South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC) is a South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

n Government statutory corporation established in 1972. Former State Premier Don Dunstan

Don Dunstan

Donald Allan "Don" Dunstan, AC, QC was a South Australian politician. He entered politics as the Member for Norwood in 1953, became state Labor leader in 1967, and was Premier of South Australia between June 1967 and April 1968, and again between June 1970 and February 1979.The son of a business...

 played an instrumental role in the foundation of the Corporation and its early film production activities.

The Corporation was the first State film corporation established in Australia, and the success of its business model led other State Governments also to establish similar bodies charged with the promotion of film production and fostering industry development.

At the time of the Corporation's establishment, the Australian film industry was in the doldrums, and the Corporation played a significant role in the revival of Australian film making.

Until 1994, the Corporation was involved in the production of films and television programs. The television mini-series The Battlers was the last production in which the SAFC acted as a producer.

Since then, it has focussed on supporting the production of films and television in South Australia, including providing funding and support, as well as making available production and post-production facilities.

The Corporation has studio facilities situated at Hendon

Hendon (disambiguation)

Hendon may refer to:Places* Hendon, in the London Borough of Barnet, England* Hendon Central tube station, in London* Hendon railway station, a National Rail station in the West of Hendon in London* Hendon...

 in suburban Adelaide

Adelaide

Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...

.

The Corporation will be moving to a New Film and Screen Hub in the next two years courtesy of a major financial redevelopment from the South Australian State Government.

Major productions

The Corporation produced several significant and successful films and television productions up until 1994 and thereafter has acted in assistance with development and production facilities. These include alphabetically:

• Alexandra's Project
  Alexandra's Project
  Alexandra's Project is a 2003 drama/thriller Australian movie.-Plot:It depicts a family where the protagonist, Steve, comes to find the life that he has been living is a lie. After years of what he believed to be marital bliss, his wife Alexandra confronts him with her dissatisfaction in a most...
  
  
• Australian Rules
  Australian Rules (film)
  Australian Rules, is a 2002 Australian film directed by Paul Goldman. The film was adapted from the novel Deadly, Unna? by Phillip Gwynne. It stars Nathan Phillips, Luke Carroll, Tom Budge, Brian Torry and Lisa Flanagan...
  
  
• Bad Boy Bubby
  Bad Boy Bubby
  Bad Boy Bubby is an Australian black comedy/drama film written and directed by Rolf de Heer. It stars Nicholas Hope and Carmel Johnson. It was released in 1993....
  
  
• Beautiful
  Beautiful (2009 film)
  Beautiful is a 2009 Australian independent film, written and directed by Dean O'Flaherty, which was released by Adelaide-based Kojo Pictures on 5 March 2009. The film marked the feature filmmaking debut of both O'Flaherty and Kojo Pictures...
  
  
• Blue Fin
  Blue Fin
  Blue Fin is a 1978 family movie that stars Hardy Krüger, Greg Rowe and Elspeth Ballantyne. It is based on an Australian novel written by Colin Thiele and published in 1969.-Plot:...
  
  
• Breaker Morant
  Breaker Morant (film)
  Breaker Morant is a 1980 Australian film about the court martial of Breaker Morant, directed by Bruce Beresford and starring British actor Edward Woodward as Harry "Breaker" Morant...
  
  
• Dance Me to My Song
  Dance Me to My Song
  Dance Me to My Song is a 1998 Australian drama film directed by Rolf de Heer. It was entered into the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. The film grossed $175,138 at the box office in Australia.-Cast:* John Brumpton - Eddie* Danny Cowles - Joe...
  
  
• Dawn!
  Dawn!
  Dawn! is a 1979 Australian sports biopic about the three-time Olympic gold medallist swimmer Dawn Fraser, starring Bronwyn Mackay-Payne, written by Joy Cavill and directed by Ken Hannam.- Plot :...
  
