By Amanda Macri, an Administrative Assistant with the Arts Law Centre, 2004
First Published in ART+law, March 2004
To mark Arts Law’s twentieth anniversary last year, some of Australia’s most prominent arts practitioners and past Presidents of the Board were invited to join a Council of Patrons which was established to provide guidance, encouragement and good standing to Arts Law. As a successful film producer, an advocate for women in the film industry and dedicated facilitator of Australian stories, Jan Chapman was an obvious choice. She says that she accepted the invitation to be a Patron of Arts Law because “legal implications are such an important part of making a film”.
Jan’s career as one of Australia’s most successful film and television producers began as a director of short independent films whilst studying at Sydney University. In the early 1970s, Jan was involved in the Sydney Filmmakers Co-operative, with fellow filmmakers Phillip Noyce, Albie Thomas and Sandra Levy, and the Sydney Women’s Film Group (SWFG). Both groups were dedicated not only to producing and distributing new independent films but also to lobbying the Government for funds and educational resources for filmmakers.
Her connection to the SWFG, in particular, afforded Jan valuable exposure to the many practical and technical aspects of film production – from developing an idea and picking up a camera, through to handling the exhibition and distribution of the films. This helped her and other women filmmakers to succeed in an otherwise male dominated world. In her Longford Lyell Lecture in August 2002, Jan spoke of the group’s contribution to the formative years of her career. “Without the influence and political lobbying of these women,” she said, “I don’t believe I would have had the subconscious conviction that I could make films, and that what I wanted to say, even if intimate, domestic and personal in scale, was just as interesting as the mythic male legends”.
Whilst working at the ABC as a director, in 1982 Jan made her producing debut for the television drama series Sweet and Sour. With the success of this series and through the next eight years in the ABC Drama department, Jan cultivated a reputation as an innovative producer. She worked with Jane Campion and Helen Garner on the telemovie, Two Friends, which screened at the Cannes and Sydney Film Festivals and won three AFI Awards including Best Film in 1986. Jan also produced the mini-series Come In Spinner in 1990, which won three more AFI Awards, as well as achieving the highest international sales of any television series previously sold by the ABC.
In 1989 Jan left the ABC to make her own films, starting with her first independent feature The Last Days Of Chez Nous, written by Helen Garner. Working out of her lounge-room / office, she received vital funding from the Australian Film Finance Corporation and invited iconic Australian director Gillian Armstrong (My Brilliant Career, Oscar & Lucinda) on board to direct.
She remains proud of the assistance Australia gives to its young filmmakers. “Australia is fortunate to still have government support both on a State and National level which is essential for the continuation of a strong and distinct industry”, Jan says. “Basically if you want to be a filmmaker, you have to find the means to make that first short film.”
Jan’s next collaboration, with writer / director Jane Campion, led to The Piano (1993) which was a standout success both critically and commercially. Telling the story of the iron-willed Ada (Holly Hunter), the film explored an intensely passionate landscape and blurred the line between commercial and art cinema. Amongst a swag of prestigious local and international film awards, The Piano was awarded the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, and Academy Awards for Hunter, Anna Paquin and Campion (for Best Original Screenplay). Jan was also the recipient of the Producers Guild of America’s Nova Award for the most promising theatrical motion picture producer.
When asked about the nature of producing, Jan comments that often in Australia the training ground is, as it was for her, making independent short films. “A good producer”, she says, “is someone who recognises the germ of a good film in an idea, a short story, a novel, and has the passion and determination to develop that idea through the years it takes to get the script right to find the right director, actors and heads of department. A great producer will find the means of convincing financiers that this idea is worth risking their money on despite the odds. A good producer helps the team to feel that they are working on something really special despite setbacks and long hours, and a good producer is there at the end to oversee the relationship with the distributors and make sure the film is marketed to its best advantage”.
Following further successes with Love Serenade (1996), Holy Smoke (1999) and, most recently, Lantana (2002), Jan Chapman is at the top of her game. This year Jan worked as Executive Producer on Somersault, written and directed by Cate Shortland and produced by Anthony Anderson, a film she describes as “yet another first feature by a fabulous female writer / director”. Jan met Cate and Anthony through the NSW Film & Television Office’s AURORA scheme in which creative teams work intensively on script development. “It was a new experience for me to support a team which had made short films together to make their first feature” Jan said. “Anthony is a lawyer and his knowledge and awareness of the legal aspects of filmmaking really helped him as a first time producer”.
On Australia Day this year, Jan was awarded the Order of Australia in appreciation for her service to the Australian film industry, as well as her contribution to organisations providing strategic direction to the industry. For Jan, this meant “recognition for the film industry as a whole and of my contribution to it. It’s an industry which represents Australia internationally as a country with a distinct cultural identity because of the unique quality of our actors, directors, designers, DOP’s, scriptwriters and producers”.
She is conscious of the high expectations on Australian films to compete well against the overseas product and to also reflect our national identity. “If Australian films do not maintain their unique qualities – their sense of humour, their originality, their truth to this society, they will have nothing to offer on the international stage”, Jan says. “Nevertheless any film has to be well made within its own form in order to compete.”
When asked what are the most important legal issues facing low-budget filmmakers, Jan suggested more “attention to detail in deal memos rather than waiting for contracts”. She also commented that, as a Patron to Arts Law, she the problems surrounding the considerable costs of legal advice addressed.
Arts Law is fortunate to count amongst its Patrons a filmmaker who so embodies the creative spirit, determination and integrity of the Australian arts industry. And finally, does Jan have any tips for a successful career in the Arts? “Make work you believe in rather than trying to make money” Jan commented. “Limit overheads to what you can afford. Remember to reinvigorate yourself to have a fresh vision – look at art, read books, watch movies, enjoy yourself (if only I always took my own advice).”
