This week, US President Donald Trump announced plans to put tariffs on all films not made in the United States. Despite concerns about the negative impact on the Australian filmaking industry, it hasn’t hampered the enthusiasm around the new Perth Film Studios, and the benefits it would have for WA filmmakers.
Screen Arts student Angus Abraham says right now there are few employment opportunities for people wanting to join the industry in WA.
“Your options are to either go work for a news company like the ABC and Nine News, or we move over east and start doing things there or even out of the country,” he says.
Film maker Aron Blair says the biggest reason for filmmakers moving over east is the lack of opportunities in WA, compared to the other states such as Queensland and New South Wales.
“There’s so many more opportunities over there and companies like Waner Bros and Disney and all that, they’re filming their stuff over east.”
The Perth Film Studios should alleviate this disparity and help bring more film makers to WA. Set to open in early 2026, Screenwest claims that many companies such as Amazon and Netflix have shown interest in the project.
Professor Mike Kent, Head of School for Media, Creative Arts and Social Inquiry at Curtin University, says the finished studios will be well equipped for international productions.
“The studios being built here will have links into Southeast Asian film studios,” he says.
“We are relatively small, but I think we are growing.”
Professor Kent criticised the tariffs, doubting whether it’s even possible for them to be put into practice as it is common in the industry for different parts of a movie to be made in different parts of the world.
“They are very transnational operations,” he says.
“I symphathise with the people building the studios, because it creates a great deal of uncertainty. But I don’t think the tariffs are necessarily going to happen, and if they do I’m not sure they’ll happen in their current form.”
Despite the threat of tariffs, there are those who are still hopeful the studios will bring new life to the film making scene.
Aron Blair says when the new film studio is complete, he hopes less people will have to move out of Perth to start their careers.
“Perth is actually moving somewhere with the Film Studio. Hopefully that’ll put a mark on the map, that’ll help people not have to move over east or overseas.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries said they are commited to making films in WA.
“We will continue to work hard to attract high-quality film production to the state and incentivise local film and content production to make our state is an attractive place to do business,” the spokesperson said.
“The Perth Film Studios are on schedule to open in Malaga next year and will well and truly put Western Australia on the map as a major screen production destination.”