  
• December Boys
  December Boys
  December Boys is a 2007 Australian film directed by Rod Hardy and written by Marc Rosenberg and adapted from the 1963 novel of the same name by Michael Noonan. It was released on 14 September 2007 in the UK and US and 20 September 2007 in Australia...
  
  
• Deck Dogz
  Deck Dogz
  Deck Dogz is a 2005 Australian skater film, written and directed by Steve Pasvolsky and starring Sean Kennedy, Ho Thi Lu and Richard Wilson with a guest appearance by Tony Hawk. It was filmed in and around Adelaide and Sydney, Australia...
  
  
• Finders Keepers (See The Finder
  The Finder
  The Finder, also known as Finders Keepers, is an Australian children's television show, directed by Scott Hicks, that first aired on 28 October 1991, based on a book by Emily Rodda...
  
  )
• For the Term of His Natural Life
  For the Term of his Natural Life
  For the Term of His Natural Life, written by Marcus Clarke, was published in the Australian Journal between 1870 and 1872 , appearing as a novel in 1874. It is the best known novelisation of life as a convict in early Australian history...
  
    (1983) (TV)
• Freedom
• Golden Fiddles
• Hammers Over the Anvil
  Hammers Over the Anvil
  Hammers Over the Anvil is a 1991 Australian drama film starring Russell Crowe and Charlotte Rampling, directed by Ann Turner. The screenplay by Peter Hepworth and Ann Turner is based on the novel by Alan Marshall...
  
  
• Kiss or Kill
  Kiss or Kill (1997 film)
  Kiss or Kill is a 1997 Australian thriller about two lovers and fugitives from the law who are pursued across the Australian Outback. The film was written and directed by Bill Bennett, and stars Frances O'Connor and Matt Day.-Plot summary:...
  
  
• Like Minds
  Like Minds
  Like Minds is a feature film, written and directed by Gregory J. Read. The film was produced by the South Australian Film Corporation. It debuted in Australia on 9 November 2006. The psychological thriller is the first Australian/UK co-production to be set in the UK in over a decade. Like Minds...
  
  
• Look Both Ways
  Look Both Ways
  Look Both Ways is a 2005 Australian independent film, written and directed by Sarah Watt, starring an ensemble cast, which was released on 18 August 2005. The film was supported by the Adelaide Film Festival fund and opened the 2005 festival. It won four AFI Awards, including Best Film and Best...
  
  
• Lucky Miles
  Lucky Miles
  Lucky Miles is an Australian comedy/drama feature film based on several true stories involving people entering Australia illegally along the continent's coastline...
  
  
• McLeod's Daughters
  McLeod's Daughters
  McLeod's Daughters is a Logie award-winning Australian drama series that aired on the Nine Network from 2001 to 2009. It tells the story of two sisters, Claire and Tess McLeod, who are reunited after they inherit the family farm...
  
  
• Money Movers
  Money Movers
  Money Movers is a 1978 crime action drama film directed by Bruce Beresford. The film was based on the book Money Movers by Devon Minchin, founder of Metropolitan Security Services...
  
   (1978)
• Napoleon
  Napoleon (1995 film)
  Napoleon is a 1995 Australian film directed by Mario Andreacchio, and written by Mark Saltzman about a golden retriever puppy who runs away from his city home to the wild dogs.- Plot :...
  
  
• Opal Dream
  Opal Dream
  Opal Dream is a 2006 Australian drama film, based on the Ben Rice novella Pobby and Dingan, directed by Peter Cattaneo and starring an ensemble cast including Vince Colosimo, Jacqueline McKenzie, Christian Byers and Sapphire Boyce. It was filmed on location around South Australia, in Adelaide,...
  
  
• Picnic at Hanging Rock
  Picnic at Hanging Rock (film)
  Picnic at Hanging Rock is a 1975 Australian feature film directed by Peter Weir and starring Anne-Louise Lambert, Helen Morse, Rachel Roberts and Vivean Gray. The film is adapted from the novel of the same name, by author Joan Lindsay....
  
