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A message from the CEO: 2024 in review

20 December 2024

Dear Screen Sector Colleagues,

As we come to the end of 2024, I want to take the opportunity to celebrate another wonderful 12 months of production, achievement, and international recognition for South Australia’s screen industry. 

A strong pipeline of screen production activity 

2024 was a strong year for screen production activity with multiple films and TV series underway at Adelaide Studios and around the state and increased demand for the SA Video Game Development Rebate. 

The ABC SAFC Content Pipeline Fund continued to support an ongoing pipeline of quality TV production for the state, buoyed by the State Government’s 2024-25 State Budget announcement of $7.2 million over three years to extend the fund.

Feature film Jimpa from SA director Sophie Hyde and starring Olivia Colman, John Lithgow and SA’s Aud Mason-Hyde filmed at locations across the city, while Bring Her Back, the A24-backed film from SA’s Danny and Michael Philippou, got underway at Adelaide Studios, as did The Fox from SA writer/director Dario Russo.

We welcomed Logie Award winning Network Seven drama series RFDS to the state for production on season three, produced by SA’s Lisa Scott of Highview Productions, bringing with it an expected economic injection of more than $10 million and more than 450 jobs for South Australians across crew, cast and extras talent, and Prime Video series Top End Bub from SA writer, creator and Executive Producer Josh Tyler and Miranda Tapsell also got underway at locations around Adelaide.

In the factual space, SA writer/director Anthony Frith and SA writer/producer Sandy Cameron’s feature documentary Mockbuster went into production this year, as did ABC series Teenage Boss: Next Level from producer John McAvoy with SA co-executive producer Colin Thrupp of Breakout Productions, and Eat the Invaders, from SA writer/director Matthew Bate and SA executive producer Rebecca Summerton of Closer Productions, with both series supported through the ABC SAFC Content Pipeline Fund. 

South Australia shining on screen

South Australia’s screen sector talent and capability shone on screens locally and globally in 2024, with a range of SAFC supported films and series premiering across the year.

SAFC supported Netflix series Territory, produced by SA’s Paul Ranford, took the world by storm, amassing 6.4 million views in its first four days and ranking number 2 in Netflix’s global viewing ratings. 

Stan Original series Thou Shalt Not Steal earned rave reviews including five stars from The Guardian, and ABC SAFC Content Pipeline Fund drama series Ladies in Black captivated audiences while showcasing the full capability of Adelaide Studios and South Australia’s beautiful period locations.

We saw the sold-out premieres at Adelaide Film Festival (AFF) of feature films:

South Australia scoops national accolades

South Australia’s screen sector was honoured many times on the national stage this year.

SAFC supported productions won 14 awards at the 2024 AACTAs with Danny and Michael Philippou’s Talk to Me picking up eight prizes including Best Film, Best Direction and Best Screenplay; Ivan Sen‘s Limbo winning Best Indie Film; and Warwick Thornton’s The New Boy winning four awards.

SAFC supported series earned three Logie Award nominations in 2024, for Eddie’s Lil’ Homies from SA director Arthur Moody and SA co-director Luke Jurevicius of Vishus Productions, Beep and Mort S2 from SA director Rosemary Myers and SA producer Kaye Weeks of Windmill Pictures, and Gold Diggers from SA producers Kate Butler and Dale Roberts of KOJO Studios. 

The 2024 Screen Producers Australia Awards saw Beep and Mort S2 and The Royal Hotel pick up prizes, while SAFC, AFF and Panavision supported short film Marungka Tjalatjunu (Dipped in Black) from writer/director Derik Lynch, co-directed/written/produced by Matthew Thorne of Other Pictures and produced by Patrick Graham and Executive Produced by Duncan Graham of SA’s Switch Productions added to its already considerable awards list by winning the Screen Diversity and Inclusion Network Award.

And SA screen productions, creatives and talent have this month received 40 nominations across 34 categories for the 2025 AACTAs, with 24 nominations for SAFC supported productions including The Musical Mind: A Portrait in Process from SA writer/director Scott Hicks, SA writer/producer Jett Heysen-Hicks and SA producer Kerry Heysen; SAFC and AFFIF supported documentary The Speedway Murders from SA director Luke Rynderman and director Adam Kamien and SA producers Anna Vincent, Bonnie McBride and Lisa Scott, and series Thou Shalt Not Steal, Ladies in Black, Territory, Australia’s Sleep Revolution with Dr Michael Mosley and Eddie’s Lil’ Homies.

Recognition on a local and global scale

Locally, SAFC supported productions and SA screen practitioners shared in prizes across 27 categories at The Mercury’s South Australian Screen Awards (SASAs), including Best Game for Super Bawk Bawk Chicken by SA video game studio Daytime Devs, and the SAFC sponsored Grand Jury Prize for short film Blame the Rabbit, from SA’s Elena Carapetis, produced by SA’s Lisa Scott and Adam Camporeale.

