Help save Australia's oldest film publication

UPDATE 1/7: Many thanks to everyone who helped us reach our initial $15,000 goal. Your generous donations have helped us not only save the print run of issue no. 215 of Metro, but also make major inroads into bringing the next issue out. Our next goal is to make issue no. 216 a reality: getting to $19,000 will ensure that all articles and writer payments for the next issue will be locked in; reaching $23,000 will cover design of the print issue; and $28,000 will ensure print and distribution costs are met. In the meantime, we’ve been making progress on building the framework we need to keep publishing Metro in the long term – watch this space!

Do you love Australian cinema? We do too, so much so that we’ve been publishing our beautiful print magazine, Metro – packed with in-depth features by some of the country’s finest writers, and dedicated to celebrating our stories on screens big and small – ever since 1964.

That’s right: the year The Beatles’ world tour reached Australian shores.

Sadly, however, as we write this message, Metro is at real and imminent risk of disappearing forever.

We’ve been rocked by the cost-of-living crisis, driving up the price of print media, and struggled with the immense challenges of running a major publication from within an understaffed, non-government-funded nonprofit.

We've successfully made the leap into online publishing – you can check us out here if you haven't already – and have grand plans to expand the scope of our website. But we also believe in the magazine, in championing the simple pleasure of sitting down with it to read about your favourite filmmakers. We want to expand Metro’s reach, opening up windows to the world as the premier Australian film publication.

In the almost sixty years since the magazine was launched, we’ve published thought-provoking, influential essays on Australian screen productions old and new; in-the-moment analysis of cultural policy and politics; and incredible interviews with the likes of George Miller, Rachel Griffiths, Ivan Sen, Gillian Armstrong, Warwick Thornton, Rachel Perkins, Justin Kurzel, Ana Kokkinos, Sam Neill, Deb Cox, Rolf de Heer, Cate Shortland, Corrie Chen, Phillip Noyce, Jill Bilcock, Tony Ayres and so many more. If there's an Australian film or filmmaker you can think of, chances are you can find something about them in Metro. And as our creative industries rebuild from the wreckage of COVID and we begin to see the next generation of classics emerge on our screens, we want to give Australian productions of the future the critical attention they deserve.

We’re on the lookout for a partner who shares our vision for the magazine and the importance of preserving a vital part of Australia's screen culture, as too many publications turn away from local content; from supporting our filmmakers, both emerging and established; and from the students who want to follow in their footsteps. But in the meantime, we need your help now.

We’re hoping to raise $15,000 to secure our next two issues while we build a structure around Metro that can hold us in good stead for the decade to come and beyond.

In this industry, it doesn't take much to bring a small publication to its knees, and that's where we find ourselves.

We have a superb, fully designed and proofed issue that's locked, loaded and ready to print, but we're a few thousand short of the sum we need to print it. And we want to be sure that the next issue makes it out into the world too – ideally, in print – with all the wonderful contributors who have worked so hard on it getting paid fairly.

With those two issues in the bank, we'll take it from there. So here's our plea: Can you chip in to help us get through this difficult period while we build an exciting future? You'll be helping nourish and foster Australian screen culture – and, as ATOM is a registered charity, anything you donate over $2 will be tax deductible.

Please also help share this campaign with your networks, even if you can’t afford to tip in personally. And if you are in a position to do so, we would love it if you would also consider subscribing to help secure Metro’s long-term future and, in the process, support the work of a dedicated cohort of excellent writers committed to championing Australia’s screen culture and the filmmakers who make the magic happen.

Metro’s long been an Australian institution, and its greatest days lie ahead. With your help, we can preserve something beautiful and irreplaceable.