  
• Playing Beatie Bow
  Playing Beatie Bow (film)
  Playing Beatie Bow is a 1986 Australian drama film directed by Donald Crombie. The screenplay by Peter Gawler and Irwin Lane is based on the novel by Ruth Park.-Plot summary:...
  
  
• Rabbit-Proof Fence
  Rabbit-Proof Fence (film)
  Rabbit-Proof Fence is a 2002 Australian drama film directed by Phillip Noyce based on the book Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington Garimara...
  
  
• Rain Shadow
  Rain Shadow (TV series)
  Rain Shadow is an Australian television drama series which premiered on 7 October 2007 on ABC TV. It aired on Sundays at . The six-part series was produced by Southern Star...
  
   (TV series)
• Robbery Under Arms
  Robbery Under Arms
  Robbery Under Arms is a classic Australian novel by Rolf Boldrewood . It was first published in serialised form by The Sydney Mail between July 1882 and August 1883, then in three volumes in London in 1888...
  
   (TV)
• Run Chrissie Run!
  Run Chrissie Run!
  Run Chrissie Run! is a 1986 Australian film, directed by Chris Langman. Graham Hartley adapted the script from the novel When We Ran by Keith Leopold...
  
   (TV)
• Sara Dane
• Sebastian and the Sparrow
• Shine
  Shine
  Shine may refer to:* Reflection* Shine , a 1996 Australian film starring Geoffrey Rush* Shine * Shine Guitars* LG Shine, mobile phone* Donal Shine, Gaelic footballer...
  
  
• Smokes and Lollies (1975)
• Storm Boy
  Storm Boy (film)
  Storm Boy is a 1976 Australian film based on a children's book, by Colin Thiele, about a boy and his pelican.Storm Boy likes to wander alone along the fierce deserted coast of South Australia's Coorong. He and his father live a reclusive life among the dunes that face out into the Southern Ocean...
  
  
• Sunday Too Far Away
  Sunday Too Far Away
  Sunday Too Far Away is an Australian feature film which was directed by Ken Hannam and released in 1975. It belongs to the Australian Film Renaissance which occurred during that decade....
  
  
• Sun on the Stubble
  Sun on the Stubble
  Sun on the Stubble is a book written by Colin Thiele, published in 1961.It was adapted as a TV miniseries in 1996.-Miniseries cast:*Christian Kohlund - Marcus Gunther*Jamie Croft - Bruno Gunther*Sophie Heathcote - Lottie Gunther...
  
   (TV)
• The Battlers
• The Caterpillar Wish
  The Caterpillar Wish
  The Caterpillar Wish is a 2006 Australian coming-of-age film, directed by Sandra Sciberras and starring and ensemble cast including Victoria Thaine, Susie Porter and Philip Quast. It was filmed in and around Robe, South Australia...
  
  
• The Club
• The Fairies
  The Fairies
  The Fairies is an Australian television show based on two fairies: Harmony and Rhapsody. They also have friends, including Elf, the Fairycake maker, Barnaby, the Bizzy Buzzy Bee and "Wizzy the Wizard"....
  
   (TV series)
• The Finder
  The Finder
  The Finder, also known as Finders Keepers, is an Australian children's television show, directed by Scott Hicks, that first aired on 28 October 1991, based on a book by Emily Rodda...
  
   (aka Finders Keepers)
• The Fire in the Stone (TV)
• The Fourth Wish
  The Fourth Wish
  The Fourth Wish is a 1976 Australian family film directed by Don Chaffey.-Cast:*John Meillon ... Casey*Robert Bettles ... Sean*Michael Craig ... Dr. Richardson*Anne Haddy ... Dr. Kirk*Ron Haddrick ... Harbord*Robyn Nevin ... Connie...
  
  
• The Honourable Wally Norman
  The Honourable Wally Norman
  The Honourable Wally Norman is a 2003 Australian comedy film directed by Ted Emery. It stars Kevin Harrington, Shaun Micallef, and Greig Pickhaver.It was filmed primarily in South Australia and was nominated for two AFI awards.-Plot:...
  
