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New ABC SAFC Content Pipeline Fund to drive screen production in South Australia

09 March 2023
Premier Peter Malinauskas looks over the puppets and sets for Windmill Pictures’ Beep and Mort S2 at Adelaide Studios with SAFC CEO Kate Croser, SAFC Interim Board Chair Miriam Silva AM, and Kaye Weeks and Rosemary Myers from Windmill Pictures.

The South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC) and the ABC have today announced a new screen production partnership which will provide South Australia with an ongoing pipeline of quality television production.

With South Australian State Government investment of $5.2 million over three years, the ABC SAFC Content Pipeline Fund is designed to strengthen the South Australian screen industry by enabling a consistent pipeline of production to deliver high-quality content to ABC TV and ABC iview.

This partnership will be a significant driver of South Australian employment, with up to 460 production jobs (91 FTE) expected to be created across numerous screen productions. It will also drive engagement of local service companies and South Australian suppliers, create pathways for training and skills development, and create highly skilled work for the sector, as well as generate employment in other sectors – for every four South Australian jobs within the screen sector, another three jobs are supported elsewhere in the economy.

The partnership will also ensure South Australian stories are put front and centre, with the Government’s support including a Matched Development Fund specifically for South Australian producers to support the development of new, homegrown South Australian programs for the ABC, creating opportunities for South Australian writers and directors.

The production pipeline is set to start immediately, with season two of SA made children’s series Beep and Mort from Adelaide’s Windmill Pictures the first to get underway.

Arts Minister Andrea Michaels, Premier Peter Malinauskas, Kaye Weeks of Windmill Pictures, SAFC Interim Board Chair Miriam Silva AM, Rosemary Myers of Windmill Pictures, SAFC CEO Kate Croser and ABC Managing Director David Anderson on set of Beep and Mort S2 today at Adelaide Studios.

A hit with both audiences and critics when it premiered in 2022, the South Australian made and owned original series was created, produced and post-produced entirely in South Australia. Season two is now in pre-production at the SAFC’s Adelaide Studios in Glenside.

Beep and Mort is the first studio program for children made in the state in more than a decade. It is expected to inject more than $9.2 million into the South Australian economy and create 125 South Australian jobs across cast, crew and creatives combined over its two seasons.

This State Government investment in skilled jobs in South Australia’s screen industry is expected to deliver significant economic return, with every four South Australian jobs within the screen sector supporting another three jobs elsewhere in the economy.

Premier Peter Malinauskas said: “For more than 50 years, the South Australian Film Corporation has been telling our stories – putting South Australians in the spotlight, and ensuring our lives, culture and experiences are reflected to us at home, around the nation and overseas.

“I’m proud that the Government I lead will continue that important tradition.

“Beyond the cultural benefits, this $5.2 million investment in our screen sector will deliver more than 400 production jobs and even more flow-on jobs right here in South Australia.”

Arts Minister Andrea Michaels MP said: “As our national broadcaster, who better to show Australia’s stories than the ABC in partnership with our extraordinary South Australian Film Corporation.

“South Australia has been recognised globally as a powerhouse of film in recent years and we are seizing this opportunity to continue this proud legacy. Our investment will see a pipeline of fantastic Australian television being produced here in South Australia to tell our stories to the world.”

ABC Managing Director David Anderson said: “We’re delighted that the South Australian Film Corporation is partnering with the ABC in this joint-initiative to generate exciting new South Australian-based projects for the ABC. The collaboration will provide South Australia with a pipeline of quality television production and deliver finance certainty over the three years.”

SAFC CEO Kate Croser said: “The SAFC is thrilled to partner with the ABC in making South Australia a ‘home’ for ABC scripted production over the next three years.

“South Australia’s screen industry is poised to deliver the highest quality productions for ABC viewers, from our production companies, creatives and Heads of Department, to actors and crews, our world-class facilities, phenomenal locations and businesses and screen service suppliers across the state.

“The recent success of original ABC series from South Australia, Closer Productions’ Aftertaste, Epic Films and KOJO Studios’ First Day and now Windmill Theatre’s Beep and Mort, as well as SA filmed children’s series MaveriX, have paved the way for this consistent stream of production, and demonstrate the capacity of creativity to drive cultural and economic outcomes.”

The ABC SAFC Content Pipeline Fund is an ABC-specific fund that will operate alongside the SAFC’s existing Screen Production Fund, which supports the production of outstanding scripted and unscripted content for any screen that generates significant economic outcomes for the South Australian screen industry. Applications for the Screen Production Fund are open all year round and are considered by the SAFC Board. Find out more at safilm.com.au/production#spf

Premier Peter Malinauskas tours Windmill Pictures’ puppet making workshop set up at Adelaide Studios.
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