Misplaced Pages

Mercury CX, formerly Media Resource Centre (MRC), is a not-for-profit film and television training organisation based in the Lion Arts Centre on the corner of Morphett Street and North Terrace, Adelaide, 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 established 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 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 Lion Arts Centre, 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 cinema was forced to close for a while from March 2020. During this time, renovations were undertaken, with the foyer 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 by the state government. In 2022 the South Australian Government 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 of Closer Productions.

Governance and funding

Mercury CX is a membership-based association, which holds charitable status. It has a constitution and a board of directors to oversee its management.

Since December 2022 and as of August 2024 the board is chaired by , while the CEO is Karena Slaninka.

The organisation was in the past funded by Screen Australia. As of May 2022 it receives A$250,000 annually from the South Australian Film Corporation specifically to support talent development in the Australian film industry. The Marshall government gave emergency funding of A$300,000 in September 2021 to support ongoing operations. In 2022 Mercury CX submitted a funding request for an ongoing operating budget of A$700,000 to A$1.2 million, but it was refused by the newly-elected South Australian government under Peter Malinauskas, 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 COVID-19 pandemic in South Australia, and that a "Save the Mercury" campaign to raise funds would be launched.

Description

Mercury CX is a not-for-profit incorporated association 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 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 (a Sydney festival for short films), films from the Adelaide Festival Centre's OzAsia Festival, selected films for the Adelaide Film Festival, 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 " 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.

In 2018 the Conference attracted over 200 delegates, including Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason and Kingston Anderson from the Australian Directors' Guild, independent filmmaker and educator Cathy Henkel, Rowan Woods, currently head of directing at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School, 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 Screentime and also included video games 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 A$40,000 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 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 Adelaide Film Festival (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 which is premiered at the next AFF.

References

1. ^ "History". Media Resource Centre. Archived from the original on 5 August 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
2. ^ "Location". Media Resource Centre. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
3. "Mercury Cinema". Adelaide Film Festival. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
4. ^ "Media Resource Centre to launch initiative with Screentime, expand 2019 conference". if.com.au. 11 December 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
5. ^ 2020 Annual Report. Mercury CX. 2021.
6. ^ Kelsall, Thomas (13 December 2022). "New Mercury Cinema board gets $50k funding lifeline". InDaily. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
7. "Team". The Mercury. 12 March 2024. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
8. ^ Kelsall, Thomas (2 June 2022). "Mercury Cinema in crisis after funding plea knocked back". InDaily. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
9. Winter, Caroline (3 June 2022). "SA government says Mercury Cinema doesn't require more funding" (Audio). ABC Radio Adelaide. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
10. "What we do". Media Resource Centre. Archived from the original on 5 August 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
11. "Adelaide Cinémathèque". Mercury Cinema. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
12. "Hire us". Mercury Cinema. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
13. "Mercury Cinema". Adelaide Fringe. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
14. "Adelaide's Mercury Cinema unveils its 2016 program". if.com.au. 13 January 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
15. "Adelaide". Flickerfest. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
16. "9th Iranian Film Festival Australia". Iranian Film Festival Australia. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
17. "Film Fiestas". Mercury Cinema. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
18. "[Home]". Screen Makers Conference. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
19. ^ Tiley, David (3 October 2018). "Media Resource Centre aims for national conference". ArtsHub. Archived from the original on 5 August 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
20. ^ Korsten, Tracey (23 January 2019). "Media Resource Centre Set for an Amazing 2019". GlamAdelaide. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
21. "SASA". Media Resource Centre. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
22. "PIP". Media Resource Centre. Archived from the original on 16 September 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
23. "Springboard+". Mercury CX. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
24. Slatter, Sean (12 March 2021). "SAFC announces teams for inaugural Film Lab: New Voices". IF Magazine. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
25. George, Sandy (22 February 2022). "Sci-fi 'Monolith' wins first greenlight from Australian film lab". Screen. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
26. "Final feature greenlit for Film Lab round one". Adelaide Film Festival. 21 February 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.

External links

• Official website

• Film schools in Australia
• Australian film awards
• Culture of Adelaide
• 1974 establishments in Australia