South Australian Film Corporation


South Australian Film Corporation is a South Australian Government statutory corporation established in 1972 to engage in film production and promote the film industry, located in Adelaide.

History

1972–2000

The South Australian Film Corporation was founded as a production company in 1972, established under the South Australian Film Corporation Act by the Dunstan government. It was intended “to stimulate and encourage the formation and continued development of the South Australian film and television industry”. At the time of the Corporation's establishment, the Australian film industry was stagnating, and the Corporation played a significant role in the revival of Australian film making. Premier Don Dunstan played an instrumental role in the foundation of the Corporation and its early film production activities.
From its genesis, the SAFC collaborated with various government departments and agencies in the production of short documentaries and educational films. These included co-productions with the South Australian Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Department of Marine & Harbors, the Education Department, the Office of Fair Trading, the Department of Housing, Urban and Regional Affairs and others.
In the 1980s, the SAFC shifted its focus to television production. It relocated to a disused Philips factory in Hendon in the north-west suburbs of Adelaide. Jock Bair was head of drama.
In 1994 its role changed, as it ceased producing films and became the government’s central agency to provide assistance to independent film makers. The television mini-series The Battlers was the last production produced by the SAFC. As the first state film corporation in Australia, the success of its business model led other state governments to establish similar bodies charged with the promotion of film production and fostering industry development.
Since then, it has focused on supporting and facilitating the production of films and television in South Australia, as well as making production and post-production facilities available.

21st century

SAFC facilitated the production of the Nine Network program McLeod's Daughters, which was filmed on location in rural South Australia.

2008–2011: Relocation

In 2008, SA Premier and Arts Minister Mike Rann secured cabinet approval from the South Australian Government to fund the relocation of the SAFC at a cost of A$43 million. The project included new sound stages and mixing suites, as well as a major refurbishment of an historic 19th-century building as a high-tech film hub. The Corporation moved its headquarters to Glenside, an inner eastern suburb of Adelaide, sharing the historic former administration building of Glenside Hospital with film production company Closer Productions. The new Adelaide Studios were opened by Rann on 20 October 2011.

2017–present

In 2017, the Corporation announced that a new TV Series called "Soccer Swap" was a co-production with Australia's 57 Films and China’s Qingdao TV.
James Wan's reboot of video game franchise Mortal Kombat as a feature film will be the largest film production in the state’s history. In May 2019, it was announced that the film series' reboot had entered pre-production and will be shot in South Australia, to be released on 5 March 2021.
In August 2019, CEO Courtney Gibson resigned, returning to Sydney 15 months after taking up the role. A few weeks later, the government confirmed the appointment of South Australian producer Kate Croser, who has had a long career in Australian film and television.
Amanda Duthie, who in late 2018 left her post at the Adelaide Film Festival and became Head of Production, Development, Attraction and Studios, also serving as acting CEO of SAFC after Gibson's departure, resigned her position to return to Sydney as of 22 November 2019.

Governance and funding

The Corporation was responsible to the state Minister for the Arts until March 2018, then reported to the Premier Steven Marshall until July that year, when it was transferred to the Department of Innovation and Skills. From 1996 it received funding via Arts SA, until that body's disbandment by the Marshall government in late 2018.
In June 2019, the state government announced a huge boost to funding of the film industry, with a one-off awarded to the SAFC’s Screen Production Investment Fund. Mortal Kombat is a major recipient.

Influence on Australian film making

The Corporation's activities contributed to the rebuilding process undertaken by Australia's film industry, with other states set up similar bodies after SAFC's establishment. Besides its productions that had critical and commercial success in the 1970s, the Corporation's productions helped to launch the careers of many artists, including Peter Weir, Jack Thompson, Scott Hicks, Rolf de Heer, Mario Andreacchio, Bryan Brown, Geoffrey Rush and Bruce Beresford.

Major productions

Works listed below can be found via the SAFC "Made is SA Showcase" web page.

SAFC as producer