Six weeks into his new role as chief executive of Australia's Film Finance Corporation (FFC), Brian Rosen has called on local producers to make better use of his organisation's funds and to vary the ways they finance films.

He also wants them to tell bigger stories that will attract the country's world class actors and to take advantage of the extremely favourable conditions that exist locally.

"I am encouraging producers to think outside the box in a way that helps them," he told Screen International. "I am looking at 2010 and asking how we can build a sustainable industry. At the moment 70% to 80% of our financing is direct government subsidy. We will always need some subsidy but those that don't ask what is wrong with those figures are living in Disneyland."

He believes the industry needs to bring down the level of State and Federal subsidies to 30% and one of the ways to do this is to break the film industry's habit of using FFC funds only as equity investment.

His proposed model will see the FFC put up 60% distribution guarantees against advances or presales. This would encourage other funding on board such as German and UK tax funds, private Australian investment and bank funds.

This model is a significant departure for the FFC, which is the country's biggest film financier, and one that would add to the pot of money available to the industry and enable the FFC to get its investment back sooner.

It also suits the current environment in which many sales agents are unwilling to buy until they can see the finished film.

Rosen is also insistent that Australian theatrical distributors pull their weight by putting up 5% of a film's budget.

Public money goes to the film industry for cultural reasons and films must be exposed to as many Australians as possible. He was careful to say that support for low-budget films and first-time filmmakers will continue.

He believes the FFC is capable of getting back 50% per year of what it pumps into features, television and documentaries per year, which would be a doubling of current returns. About $18.4m (A$28.5m) of the total budget is available for features, not counting returns.

"Ten years ago if you had told someone that Australia would have five actors who could greenlight pictures and six or seven other significant names, 10 directors that any distributor in the world would want to be attached to, cinematographers and writers that have won Academy Awards, and films that have been nominated, they would have asked what drugs are you on. And we have the infrastructure to do Mission Impossible, Star Wars and The Matrix."

This was the first time that Rosen has spoken publicly about his plans for the FFC although he has been extensively consulting with individuals, craft-based organisations and film industry partners. New draft guidelines are to be issued in about 10 days time.

"I want to stir it up and see what comes out. At the moment the industry is stagnant."