The Australian Film Finance Corporation (FFC) has warned film-makers that it will only support projects with high levels of finance from other sources over the next six months.

The funding body will also insist on attractive recoupment and other terms. This is because a large number of producers successfully sought finance in the first half of the financial year, and the FFC is concerned that it could run out of funds before the year-end.

Films that have contributed to this increase include Phillip Noyce's Rabbit-Proof Fence, which is in post-production, Ray Lawrence's Lantana, which is about to wrap, and two projects which go into production early next year, Mark Joffe's The Man Who Sued God and Mario Andreacchio's Gaugin. The FFC has also backed two IMAX films and has made a commitment to the killer crocodile film Rogue, which has not yet got a director locked in.

It is difficult to greenlight adult TV drama in Australia, and the FFC could decide to redirect some of those funds into features. The FFC is the principal backer of Australian films. In 1999-2000 it substantially funded nine of the 31 films made and contributed nearly 20% of the total budget for the entire slate.