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SAFC honours long serving crew members at 50th anniversary gala
02 December 2022
The South Australian Film Corporation was delighted to welcome members of the South Australian screen industry alongside SAFC stakeholders, former SAFC Board members and staff to Adelaide Studios on 30 November for a gala party commemorating its 50th anniversary as Australia’s longest running state screen agency.
Established in 1972 as Australia’s first state screen agency, the SAFC has elevated South Australian stories, skills and talent in and on screen for half a century, supporting, connecting, and championing South Australian screen creatives and businesses and building the capacity of the sector from film and TV production through to post production, digital and visual effects, game development and more.
More than 300 people from across the sector gathered in Adelaide Studios Sound Stage One for the early evening event, with distinguished guests including The Hon John Gardner MP, Deputy Leader of the Opposition and Shadow Minister for Arts and Festivals; Mayor of Burnside Anne Monceaux; Chief Executive of the Department for Industry, Innovation and Science Adam Reid; SAFC Board Chair Julie Cooper and Board members Miriam Silva AM and Tony Ayres; SAFC industry partners including Head of Programming and Industry at Adelaide Film Festival Gail Kovatseff, Chair of Mercury CX Gena Ashwell, General Manager of Channel 44 Lauren Hillman, and CEO of Ausfilm Kate Marks, alongside hundreds of talented screen industry members encompassing creatives, crew and cast.
Premier of South Australia Peter Malinauskas and Arts Minister Andrea Michaels appeared via video message, praising the SA screen industry’s half century of achievement and the SAFC’s work supporting the sector.
The SAFC was also pleased to welcome former SAFC Board Chairs Hedley Bachmann AM, Teri Whiting, David Minear, and Peter Hanlon; former SAFC Board members John Ovenden, Gail Fuller, Gabrielle Kelly, Tony Clark, Julie Ryan, Adrian Tisato and Ann-Maree Davies, former SAFC CEOs Janet Worth, Helen Leake AM and Richard Harris and many former SAFC staff from throughout the decades, while Uncle Michael O’Brien provided an inspiring Welcome to Country.
As part of the celebrations, the SAFC paid special tribute to six of South Australia’s longest-serving crew members, whose work over the decades has played a significant role in establishing and growing the state’s screen industry: Cinematographer David Foreman ACS, who has worked in the sector since starting as a junior assistant at the SAFC in 1973; sound designer James Currie, whose multi award-winning career dates back to 1977; costume designer Ruth de la Lande, whose first credit came on SAFC feature film Money Movers in 1978; cinematographer Malcolm Ludgate and camera and electrical department member Graeme Shelton, who both started their careers on SAFC feature film Blue Fin in 1978; and Beverley Freeman, one of South Australia’s longest serving female crew members, with a career spanning makeup, wardrobe and production design dating back to 1983.
SAFC CEO Kate Croser and Board Chair Julie Cooper presented each recipient with a hand-blown glass art trophy from the Jam Factory in recognition of their contribution to South Australia’s screen industry.
As well as commemorating a milestone year for the SAFC’s golden anniversary, the event also celebrated a record-breaking year for the South Australian screen sector overall, with Screen Australia’s recently released National Drama Report revealing $144 million spent in the state on drama production and post production in 2021-22, the state’s second-highest year on record. Included in that $144 million total spend was a record-breaking $89 million expenditure on post-production, digital and visual effects – South Australia’s highest PDV spend on record.
The incredible results are further testament to the strength of South Australia’s globally recognised and award-winning screen sector, supported by the SAFC.
This week’s special event concludes the SAFC’s 50th anniversary celebrations for 2022, which also included a gala 50th anniversary reception held at Adelaide Studios in October, with guests of honour Cate Blanchett and Warwick Thornton.
Check out photos from the night below. Photos by Naomi Jellicoe.
