Iconic film magazine Metro is on the brink of shutdown after nearly 60 years in the business

From Gallipoli to Mad Max: Fury Road, this magazine has been tracking the best — and worst — of Aussie film and TV. But the curtains could be about to fall.

Iconic film magazine Metro is on the brink of collapse after more than 60 years in the business.

The lights could be about to go out on a pioneering magazine that has tracked the Aussie film and television scene for almost 60 years

Metro magazine, owned by non-for-profit Australian Teachers of Media, is at risk of “disappearing forever” on the back of funding cuts that have put a significant dint in Metro’s finances, with the magazine employing only full-time staffer.

Metro launched a subscription based website a few years ago, with many of its articles from the last 60 years archived, but editor David Heslin said the publication could lose everything if more money wasn’t found.

“It’s a really big dilemma because print is extremely expensive to produce and things have been dire financially this year,” he said.

“In an ideal world I’d love to see Metro continue in print and online but I guess the reality is that we want to make sure it continues in some form whatever that may be.

“Worst case at the moment is that it may not exist at all, but the fallback is if we weren’t able to publish in print it’ll just be online.

Metro editor David Heslin is desperate to keep the magazine alive. Picture: David Heslin

“The funding bodies these days don’t seem to have any interest in supporting film publications and we think that’s a real shame because it’s such an important and integral part of Australian film culture”.

Metro’s short term goal is to raise $15,000 to ensure it keeps afloat for the next few months while it works out a way forward.

The publication has also started a GoFundMe, with more than $7000 raised so far, while there are ongoing talks with universities about forming a partnership.

Metro launched in 1964 as a film appreciation newsletter targeted at media and film studies teachers, before evolving into a quarterly film journal as Australian cinema exploded on to the world stage.

These days Metro is renowned as a platform for essays and long-form analysis on films, with a strong focus on Australian content — something Mr Heslin said “must be preserved”.

“There are some excellent (film) sites online but we strive to provide that really in-depth analysis that has taken time and has been researched … things like that are really precious and need to be fostered,” Mr Heslin said.