1972–2000 The South Australian Film Corporation was founded as a production company in 1972, established under the
South Australian Film Corporation Act by the
Dunstan government. It was intended “to stimulate and encourage the formation and continued development of the South Australian film and television industry”. At the time of the Corporation's establishment, the Australian film industry was stagnating, and the Corporation played a significant role in the revival of Australian film making. Premier Don Dunstan played an instrumental role in the foundation of the Corporation and its early film production activities. From its genesis, the SAFC collaborated with various government departments and agencies in the production of short documentaries and educational films. These included co-productions with the South Australian Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Department of Marine & Harbors, the Education Department, the Office of Fair Trading, the Department of Housing, Urban and Regional Affairs and others. In the 1980s, the SAFC shifted its focus to television production. It relocated to a disused Philips factory in
Hendon in the north-west suburbs of
Adelaide.
Jock Bair was head of drama. In 1994 its role changed, as it ceased producing films and became the government's central agency to provide assistance to independent film makers. The television mini-series
The Battlers was the last production produced by the SAFC. As the first state film corporation in Australia, the success of its business model led other state governments to establish similar bodies charged with the promotion of film production and fostering industry development.
Film library collections In 1974, the South Australian Film Corporation Library (and within it, the Film Library) absorbed two film libraries previously held by the
Education Department: the Educational Film Library (EFL) and the Documentary Film Library (DFL), comprising 10,000 films. The EFL consisted of curriculum-oriented material on 16mm films. The DFL spanned films for non-school organisations. These collections were moved to a new location at
O'Connell Street, North Adelaide. In July 2001, the South Australian Film Corporation Collection of scripts and ephemera was given to the
Flinders University Library.
21st century SAFC facilitated the production of the
Nine Network program ''
McLeod's Daughters'' (2001–2009), which was filmed on location in rural South Australia. at a cost of A$43 million. The project included new sound stages and mixing suites, as well as a major refurbishment of an historic 19th-century building as a high-tech film hub. The Corporation moved its headquarters to
Glenside, an inner eastern suburb of Adelaide, sharing the historic former administration building of
Glenside Hospital with film production company
Closer Productions. The new Adelaide Studios were opened by Rann on 20 October 2011.
2009–2012: FilmLab FilmLab was a low-budget
feature film initiative created in 2008, with a budget of to be allocated to the production of eight low-budget feature films over four years, from initial concept through to delivery and marketing of the films. In May 2009 the four successful teams were announced, chosen from a shortlist of 14:
Sophie Hyde, Bryan Mason, and Matt Cormack of
Closer Productions; Hugh Nguyen and Eddie White of the People's Republic of Animation;
Julie Ryan of Cyan Films with
Matthew Bate of Plexus Films; and Ashlee Page and Sonya Humphrey of
Sacred Cow Films. The initiative ran until 2012, and was credited with launching the careers of at least 12 filmmakers, and also helped to bring to fruition critically acclaimed films including
Shut Up Little Man,
52 Tuesdays and
The Infinite Man. Also in 2017, The Heysen Hicks Set Construction Studio, so named in honour of filmmakers
Scott Hicks and his wife
Kerry Heysen , was opened.
James Wan's
reboot of
video game franchise
Mortal Kombat as a feature film was the largest film production in the state's history. In May 2019, it was announced that the film had entered pre-production and would be shot in South Australia, before being released in April 2021. In August 2019,
CEO Courtney Gibson resigned, returning to
Sydney 15 months after taking up the role. A few weeks later, the government confirmed the appointment of South Australian producer
Kate Croser, who has had a long career in Australian film and television. Amanda Duthie, who in late 2018 left her post at the
Adelaide Film Festival and became Head of Production, Development, Attraction and Studios, also serving as acting CEO of SAFC after Gibson's departure, resigned her position to return to
Sydney as of 22 November 2019. ==Governance and funding==