And SA screen practitioners were celebrated at the 2024 Ruby Awards, South Australia’s highest honours for the arts and creative industries. Screen sound practitioner James Currie won the Premier’s Award for Lifetime Achievement reflecting his near 50-year career and significant role in the SA screen industry; filmmaker Lilla Berry won the Frank Ford Memorial Young Achiever Award, and filmmaker and artist Gina Rings won the Stevie Gadlabarti Goldsmith Memorial Award. Documentary Isla’s Way from SA writer/director Marion Pilowsky and SA producer Georgia Humphreys of Corner Table Productions was also nominated for Outstanding Work or Event Within a Festival for its premiere at Adelaide Film Festival 2023. 

SA practitioners and SAFC supported productions were recognised at the highest levels internationally too, with Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny earning an Academy Award nomination for Visual Effects for work by SA’s Rising Sun Pictures, supported by the SAFC’s SA PDV Rebate. 

Video game darkwebSTREAMER from SA developer Chantal Ryan of We Have Always Lived in the Forest, was exhibited at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco and was one of seven from around the world selected for the prestigious 2024 Tribeca Festival. 

And the international honours are set to continue into 2025, with SA made and SAFC supported productions Jimpa and Never Get Busted! selected to premiere at the prestigious 2025 Sundance Film Festival, and Lesbian Space Princess selected to premiere at the 2025 Berlinale, two of the “big five” annual international film festivals alongside Venice, Cannes and TIFF.

Adelaide Studios abuzz with activity

The SAFC has ended the year on a high with Adelaide Studios at capacity. As well as RFDS S3 in full swing here and around the state through this month, we have been pleased to welcome Causeway Films back to our facilities with new feature film The Fox, written and directed by SA’s Dario Russo.

And Adelaide Studios continued to cement itself as SA’s premier hub for screen creatives, welcoming new tenants Danny and Michael Philippou, Samantha Jennings and Kristina Ceyton with their new joint venture Rackaway, and SA PDV company Artisan Post Group, whose recent upgrade of the Michael Rowan Mixing Theatre will ensure the provision of high quality post sound services to the screen industry continues here at these great facilities. 

Stay tuned for more news about the exciting slate of productions lining up for 2025 – in the meantime, activities in Adelaide Studios will kick off in the new year with the third annual SAGE: SA Game Exhibition – read on for more!

Supporting SA games to level up

The SAFC continued its support for SA’s thriving video game development sector this year, supporting seven SA made video games through the SA Video Game Development (VGD) Rebate, and supporting four SA games studios to attend Gamescom in Cologne, Germany, the largest gaming convention in the world.

In February the SAFC presented the second annual SAGE: SA Game Exhibition – Adelaide’s biggest celebration of SA made video games, more than doubling in size with a two-day extended program, twice the exhibition space and two new awards – won by Adelaide Studios based Wemat Studios for their game Box Knight, and SA studio Jonniemadeit for Uncle Unco. 

Held as the flagship interactive event of the 2024 Adelaide Fringe, SAGE saw a record 2,000+ people turn out to Adelaide Studios to play games from 32 local developers and studios, and meet the people behind them, and enjoy a program of panel discussions featuring industry heavyweights, while the accompanying SA Games Creatives digital download brochure promoted SA sector members to new audiences. 

We’re excited to be bringing SAGE back for a third amazing year on 7-8 February, 2025, with a record 37 South Australian studios and developers selected to exhibit their bold and innovative video games – check out sagameexhibition.com for free tickets and more information!

Putting First Nations first 

The SAFC continued its support for First Nations screen practitioners with a number of initiatives, including the launch of round two of the First Nations Short Film Program, boosting the careers of First Nations South Australian filmmakers through script development, mentoring and the opportunity to gain above-the-line short film credits. 

First Nations practitioners took their work to the world, with SA screen creatives Travis Akbar, Nara Wilson and Josh Trevorrow travelling to the Marché du Film at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival as part of the Adelaide Film Festival’s AFF x Cannes initiative, with support from the SAFC, while the SAFC also supported First Nations led video games studio Cerulean Creative Studios to travel to Wānaka Whare Karioi ā-Whenua 2024, the International Indigenous Digital Games Summit in Dunedin, New Zealand. 

Back home the SAFC relaunched the newly upgraded Pirrku Kuu Hub, a free co-working space for First Nations screen creatives at Adelaide Studios; held a series of workshops on business leadership and networking specifically for First Nations creatives; and implemented our new Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan 2024-26. We look forward to continuing to work closely with SA’s First Nations screen sector to provide opportunities for key creatives, businesses, cast and crew to progress their careers. 

