I’m standing in front of a cinema in Melbourne. It’s one of those megaplexes; bright, smells of popcorn and is full of kids. It’s too loud, it’s too glossy, and too noisy - it’s too everything. It’s a common predicament. It’s right in front of me. But in answering my question - what to watch - my thought process is sadly similar to almost everyone else in line. Faced with a decision between a Hollywood, car-chase, guy-gets-girl flick and a quieter Australian film, I already know what I’m going to watch. And for 90 minutes I’m going to witness predictable dialogue, stereotypical characterizations and a clutter of insipid plot lines while Australian cinema dies.

At least I know I’m not alone. Last year, Australians spent a healthy $895M at the box office. Only 4% of that revenue was generated by Australian films. It’s a sad truth, but one we’re forced to face - we don’t like to watch ourselves. It’s partially a branding issue - we’ve become synonymous with ‘issue-films’. In terms of funding selection criteria we’re promoting ‘cultural awareness’; in reality we’re simply driving lucrative demographics away. The answer is never simple, but we don’t appear to be giving the question any thought.

Sydney, for all its grandiosity, is on the right track. It’s buoyed by foreign money and a galaxy of tax breaks, building world-class studios large enough to accommodate Hollywood’s most extravagant films. It has an international reputation, natural beauty and a funny-looking Opera House. Melbourne’s contributions are a little more inconspicuous. We live in the city that shoots Neighbours and City Homicide, not The Matrix and Star Wars. But we’re different than our flashy northern competitors: quieter, cultured, and more platitudinous.

Brendan Cowell in Noise

Melbourne is multicultural; a cacophony of energy and sound, scarves and coffee and sports. But, the widespread problem that plagues Australian film exists here, too. Just because we’re producing less content than Sydney doesn’t mean what we thrust upon the public is any different. If we’re such a diverse city - and supposedly so forward thinking - then why aren’t we approaching our cinema in the same way? I’m not referring to diversity in the multicultural sense; I’m talking about genre diversity. We’re being pushed too far in one direction, and our industry is increasingly becoming a factory line of ’social-guilt-issue-films’. And while these movies are mostly great - like Noise, Jindabyne and more - they’re essentially the reason why 96% of the time we’re going to watch something American at a cinema. If we’re to remove this movie-line stigma, we’ve got some work to do. We need an Australian industry that’s prepared to step up and fund films that don’t feel like they’re pandering to pretentious academia.

The solution may be in Melbourne. We don’t have the rigidity Sydney’s new-Hollywood money has created - we’re freer. There’s a groundswell of local talent and experience in our city, and, if given the chance to express themselves, they’d always have something interesting to say. Our funding body, Film Victoria, need to define themselves by their ambition instead of their limitations. Sure, finance new media pieces by industry luminaries, but lend some fiscal weight to cater to the average cinema-goer.

This, of course, is a simplistic approach; it’s a tough line to tow between watering down Australian content and embracing your demographics. But it’s an issue of increasing prevalence that needs to be addressed.

It only takes one film to reinstall faith and reinvent a brand. So while we’re producing great issue dramas, let’s produce great romantic comedies, thrillers and mysteries.

So I’m still stuck at a cinema billboard, deciding what to watch. It’s too loud, it’s too bright and full of kids. And faced with a question - what to watch - I already know my answer: Melbourne.