  
• The Irishman
  The Irishman
  The Irishman is a Miles Franklin Award winning novel by Australian author Elizabeth O'Conner.The novel deals with the experiences of Paddy Doolan, an Irish teamster, and his sons in the Gulf Country in the north of Australia.-Film Adaptation:...
  
  
• The Last Wave
  The Last Wave
  The Last Wave is a 1977 Australian film directed by Peter Weir. It is about a white Australian lawyer whose seemingly normal life is disrupted after he takes on a murder case for Aborigine defendants...
  
  
• The Old Man Who Read Love Stories
• The Plumber
  The Plumber
  The Plumber is a 1979 Australian film. Written and directed by Peter Weir, The Plumber was originally made and broadcast as a television film in Australia in 1979 but was subsequently released to theaters in several countries beginning with the United States in 1981...
  
   (1978) (TV)
• The Shiralee
  The Shiralee (1987 film)
  The Shiralee is a 1987 Australian TV film directed by George Ogilvie, based on the novel of the same name by D'Arcy Niland.-External links:*...
  
   (TV)
• The Sound of Love (1978) (TV)
• The Survivor
  The Survivor (film)
  The Survivor is a 1981 movie starring Robert Powell and Jenny Agutter, based on a novel of the same name by James Herbert.The film was notable for being the first Australian film to cost more than A$1,000,000 to make...
  
  
• Ten Canoes
  Ten Canoes
  Ten Canoes is a 2006 film. It was directed by Rolf de Heer and Peter Djigirr and starred Crusoe Kurddal. The title of the film arose from discussions between de Heer and David Gulpilil about a photograph of ten canoeists poling across the Arafura Swamp, taken by anthropologist Donald Thomson in...
  
  
• Thunderstruck
  Thunderstruck (film)
  Thunderstruck is a 2004 movie starring Stephen Curry , Damon Gameau , Ryan Johnson , Callan Mulvey , and Sam Worthington . The title of the movie was taken from the AC/DC song of the same name.-Plot:...
  
  
• Ultraman: Towards the Future
  Ultraman: Towards the Future
  Ultraman: Towards the Future is a tokusatsu SF/kaiju/superhero TV series produced in 1990 in Australia by the South Australian Film Corporation and Japan's Tsuburaya Productions . There were 13 episodes filmed...
  
   (co-production with Japan's Tsuburaya Productions
  Tsuburaya Productions
  is a Japanese special effects studio founded in 1963 by special effects wizard Eiji Tsuburaya and was run by his family, until October 2007, when the family sold the company to advertising agency TYO Inc. The studio is best known for producing the original Ultraman TV series, as well as the Ultra...
  
  )
• Under Capricorn
  Under Capricorn
  Under Capricorn is an Alfred Hitchcock historical feature film.-Production:The film is based on the novel Under Capricorn by Helen Simpson, with screenplay by James Bridie, and adaptation by Hume Cronyn. The movie was co-produced by Hitchcock and Sidney Bernstein for their short-lived production...
  
   (1983) (TV)
• Weekend of Shadows
• Wolf Creek
  Wolf Creek (film)
  Wolf Creek is a 2005 independent Australian horror film written, co-produced and directed by Greg McLean. The story revolves around three backpackers who find themselves held captive by a serial killer in the Australian outback...
  
  

Influence on Australian film making

The Corporation's activities helped rebuild Australia's dormant film industry.

Besides its successful productions, which had critical and commercial success, the Corporation's productions helped to launch successful careers for many artists, including Peter Weir

Peter Weir

Peter Lindsay Weir, AM is an Australian film director. After playing a leading role in the Australian New Wave cinema with his films such as Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Last Wave and Gallipoli, Weir directed a diverse group of American and international films—many of them major box office...

, Jack Thompson

Jack Thompson (actor)

Jack Thompson, AM is an Australian actor and one of the major figures of Australian cinema. He was educated at University of Queensland, before embarking on his acting career. In 2002, he was made an honorary member of the Australian Cinematographers Society...