WE’RE HIRING: SAFC Head of First Nations

Working to grow and diversify SA’s workforce

The SAFC returned its Master/Apprentice crew career mentorship program, this year with more than half of the participants from under-represented backgrounds, and launched round three of the successful SAFC, AFF and Screen Australia Film Lab: New Voices feature film skills development program, supporting three exciting new teams of diverse, first-time SA writers, directors and producers to develop new work.

SA crew upskilled with hands-on, on-set training through 13 Professional Crew Attachments, with seven working in areas of identified skills shortage, and more than half identifying as being from under-represented backgrounds.

Diverse SA screen practitioners were also supported to learn, grow, and expand their professional networks by attending industry conferences including Screen Forever, AIDC, the International Children’s Content Summit and GCAP. 

The SAFC’s efforts to boost support for and representation of diverse SA screen talent through our Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2022-2032 continued to yield positive results in the second year of the strategy. The percentage of diverse SA key creatives supported through SAFC production and development funding increased from 2022-23 across half of all categories being tracked, with particularly strong results for First Nations, CALD, Deaf or disabled and regional/remote located key creatives as well as female writers and directors. We also saw a boost in diverse SA crew working on SAFC funded productions in 2023-24, with levels of female, LGBTQIA+, CALD and Deaf or disabled practitioners all exceeding the 10-year targets.

Partnering for success

The SAFC was proud to continue its annual funding for The Mercury for its activities supporting the emerging screen sector, including the Quicksilver Production Fund which this year saw 12 short film projects from diverse and up-and-coming SA filmmakers go into production.

The SAFC once again supported the Adelaide Film Festival through our work financing content for its 2024 program, which featured four feature films and a number of short films supported by the SAFC, including Closing Night Gala Kangaroo Island. 

And the SAFC also continued to engage with our Screen Circle group of champions and advocates for the SA screen industry, with members attending special events including preview screenings of Ladies in Black and Territory and a special presentation of Marungka Tjalatjunu (Dipped in Black). 

Welcomes and farewells

The SAFC welcomed a number of new staff this year: Leanne Saunders as Head of Production and Development, James O’Connor as Games Development Executive, Michelle Driver as Finance Officer, and Summar Hipworth as Senior Program Administrator.

We also farewelled a number of staff who contributed greatly to SAFC’s outcomes for industry: Head of Production and Development Beth Neate, Head of Operations Robyn Jones, Production Executive Elyse Lawson, Program Manager Jess Cahill, IT Manager Tony Young, Game Development Strategy Executive Patrick Webb, First Nations Industry Development Executive Tyme Childs and retiring Finance Officer Helen Hage. 

We also said farewell to First Nations Screen Strategy executive Pauline Clague and Disability Screen Strategy Executive Gaelle Mellis, who have both been invaluable assets to the SAFC for many years, providing expert strategic advice and guidance across all corners of the organisation. We look forward to continuing to engage with both Pauline and Gaelle into the future.

Thank you to the entire SAFC team for your hard work and dedication this year, and every year. I would also like to thank the SAFC Board: Austin Taylor OAM, Brian Hayes KC, Angela Heesom, Lauren Hillman, Shouwn Oosting, Rachel Gardner, Clara Reeves and particularly SAFC Chair Mike Rann AC, all of whose expertise, commitment and generosity provide amazing support for me and the team to do the work we do for industry.

Delivering on our vision

This is just a sample of the many achievements, wins and successes of the SA screen sector in 2024 – another incredible year of accomplishment and progress backed by strong support from the State Government through the SAFC.

The SAFC is proud to deliver on the South Australian Government’s continued commitment to our state’s thriving screen industry, underscoring the Government’s recognition of the screen sector’s vital cultural and economic contributions to the state. We would particularly like to thank Arts Minister Andrea Michaels MP and the Department of Premier and Cabinet for their ongoing support. 

As reported in this year’s SAFC Annual Report, in the 2023-24 financial year alone the productions approved through the SAFC’s funds and programs enabled South Australia’s screen sector to directly contribute more than $132 million to our state’s economy, creating an anticipated 3,508 SA jobs across crew and performers, with the majority of SAFC Screen Production Funds awarded to South Australian owned projects.

Of course, none of this would be possible without SA’s talented screen sector practitioners and innovative screen businesses and supporting industries – and we congratulate and thank you all for your hard work and achievements this year.

As we enter 2025 we look forward to building on this success, and continuing to support a local industry that punches above its weight, tells Australian stories for cultural value, and delivers strong economic benefits for the state.

Wishing you all a happy and safe holiday season,

Kate Croser
Chief Executive Officer
South Australian Film Corporation

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