A delegation of 37 experienced Australian producers and writers is in London this week (June 16-18) for a one-off event to connect with the UK industry at London’s BFI Southbank, as both countries look to ramp up creative and commercial collaboration.
Australian film and TV producers taking part in the Partner With Australia (UK) event include representatives from Bluey company Ludo Studio, Easy Tiger, Savage Films, Invisible Republic, Hytra Films and writers such as David Hannam, Giula Sandler, Jessica Tuckwell, Ruth Underwood and Joshua Tyler. There is also a screen business delegation coming from Australia, including VFX specialists from Framestore and Stage23, and execs from studio facilities such as Perth Film Studios.
Some 70 UK companies are taking part, including producers and execs from Warp Films, Good Chaos, Quiddity Films, Wild Swim Films, Bad Wolf, Fremantle, Curzon, SC Films, Dogwoof and Neal Street Productions.
The event was initiated by national film agency Screen Australia and promotional body Ausfilm, which are also fully funding the trip, with A$10,000 given to each of the Australian cohort for travel costs. From the UK side, the BFI, BFC and Pact are supporting the event, facilitating access to UK companies.
“We’re keen to see more international co-productions,” said Grainne Brunsdon, chief operating officer of Screen Australia. “[Co-productions provide] access to audiences and opportunities for creatives to work together. You can access finance from other territories at times when it’s really difficult to finance either feature film or TV.”
The event agenda includes networking events with UK sales agents, commissioners and distributors, and panel discussions with speakers including Princess Pictures’ Emma Fitzsimons and Macgowan Films’ Marian Macgowan from Australia and Embankment Films’ Kevin Loader and Misfits Entertainment’s Lizzie Gillett from the UK.
Why now?
Collaboration between the two countries is not new. The UK is Australia’s second most common international co-production partner, with Canada the first. The UK and Australia have had a co-production treaty since 1990, which was updated in 2021, with 54 UK-Australia official co-productions coming through it as of the end of 2025, the majority of which have been feature films. The industries mingle at events including Cannes CoCreate, and a big Australian contingent attends Content London each year.
But as financing becomes ever harder to pull together, co-production is becoming even more of a necessity. “The industry worldwide is struggling and going through a tough time in terms of financing, and it has made people open their eyes already and look to international,” said Ross Lewis, director of international at Pact.
Anecdotally, AusFilms CEO Kate Marks believes collaboration between the UK and Australia has already started to rise across both film and TV. “There is growing momentum, and more collaborations happening.”
Recent UK-Australia official co-productions include feature films Prima Facie, from Australia’s Bunya Productions alongside the UK’s Embankment Films, which shot around London, and Fing! from the UK’s King Bert Productions with Australia’s Story Bridge Films, with production taking place in Brisbane.
Of the four UK co-production TV series to start shooting in the first quarter of 2026, two were co-productions with Australia – Stan and Channel 4’s Careless and BBC and ABC TV’s Austin series three. Upcoming Apple series Last Seen shot in Australia, while being lead produced out of the UK by 60Forty Films, with Australia’s Werner Film Productions also producing.
Kindred spirits
The UK, Brunsdon noted, carries particular interest for Australians. “Lots of Australian producers work with UK partners, often with commissioners or in sales. They often have sales agents who are UK-based. There’s a lot of familiarity, and Australian TV has got lots of BBC content and lots of UK content. There is a cultural understanding of a sensibility. We have a lot of shared stories, sense of humour, and a shared past in terms of the colonial history as well. There are natural synergies with the UK.”
“In the creative space, where the talent is, it’s sometimes almost not distinguishable whether they’re Australian or British,” suggested
“It’s a statement from Australia that they really want to be seen, and make some noise about their readiness to collaborate with us,” added Agnieszka Moody, head of international and industry policy at the BFI.
“That’s a very good environment for collaboration.”
Brunsdon says the Australian and UK tax incentives also work well together. “We’ve got similar structures. We’ve got similar legal systems and similar corporate systems. There is an ease of working. And, obviously, [shared] language.”
An intervention helping to bolster the appeal of official co-productions with Australia for international producers kicked in in January of this year. Subscription video on demand (SVOD) services operating in Australia with over one million subscribers are required to invest either a minimum of 10% of the total they spend on programming for Australia or 7.5% of their Australian revenues in local programming, with official co-productions counting as ‘local’ - a form of streamer investment obligation not available for producers in the UK.
Increasing official co-productions between the UK and Australia is an aim of Screen Australia. “There are a number of unofficial co-pros, but not as many official co-productions as you would think that there might be between the UK and Australia,” said Brunsdon. “It adds a level of complexity to have an [official] co-production, it becomes a bit more expensive because you’ve got overheads and producers from both countries, but everyone is looking for those opportunities now.”
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