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Dario Russo’s The Fox selected for SXSW
16 February 2026
South Australian made and SAFC supported dark comedy The Fox is set to make a splash on the world stage with its international premiere at SXSW 2026.
The feature film debut of AACTA Award-nominated and ADG award-winning SA writer/director Dario Russo (Danger 5, Koala Man), who also served as editor and composer. The Fox was shot on location in Adelaide and the Adelaide Hills with a predominantly SA crew, with post production through SA’s KOJO Studios.
Produced by Kristina Ceyton and Samantha Jennings of Causeway Films and SA producer Carly Maple, the film was supported by the SAFC’s Screen Production Fund and the Adelaide Film Festival (AFF) Investment Fund and features an all-star cast including Jai Courtney, Emily Browning, Damon Herriman, Claudia Doumit, Sam Neill, Miranda Otto and Olivia Colman.
In this darkly comic folktale, an affable foxhunter encounters a talking Fox who offers him an opportunity to transform his fiancée into the perfect woman.
SAFC CEO Kate Croser said: “The SAFC is proud to have supported the development and production of The Fox, the first feature film from SA writer/director Dario Russo who brings his unique brand of humour and Australian sensibility to this new and original folktale. I congratulate the entire creative team and highly skilled South Australian crew who worked on this film on their achievement, and look forward to the international success of The Fox at SXSW 2026 and beyond.”
Writer/director Dario Russo said: “I’m honoured that The Fox has been selected to screen at SXSW. I’m excited to get the movie out into the world and enjoy the buzz of the festival. SXSW is held in Austin, Texas, which is Adelaide’s sister city. I don’t know what that really means, but I suppose it was meant to be!”
The Fox joins a strong cohort of SA made and SAFC supported films to be selected for SXSW in recent years, including short film I’m The Most Racist Person I Know (writer/director Leela Varghese, producer Suriyna Sivashanker), Talk To Me (directors Danny and Michael Philippou, writers Danny Philippou and Bill Hinzman, producers Kristina Ceyton and Samantha Jennings) and Film Lab: New Voices film Monolith (writer Lucy Campbell, director Matt Vesely, producer Bettina Hamilton).