Paul Oneile, former chair and chief executive of UIP, has been appointed to the board of Australia's principal feature film investment company, the Film Finance Corporation (FFC), and Geoff Levy been re-appointed chair for a further six months.

Oneile has held senior executive roles or has served on the boards of all of Australia's big three exhibitors. The government hopes his experience in exhibition and distribution will assist the commercial assessment of film projects that come to the FFC for financing.

Decisions are made on the basis of the strength of the commitments secured from sales agents, equity investors, cast and other personnel.

The FFC is currently facing its biggest period of change since being established 15 years ago, sparked by the arrival earlier this year of new chief executive Brian Rosen, and it was decided to extend Levy's term to allow Rosen to fully settle into the role.

Levy is chief executive of Investec Bank (Australia) and is on the board of a number of companies including Ten Network Holdings. He has been on the board for six years and has been chair since 1999.