), is a multi-purpose arts centre, including studios, galleries, music and per ...

on the corner of

Morphett Street Morphett Street is a main street in the west of the city centre of Adelaide, South Australia, parallel to King William Street and numbered from north to south. At its northern end it is part of the West End of Adelaide, a thriving cultural and ...

and

North Terrace, Adelaide North Terrace is one of the four terraces that bound the central business and residential district of Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It runs east–west, along the northern edge of "the square mile". The western end cont ...

, South Australia, which aims to give screening opportunities to emerging South Australian film, video and digital media artists. It also manages the not-for-profit Mercury Cinema, which shows films by subscription to the Adelaide Cinémathèque film society, screening classic or notable films and hosts film festivals and other events. Mercury CX hosts the Screenmakers Conference and the South Australian Screen Awards.

History

The Media Resource Centre was created in 1974 and is one of the earliest members of the Screen Development Australia (SDA) national network. It moved from its first location at 1 Union Street to a larger location in

Pirie Street Pirie Street is a road on the east side of the Adelaide city centre, South Australia. It runs east–west, between East Terrace and King William Street. After crossing King William Street, it continues as Waymouth Street. It forms the souther ...

in the 1980s, where it provided a venue to screen local filmmakers' works as well as other independent, community or hard-to-find international films; it also provided equipment space for filmmakers to work on their projects and network with others. In 1992 the MRC moved to the purpose-built

, located in a refurbished factory in the West End of Adelaide and housing numerous arts organisations, including galleries and theatres. It merged with Commedia, a community media organisation, at the same time. The Mercury and Iris cinemas were created next door and opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1992. In 2019 the MRC director was Gail Kovatseff. During the

COVID-19 pandemic in South Australia The COVID-19 pandemic in South Australia is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). Timeline 2020 On 11 March, the SA state government announce ...

, the cinema was forced to close for a while from March 2020. During this time, renovations were undertaken, with the

foyer A lobby is a room in a building used for entry from the outside. Sometimes referred to as a foyer, reception area or an entrance hall, it is often a large room or complex of rooms (in a theatre, opera house, concert hall, showroom, cinema, etc. ...

transformed into a lounge bar. The organisation was rebranded Mercury CX and a new website launched. The organisation has struggled to remain solvent, and has relied heavily on

public funding A subsidy or government incentive is a form of financial aid or support extended to an economic sector (business, or individual) generally with the aim of promoting economic and social policy. Although commonly extended from the government, the ter ...

by the state government. In 2022 the

South Australian Government The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government, SA Government or more formally, His Majesty’s Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of South Australia. It is modelled o ...

refused a request for $700,000 to $1.2 million in annual funding, but months later offered $50,000 to help the organisation find a way to keep afloat. A new board started its term on 1 December, led by former South Australian Film Corporation chair Peter Hanlon and producer Kirsty Stark, and including producers Lisa Scott of Highview Productions and

Rebecca Summerton Closer Productions is a film and television production company founded by filmmakers Sophie Hyde and Bryan Mason in Adelaide, South Australia, in January 2004. It is known for award-winning feature films such as ''52 Tuesdays'' (2013) and ''An ...

of Closer Productions.

Governance and funding

Mercury CX is a membership-based

association Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

, which holds

charitable status A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ch ...

. It has a constitution and a board of directors to oversee its management. Since May 2019 and the chair of the board is Gena Ashwell, while the CEO is Karena Slaninka. The organisation was in the past funded by

Screen Australia Screen Australia is the Australian Federal Government's key funding body for the Australian screen production industry, created under the ''Screen Australia Act 2008''. From 1 July 2008 Screen Australia took over the functions of its predecess ...

. it receives annually from the South Australian Film Corporation specifically to support talent development in the

Australian film industry The cinema of Australia had its beginnings with the 1906 production of '' The Story of the Kelly Gang'', arguably the world's first feature film. Since then, Australian crews have produced many films, a number of which have received internat ...

. The

Marshall government Steven Spence Marshall (born 21 January 1968) is an Australian politician who served as the 46th premier of South Australia between 2018 and 2022. He has been a member of the South Australian Division of the Liberal Party of Australia in the ...

gave emergency funding of in September 2021 to support ongoing operations. In 2022 Mercury CX submitted a funding request for an ongoing

operating budget The operating budget contains the revenue and expenditure generated from the daily business functions of the company; see . Edriaan Koening (N.D.What is Corporate Budgeting? chron.com It concentrates on the operating expenditures, i.e.: cost of g ...

of to , but it was refused by the newly-elected

South Australian government The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government, SA Government or more formally, His Majesty’s Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of South Australia. It is modelled o ...

under

Peter Malinauskas Peter Bryden Malinauskas ( ; born 14 August 1980) is an Australian politician, serving as the 47th and current premier of South Australia since March 2022. He has been the leader of the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party (AL ...

, based on a report prepared by the Marshall government. At the AGM on 31 May 2022, members voted unanimously to oppose closing down the organisation. CEO Slaninka said that extra funding was need to help the cinema recover from the effects of the

, and that a "Save the Mercury" campaign to raise funds would be launched.