, Scott Hicks

Scott Hicks

Robert Scott Hicks is a film director from Australia. He is best known as the screenwriter and director of Shine, the Oscar-winning biopic of pianist David Helfgott. Hicks's work has been nominated for an Academy Award as well as winning an Emmy Award.-Personal life:Hicks was born in Uganda, the...

, Rolf de Heer

Rolf de Heer

Rolf de Heer is a Dutch film director, writer and producer living in Australia. De Heer was born in Heemskerk in The Netherlands but migrated to Sydney when he was eight years old. He attended the Australian Film Television and Radio School in Sydney. His company is called Vertigo Productions and...

, Mario Andreacchio

Mario Andreacchio

Mario Andreacchio is an Australian film producer/director.Born in Leigh Creek, South Australia, Andreacchio graduated from Flinders University with a degree in Psychology , and then was selected to study at the Australian Film & Television School to train as a film director...

, Bryan Brown

Bryan Brown

Bryan Neathway Brown, AM is an Australian actor.-Early life:Brown was born in Sydney, the son of John Brown and Molly Brown, a house cleaner who worked as a pianist in the early days of the Langshaw School of Ballet. He grew up in the south-western Sydney suburb of Bankstown and began working at...

, Geoffrey Rush

Geoffrey Rush

Geoffrey Roy Rush is an Australian actor and film producer. He is one of the few people who has won the "Triple Crown of Acting": an Academy Award, a Tony Award and an Emmy Award. He has won one Academy Award for acting , three British Academy Film Awards , two Golden Globe Awards and four Screen...

 and Bruce Beresford

Bruce Beresford

Bruce Beresford is an Australian film director who has made more than 30 feature films over a 40-year career.-Early life:...

.

As with most production companies, not every Corporation production so far has been a critical or financial success, but each has helped to give artists opportunities to hone their craft, and move on to achieve success and professional recognition.

Current activities

Since 1994, the role of the Corporation has changed to that of facilitating productions, rather than engaging in production itself.

Its most conspicuous success in recent years has been the facilitation of the production of the popular Nine Network

Nine Network

The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...

 program McLeod's Daughters

McLeod's Daughters

McLeod's Daughters is a Logie award-winning Australian drama series that aired on the Nine Network from 2001 to 2009. It tells the story of two sisters, Claire and Tess McLeod, who are reunited after they inherit the family farm...

 since 2001, which is filmed on location in rural South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

n settings.

The Corporation has high quality post-production facilities which have been used in connection with a broad range of productions.

External links

• Corporate website
• South Australian Film Corporation at the Internet Movie Database
  Internet Movie Database
  Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
  
  
• Australian Film Commission
  Australian Film Commission
  The Australian Film Commission was an Australian government agency with a mandate to promote the creation and distribution of films in Australia as well as to preserve the country's film history. It also had a production arm responsible for production and commissioning of films for government...
  
  
• Cinema of Australia
  Cinema of Australia
  Cinema of Australia, more commonly referred to as the Australian film industry, refers to the system of production, distribution, and exhibition of films in Australia. Film production commenced in Australia in 1906 with the production of The Story of the Kelly Gang, the earliest feature film made...
  
  
• Film Australia
  Film Australia
  Film Australia was a company established by the Government of Australia to produce films about Australia. Its mission was to create an audio-visual record of Australian culture, through the commissioning, distribution and management of programs that deal with matters of national interest or...
  
  
• Screen Australia
  Screen Australia
  Screen Australia is the Federal Government’s key funding body for the Australian screen production industry. Its functions are to support and promote the development of a highly creative, innovative and commercially sustainable industry....
  
  
• World cinema
  World cinema
  World cinema is a term used primarily in English language speaking countries to refer to the films and film industries of non-English speaking countries. It is therefore often used interchangeably with the term foreign film...
  
  
• List of Australian films
• List of films set in Australia
• List of films shot in Adelaide
• List of films shot in Melbourne
• List of films shot in Queensland
• List of films shot in Sydney