SA film production boom hits highs not seen since 1970s
Once upon a time in Australia, all the best films seemed to come from SA. There are signs it could be happening again. See the full list of movies being made here right now.
Entertainment
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It’s all lights, cameras and action for South Australia’s booming film industry, which is enjoying a level of production reminiscent of its 1970s heyday.
The announcement this week of another six-part series, Ladies in Black which is being made at Adelaide Studios, caps off an already chocker-block year of production and major releases.
New projects underway include an animated series based on AFL legend Eddie Betts’ children’s books, and the inspirational mother-daughter film With or Without You, starring Marta Dusseldorp.
Two already completed films, The Royal Hotel starring Julia Garner and Hugo Weaving, and director Scott Hicks’ feature documentary The Musical Mind: A Portrait in Process, will open in cinemas on November 23.
“South Australia’s screen sector is ending the year with a bang, with multiple productions currently underway,” said SA Film Corporation chief executive Kate Croser.
These also include Desert King, the biggest Netflix series ever made in SA, and new Stan Original series Thou Shalt Not Steal.
Desert King is expected to create 240 jobs for South Australians across crew and cast, while Thou Shalt Not Steal is expected to inject more than $3.6 million into the state’s economy and create 89 jobs for South Australians across crew and cast.
“It’s a fitting way to end what has been a bumper year for South Australia on screen, with so many incredible SA made and SAFC supported films, series, documentaries and more, releasing in cinemas and on streaming platforms worldwide,” Ms Croser said.
Hits included global horror smash Talk to Me, by Adelaide’s own Philippou brothers (aka RackaRacka), which became one of Australia’s biggest box office successes of the year.
Other films which showcased SA’s landscapes and film production capabilities were Warwick Thornton’s drama The New Boy, starring Cate Blanchett against the stunning rural landscapes of Burra, Outback thriller The Royal Hotel starring Julia Garner, and the Sarah Snook thriller Run Rabbit Run, set in the beauty of the Riverland.
“South Australia will continue to shine on screen, with … new TV series Ladies in Black as the second production to be supported through the ABC SAFC Content Pipeline Fund,” Ms Croser said.
The Malinauskas Government’s $5.2m Content Pipeline Fund also just backed season two of children’s TV series Beep and Mort, from Adelaide’s Windmill Pictures, which has finished filming and will screen later this month.
There was increased spending on Australian feature films in 2021-22 driven by high profile titles such as The New Boy, The Royal Hotel and director Ivan Sen’s Limbo, which were all filmed on location here with South Australian production crews.
SA also experienced a boom in unscripted television in 2022-23, including the Fox series Stars on Mars, which was the largest TV format ever filmed in the state and brought international attention to Coober Pedy.
Other unscripted shows included SBS series Australia’s Sleep Revolution with Dr Michael Moseley, Megasharks of Dangerous Reef (Discovery), Aussie Snake Wranglers (National Geographic), and Bullshark Bandits (National Geographic) from SA company Breakout Productions.
Feature documentaries included The Defenders directed by SA’s Matt Bate for Amazon, Speedway, You Should Have Been Here Yesterday, The Musical Mind (directed by Scott Hicks) and Rewards for the Tribe.
It follows a bumper year of success for SA film and TV productions. Horror film Talk to Me, the feature debut from Adelaide twin brothers Danny and Michael Philippou, has made more than $140m worldwide at the box office.
Talk to Me’s US distribution company A24 has already announced a sequel by the Philippou brothers.
Other SA feature films released in 2023 include The New Boy, The Survival of Kindness, Limbo, Run Rabbit Run and the documentaries Speedway, The Defenders, and Rewards for the Tribe.
TV shows made in SA and released this year included US reality series Stars on Mars, made in Coober Pedy and hosted by Star Trek’s William Shatner, as well as the series Gold Diggers, YOLO Silver Destiny, Bull Shark Bandits, and Megasharks of Dangerous Reef.
FILMS CURRENTLY IN PRODUCTION IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA
With or Without You. Feature film which began this week. An inspirational mother-daughter story of finding love and safety from tough beginnings, inspired by lived experience from SA director Kelly Schilling. Stars Marta Dusseldorp, Melina Vidler and Albert Mwangi. Will premiere at the 2024 Adelaide Film Festival.
Desert King. The biggest Netflix series ever to be filmed in SA, with both production and post-production taking place here. Filming on the neo-western six episode series began in September in the NT and SA, with support from both the SAFC and Screen Territory.
Thou Shalt Not Steal. A Stan Original series, with filming underway in the NT and SA. The eight-episode road series is set in Central and South Australia during the 1980s. Cast includes Miranda Otto and Noah Taylor. The first SA production from multi-Emmy Award winning Ludo Studio, the team behind international hit animated series Bluey.
Lesbian Space Princess. This animated comedy feature is the second film greenlit under the SAFC and AFF’s Film Lab: New Voices program, following Monolith which premiered in 2022. The first feature film from SA writers and directors Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese, and SA producer Tom Phillips, it will premiere at AFF 2024
Eddie’s Lil’ Homies. Animated TV series inspired by former AFL star Eddie Betts’ popular children’s books of the same name. Betts is producing. It is the first co-commission between Netflix and National Indigenous Television (NITV).
Australia’s Sleep Revolution with Dr Michael Moseley. Three-part factual TV series starring Dr Michael Mosley of SA’s Flinders University together with some of the nation’s poorest sleepers, to put their bodies on the line to trial Australian-led, world first sleep treatments. Part of the SBS slate for 2024.
Super Shark Highway. Six episode wildlife series from Breakout Productions, run by SA producer Colin Thrupp. Filmed across Queensland and SA, the series follows two elite teams of researchers as they tag and track multiple shark species to better understand their migration patterns.
Ladies in Black. Six-part ABC series. A sequel to the 2018 film of the same title, based on a 1993 novel by Australian author Madeleine St John. Set at Goodes Department Store in the 1960s, six months after the original story, it stars US actor Debi Mazar along with Australia’s Miranda Otto and Jessica De Gouw.
Beep and Mort: Season 2. A second series of this popular children’s puppet program by SA’s Windmill Pictures based children’s series recently wrapped filming at Adelaide Studios.
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