Looking back in order to look forward: Re-scripting and re-framing screen production research

Filmmakers who are also academics want to make creative works as research. This has proven to be a challenging and time-consuming objective for practitioner-academics, despite governmental policy (namely, Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA)) advocating non-traditional research outputs. For example, it is one thing to make a film as research – but it is another to have it recognised as research within an institution, which usually includes the need to provide evidence of peer review or its equivalent. This topic among many has been hotly debated at Australian Screen Production Education and Research Association (ASPERA) annual conferences, and occasionally in some of its publications. But the debates are still ongoing, and given that soon after this special issue is published Australian universities will receive their ERA results, these debates are also likely to continue.