Description

Mercury CX is a not-for-profit

incorporated association Incorporation is the formation of a new corporation. The corporation may be a business, a nonprofit organization, sports club, or a local government of a new city or town. In the United States Specific incorporation requirements in the United ...

which provides facilities for career development in the film industry, from entry-level to early career, providing access to equipment, advice and a subsidy programme. It offers production support, professional development and industry and community partnerships. The offices are located in the Lion Arts Centre on the corner of Morphett Street and North Terrace, Adelaide.

Mercury Cinema

The Mercury Cinema building includes its main 186-seat cinema as well as the 36-seat Iris Cinema, situated adjacent to the Lion Arts Centre, facing Morphett Street. As a not-for-profit organisation, there is a film society, Adelaide Cinémathèque, members of which can attend regularly scheduled films. The Iris is available for hire as a venue, and is used for

Adelaide Fringe The Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is the world's second-largest annual arts festival (after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between mid-February and mid-March each year, ...

performances as well as for many other uses. The Cinema also runs a series of programmes on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, such as Sunday Sessions and Seniors on Screen, and a school holiday programme. The Cinema also hosts film festivals, some one-off and some annual occurrences. In the latter group are a programme of the best films from the

Flickerfest Flickerfest is an international short film festival held annually in January at Bondi Beach, Sydney. It is an Academy and BAFTA recognised short film festival for both international and Australian film makers. History The festival originated ...

(a Sydney festival for short films), films from the Adelaide Festival Centre's

OzAsia Festival OzAsia Festival, or simply OzAsia, is an Asia-focused arts festival in South Australia, presented by the Adelaide Festival Centre for two weeks in late October to early November each year. It features theatre, dance, music, film and visual arts ...

, selected films for the

Adelaide Film Festival The Adelaide Film Festival (AFF, formerly ADLFF) is film festival usually held for two weeks in mid-October in cinemas in Adelaide, South Australia. Originally presented biennially in March from 2003, since 2013 AFF has been held in October ...

, and the Iranian Film Festival Australia (which occurs in most of Australia's capital cities).

Screen Makers Conference

The Screen Makers Conference is an annual national conference hosted by the MRC since 2014, and aims to "

ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

together Australia’s writers, directors, producers and other screen creatives to share knowledge, connect with the industry, and pitch projects to the national marketplace". It is regarded as one of two major annual conferences for filmmakers, the other being the

Australian International Documentary Conference The Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC) is an Australian conference for the promotion of documentary, factual and unscripted screen content, regarded as one of two major national conferences for filmmakers. History First esta ...

. In 2018 the Conference attracted over 200 delegates, including

CEO Graeme Mason and Kingston Anderson from the

Australian Directors' Guild The Australian Directors' Guild (ADG) is an industry guild representing the interests of film, television, commercials and digital media directors, including documentary makers and animators, throughout Australia. With its headquarters in Sydney ...

, independent filmmaker and educator

Cathy Henkel Cathy Henkel is a South African documentary filmmaker who lives and works in Australia. Her works have typically focused on subjects of environmental activism, and to a lesser extent, the performing arts. Career Her career in documentary fi ...

Rowan Woods Rowan Woods (born 1959) is an Australian AACTA Award-winning film and television director, actor and screenwriter. Career Film Woods directed '' The Boys'' in 1998 and won an ACCTA Award for Best Direction. The film was also entered into the 4 ...

, currently head of directing at the

Australian Film, Television and Radio School The Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) formerly Australian Film and Television School, is Australia's national screen arts and broadcast school. The school is a Commonwealth Government statutory authority. History Establishe ...

, senior managers from several major national TV companies as well as the government-owned broadcasters, the ABC and SBS. In 2019 it expanded to three days, partnered with

television production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and vi ...

Screentime Screentime is an Australian television production company, which develops and produces scripted and unscripted television programs in Australia and New Zealand. The company has produced numerous popular series including ''Popstars'', the ''Under ...

and also included

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

s in its remit.

South Australian Screen Awards

The Media Resource Centre has run the South Australian Screen Awards (SASAs) since establishing them in 1999, to "exhibit, celebrate and promote the best screen works of the South Australian film industry". These are awarded in conjunction with the Screenmakers' Conference, and in 2019 awarded of prizes, including two new awards: best costume, and best hair & makeup.

Project funding

The Mercury CX supports developing South Australian filmmakers via its own programs and in collaboration with other organisations. Its Production Initiative Program (PIP) which funded five shorts and

web series A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single in ...

in 2020. Selected projects are often then developed in the Mercury CX's career development program, Springboard+ (formerly Springboard). Since 2021, Mercury CX has participated in the Film Lab: New Voices initiative launched by the South Australian Film Corporation and

(AFF). This program supports emerging filmmakers, with three teams selected for mentoring over an 11-month development period and one team then selected for funding to complete a low-budget

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

which is premiered at the next AFF.

References

External links

* {{authority control Film schools in Australia Australian film awards Culture of Adelaide