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Stream South Australia from your sofa this summer
21 December 2022
The long summer break is the perfect time to catch up on your film and TV viewing – and we’ve got you covered! We’ve rounded up a great selection of South Australian-made and SAFC-supported productions, all ready for you to stream on demand.
Family holiday fun
Fancy a Christmas movie with a distinct Aussie flair? Catch SAFC-supported family film A Sunburnt Christmas on Stan. Directed by Christian Van Vuuren and produced by SA’s Lisa Scott of Highview Productions and shot on location in the Adelaide Hills, this fun, festive flick earned four stars from The Guardian which called it “thoroughly entertaining, very ‘Strayan viewing”.
Blockbuster drama
The biggest TV production ever to be made in South Australia, The Tourist has also become one of the biggest TV shows of 2022, topping the charts in the UK as the most watched drama series of the year. Filmed across the state in the Flinders Ranges, Adelaide city and at the SAFC’s Adelaide Studios, this BBC, HBO Max and Stan drama stars Jamie Dornan as a British man who finds himself in the glowing red heart of the Australian outback, being pursued by a tank truck trying to drive him off the road. An epic cat and mouse chase unfolds and the man later wakes in hospital, hurt, but somehow alive – except he has no idea who he is. With merciless figures from his past pursuing him, his search for answers propels him through the vast and unforgiving outback. Produced by SA producer Lisa Scott of Adelaide Studios based Highview Productions, the series won the 2022 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Award for Best Production Design and was nominated for five more including Best Drama Series. Also stars Danielle MacDonald, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Alex Dimitriades and Damon Herriman.
Aussie crime thriller
SAFC-supported feature film The Stranger, starring Joel Edgerton and Sean Harris, has captured the attention of audiences and critics everywhere since it premiered to a standing ovation at Cannes earlier this year, attracting a global audience in the tens of millions after going on to stream worldwide on Netflix. Produced by See-Saw Films (Lion, The King’s Speech), The Stranger won the 2022 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards for Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor, and was nominated for a further nine including Best Film. Shot around Adelaide and at the SAFC’s Adelaide studios, this thriller has a 91% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and earned five stars from The Guardian.
Deliciously witty comedy
Enjoy a hilarious holiday binge-watch with two seasons of Logie award-winning SA comedy Aftertaste, all available to stream on ABC iView. Filmed across Adelaide and the Adelaide Hills, the show follows disgraced celebrity chef Easton West (Erik Thomson) who is forced to return home to the Adelaide Hills to lay low and rehabilitate his career after his latest offensive outburst goes viral. Arriving like a pariah to a dysfunctional family he abandoned 30 years previously, he finds his outspoken 19-year-old pastry cook niece Diana (Natalie Abbott) is the only person who shows any interest in his return, and together they set off on their quest to create Australia’s next great restaurant. From the creatives at Adelaide Studios-based Closer Productions including Matthew Bate, Matt Vesely, and SA producers Rebecca Summerton and Erik Thomson, the series also stars Rachel Griffiths, Wayne Blair, Susan Prior, Peter Carroll and Remy Hii.
Post apocalyptic drama
It’s a toss-up as to what looks more rugged in director Anthony Hayes‘ South Australian made feature film Gold – the dusty, dry Flinders Ranges or star Zac Efron. Set in a post-apocalyptic Australian outback and shot around Leigh Creek, Hayes and Efron star as two drifters travelling through the harsh desert who stumble across the biggest gold nugget ever found. But how will things pan out when the dream of immense wealth and greed takes hold? Co-produced by SA’s Julie Byrne of Triptych Pictures, this Stan Original thriller also stars award-winning actress Susie Porter.
Seriously fun factual
After the success of its first season, SAFC-supported docu-series Aussie Snake Wranglers is back with more snake catching action in season two on Nat Geo. This fun and fascinating factual show follows a team of elite snake catchers who go head-to-head with some of the deadliest animals on the planet, responding to up to 30 distress calls per day from ordinary Australians whose homes have been invaded by these fearsome reptiles. Produced by SA’s Colin Thrupp of Adelaide Studios based Breakout Productions and directed by SA’s Steven Geddes.
