Date: April 15, 2026
Posted by: Jess Sweetman
Professional Subscribers can access Jump Street’s catalogue of short films here on T-Port.
I’ve always been interested in the behind-the-scenes aspect of the film industry – how cinemas run, who supplies the films, and why audiences choose what to see. I took a crash course in all of this while working at Village Roadshow in programming, marketing and ops and it opened my eyes to an ecosystem I was curious to explore.
Understanding the exhibition landscape was key to my decision to move into distribution. It’s a great challenge to acquire a film, and then you need to access or create the right materials, get the best cinemas booked, secure favourable media coverage and ultimately translate all of that into ticket sales. Australia has a healthy arthouse cinema market, so launching Jump Street felt like it could be achievable.
Distribution is inherently risky, especially if you’re coming onto a film prior to production. Although there is always competition for good titles, the landscape now is incredibly dynamic and it’s easy to overpay.
For me, it ultimately comes down to aligning personal taste with commercial potential. I find it difficult to work on projects I don’t feel passionately about. If I’m going to try to convince other people to see a film, it needs to be something I’d want to see myself.
The industry is relationship-driven, but ultimately the product needs to be strong. A huge part of my work is knowing the market, tracking what performs and what doesn’t, digging into demographic trends and which talent packages are meaningful. More than ever, films need to have a compelling hook to work in cinemas.
Exhibition, distribution and production are all connected, and intrinsically rely on each other. Any producer who knows how distribution and exhibition work will be a better producer, and a producer can only be fully successful with the right partners at the other end of a production. For distributors who want to have more control over the lifespan of a film, producing is also a natural evolution.
Get as much practical experience as possible. Build your network with substantial relationships. Find material that you are passionate about. Be wary of those who are looking to take advantage. There are too many people in the industry who talk a big game but don’t have what it takes to back it up.
The biggest lesson I have learned is to trust my gut. I’m the sort of person who has gained much more perspective from failures than successes. There has not been a grand plan to the shape of my career and it continues to take me in unexpected directions. I think of each connection I have made since starting work at 15 years old and how my career may have played out differently had those connections not been developed. The one consistency is that even after nearly 30 years of watching films and 25 years of working on films, my passion is still there.
Learn from the masters and find your stylistic influences, but contribute something original at the same time. There are thousands of films competing for attention and you need to have a point of difference. I am always looking to support filmmakers with a distinct point of view, because there are too many generic films being made. Why you, and why this story?
It’s a cause close to my heart. Seeing the way that both Jewish Australian stories and creatives have been left out of the cultural conversation over the last few years led me to the conclusion that something had to be done about it. Although there are notable Jewish Australians working in the screen industry, there is no history of Jewish Australian screen storytelling. The fund aims to correct this by developing new work and creating financial opportunities for career progression, as well as to counter antisemitism through representation, with emphasis on authenticity and visibility.
In today’s world, everyone’s a filmmaker – but while the technical nature of the filmmaking process has become more democratic, it doesn’t mean that everyone has a story worth telling. The space for short films needs to be nurtured and protected to allow filmmakers to develop their craft and gain practical experience. While the commercial opportunities for short films are extremely limited, they offer both producers and distributors an invaluable insight into who the filmmaker is – and in Australia, both festival and government platforms have reinstated direct support for shorts over the last 6 months which is a key component in identifying new talent.
It has to be the marriage between story and craft. I often see films that may have a compelling story but where the execution has been generic. Similarly, I can be struck by a singular filmmaking style that’s at the service of an underwhelming narrative. Writing and directing are such distinct mediums, but whether or not the writer and director is the same person, a great film is the complete realisation of the two along with every other component that contributes to the ultimate outcome. So many things need to go right that it feels like a miracle when a great film makes itself known.
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