Writing Australia in Tasmania

Not sure if another Australia review is what this blog needed so… Adventure Magazine included an article this month about Richard Flanagan, the Tasmanian novelist and leading conservationist, who spent two years working and writing Australia with Baz Luhrmann. Tasmania (according to this map below) is an Australian island located south of eastern half of the rest of the continent. From the pictures I’ve seen of the island, it is absolutely breathtaking. However, I think its landscape has more of a New Zealand resemblance than an Australian one.

Anyways, in the article, here, Flanagan describes his initial work and creative experiences with Luhrmann. Flanagan explains, “I had no idea how to work with Baz, and I don’t think he had any idea how to work with me. He first came to see me in Tasmania, at my shack on Burnby Island, where it’s so quiet I can identify the birds by the sound of their wings. My home’s surrounded by kangaroos and penguins. We drank, told stories, made up new stories, and eventually a third creative force arose that was neither me nor him but that we both liked. And we discovered, rather improbably, that we liked each other too.” I thought this explanation of Flanagan’s work environment was intriguing and so ideal. What a perfect place to write such a film.

I also did some research about film production in Tasmania. After see the grandeur and scale of the landscape, I was surprised that I hadn’t heard of any large productions being based within Tasmania. I found Screen Tasmania, which is the “State Government agency responsible for supporting and developing the state’s film, television and multimedia industries by increasing the amount of independent screen production occurring in Tasmania. “ – Screen Tasmania. I couldn’t find any current production information, but found information about specific productions the agency had support in the past. The financial support and funding provided though this agency is very similar of that of The Australian Film Commission, which as of May 2007 has been replaced by an agency called Screen Australia!!!