Hot docs
Imagine being born profoundly deaf into an Italian migrant family of 10 without any means to communicate with them, let alone the ability to hold a simple conversation. In The Silent World of Barry Priori SA director Anne Tsoulis (From Under the Rubble, These Heathen Dreams) takes the audience into the world of the Deaf through charismatic performer, artist and “Adelaide’s funniest Deaf guy” Barry Priori to uncover intimate insights into a community steeped in Deaf Pride, Culture and its own unique language, Auslan. Produced by SA’s Alison Wotherspoon, this insightful, funny, and at times heart breaking documentary premiered on ABC’s Compass earlier this year, and went on to win Best Documentary Short at the Anchorage Film Festival in the US.
First Nations led documentary Black Empire follows rapper and Larrakia man Jimblah as he embarks on BLKMPIRE, a project exploring the transformative role of First Nations music in Australian history, and remagining how First Nations people can work within the Australian music industry. The film comes from SA directors Johanis Lyons-Reid and Pearl Berry, and producers Lilla Berry and Piri Eddy, and it was supported by the SAFC through its Curious Australia partnership with SBS and NITV.
Dark laughs with bite
Named Best Digital Series at the 2022 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards, A Beginner’s Guide to Grief is a highly original comedy series for those looking for some darker laughs over the holiday break. Created by and starring SA writer and creative Anna Lindner, and produced by SA’s Kate Butler of KOJO Studios and Julie Byrne, the SA made and SAFC-supported dark comedy series follows a woman navigating the deaths of two terminally ill parents in the space of a week with humour and narrative-driven storytelling.
Ground-breaking kids’ TV
Catch both seasons of the Emmy Award winning SA-made series First Day on ABC iView in Australia, and Hulu in the US. This ground-breaking and heartfelt show follows transgender student Hannah Bradford, played by transgender actor Evie MacDonald, as she navigates her first and second years of high school. As a transgender girl, Hannah not only has to navigate the challenges that come with starting a new school, but find the courage to live as her most authentic self. Nominated for Best Children’s Program at the 2022 AACTA Awards, as well as for Outstanding Young Teen Series at the inaugural Children’s and Family Emmy Awards in the US, First Day comes from SA producers Kirsty Stark of Epic Films and Kate Butler of KOJO Studios, and writer/director Julie Kalceff.
High octane kids’ TV
Set in a motocross training academy on the outskirts of Alice Springs, new 10-part ABC and Netflix series MaveriX features incredible motocross action and drama filmed across the NT and SA. The series was nominated for Best Children’s Program at the 2022 AACTA Awards and some terrific SA talent worked on the series, including writer Kelly Schilling, sound designer and recordist Adam Galea, sound engineer Pete Best of Best FX, and creative Keith Gilbey-Warrior, who worked in post-production under KOJO.
Teen drama with all the right moves
Young gymnastics fans will love new Netflix series Gymnastics Academy: A Second Chance, which follows a group of teen gymnasts as they train and compete in Australia’s Elite Gymnastics Program. Written, produced, directed and created by SA’s Clay Glen of Glen Pictures, and co-produced by SA’s Sally Clarke, the 10-episode young adult drama show is the first Netflix series commission from a South Australian production company. Released this year, the series has already become a social media sensation, with clips and content generating more than 12.1 million views and likes worldwide on Tik Tok. Want more? Check out A Second Chance: Rivals (2019), also on Netflix.
Puppet fun for little ones
For preschool aged viewers, you can’t beat adorable SA-made kids’ show Beep and Mort from SA’s Windmill Pictures, available on ABC iview. Based on Windmill Theatre Company‘s award-winning theatre show, and made in Adelaide with a majority South Australian crew, the sweet and charming puppet based series tells the story of two best friends from different worlds, solving their daily dilemmas and unexpected challenges through invention, play and adventure. The SA creative team includes director and producer Rosemary Myers, producer Kaye Weeks and writer Simon Butters.
Game on
Prefer some more interactive fun? Check out this list of amazing SA made video games including alien craft flyer Exo One, fun animated adventure Star Trek: Lower Decks, precision platformer RITE and more.
Want more? Check out our SA Made Showcase, which lists SAFC-supported feature film, television, short film, multimedia and documentary productions filmed and produced in South Australia since 1975, complete with streaming links!