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SA achieves new record in screen drama spend
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South Australia has achieved a record 15% share of this year’s national drama spend, with a new record-breaking high of $146 million spent in the state on drama production and post production in 2019/20.
According to Screen Australia’s 19/20 National Drama Report released this week, SA’s drama spend is up 34% on last year’s record high of $110 million, and up 71% on the 17/18 total of $85 million.
The all-time high makes 2019/20 the state’s fifth consecutive year of growth, with SA the only state to show continued growth over the last six financial years.
The National Drama Report measures the health of the Australian screen industry by covering the production of local and foreign feature films, TV dramas, online programs plus PDV (post production, digital and visual effects) activity.
Minister for Innovation and Skills The Hon. David Pisoni MP said "SA’s screen sector has once again proven the importance of the creative industries to the state’s economy with this record-breaking result.
"For a state which represents only 7% of the nation’s population, we’re punching above our weight by delivering a record 15% of Australia’s screen drama output – an incredible result that demonstrates the strength of our local industry.
"It is fantastic to see SA's screen sector has risen to the challenges of COVID-19 to continue working safely through the pandemic, with blockbuster feature film Mortal Kombat crucial in keeping our state’s screen production activity high and enabling our state to maintain its share of the national PDV work despite the disruption."
SAFC CEO Kate Croser said: "The fact that SA has once again achieved record-breaking results in a year severely disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic is a testament to the robustness of our screen industry, which continues to go from strength to strength.
"Not only has SA delivered record results for the sector in drama expenditure, but on top of that we’ve also had a strong year in factual with SA made children’s TV series Are You Tougher Than Your Ancestors and Teenage Boss, and documentary features including Maralinga Tjarutja, Getting Their Acts Together and This is Port Adelaide.
"The 19/20 year also saw the SAFC’s expansion into support for South Australia’s games sector with the Games Innovation Fund, through which we directly supported the development and production of 11 new SA-created video games."
Read more
Image: Mortal Kombat shooting on location in South Australia, photo courtesy Todd Garner
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Aftertaste and Addicted in ABC, SBS upfronts
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Adelaide's Closer Productions took centre stage in this week's upfronts announcements for ABC and SBS, with two of the company's productions highlighted in the networks' 2021 programming slates.
Six episode series Aftertaste led the ABC's comedy slate announcement, with the network releasing the first official photo of star Erik Thomson as volatile chef Easton West (above). After a disaster restaurant opening in Shanghai causes a social media scandal, West returns home to the Adelaide Hills and connects with his outspoken 19-year-old pastry cook niece Diana (Natalie Abbott),and takes her under his wing in an effort to crawl his way back to relevance.
Also from Closer and WA's Joined Up Productions, documentary Are You Addicted to Technology is described as a "world first" interactive mobile experience for SBS On Demand that will take the viewer on a personalised journey to question the relationship they have with their mobile devices.
Guiding the journey is Dr Huu Kim Le, a former gaming addict turned clinical psychiatrist, who provides a personalised response to viewer’s answers and measures how they compare to a national survey of Australians.
Aftertaste is a Closer production for the ABC, with major production investment from Screen Australia in association with the SAFC and financed with support from the ABC. Are You Addicted to Technology is a Closer Productions and Joined Up Films production for SBS. Principal production investment from Screen Australia in association with SBS. Financed with support from Screenwest and Lotterywest, and the SAFC.
Read more about Aftertaste and the ABC 2021 slate announcement here.
Read more about Are You Addicted to Technology and the SBS 2021 slate announcement here.
Image: Erik Thomson in Aftertaste, image courtesy ABC.
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SAFC announces new staff appointments
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The South Australian Film Corporation is pleased to announce two new staff appointments: Noelene Buddle as Chief Operating Officer, and Karen Baxter as Executive Assistant to the CEO.
Commencing her role in January 2021, Noelene Buddle comes to the SAFC from The Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus), a not-for-profit science communications organisation and publisher of Cosmos magazine, where she is currently CEO.
She has a diverse background in strategic management, having held senior executive roles in the life science, arts, entertainment and Higher Education sectors. Her qualifications include a Bachelor of Arts (Accountancy) and Master of Business Administration and she is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors as well as a CPA.
Karen Baxter has an extensive background in executive administration, with a recent focus on investment and business assistance to the entrepreneurial and startup sectors.
Most recently working in the office of the South Australian Chief Entrepreneur, Karen has experience in both public and private sectors, working in small startup companies through to not-for-profit groups, Government agencies and global organisations such as Barclays Bank and GE Healthcare. Karen commences in her role immediately.
SAFC CEO Kate Croser welcomed both new staff members to the organisation.
"We are delighted to welcome both Noelene and Karen to the SAFC. Both women bring a wealth of high-level experience, networks and knowledge to their roles, and we are confident they will both be invaluable assets to the organisation. I look forward to working with them both."
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Image (L-R): Incoming SAFC Chief Operating Officer Noelene Buddle and SAFC Executive Assistant to the CEO Karen Baxter.
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Film Lab: New Voices guidelines out now
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Calling all future feature filmmakers! Film Lab: New Voices opens for expressions of interest on 1 December.
Co-funded by the SAFC, Adelaide Film Festival and Mercury CX, Film Lab: New Voices is a low-budget feature film skills development initiative designed to provide a platform for the next generation of diverse, South Australian filmmaking talent.
Film Lab: New Voices offers a bold, ambitious, and creative program that will foster a new generation of key creatives and provide a tangible production and exhibition outcome.
The program will give three South Australian creative teams industry mentoring across a 12-month period to develop a low-budget feature film script which will be conceived and designed for the allocated budget.
Industry mentors with expertise in low-budget filmmaking will guide the three teams through a rigorous skills development program.
At the end of the development phase, one project will receive a $400,000 production grant to produce a feature film for premiere at the Adelaide Film Festival 2022. Teams are encouraged to be entrepreneurial however, they must obtain prior approval for any additional finance and in-kind support and be able to demonstrate that their films can be completed to a professional standard for the approved budget and timeframe.
Expressions of interest for Film Lab: New Voices will open Tuesday 1 December, 2020 and close midnight on Wednesday 6 January, 2021.
Want to know more? Register to attend our Webinar Information Session on Tuesday 1 December at 12.00pm ACDT. In this free Zoom session SAFC Production Executive Julie Ryan and Industry Development Executive Kath McIntyre will provide an overview of the program, and provide participants with everything they need to know in order to put together a competitive application.
Read more
Image: Shut Up Little Man, Closer Productions (2011)
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Mercury CX honours SA screen at the SASAs
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The SAFC congratulates all SA screen practitioners nominated in the upcoming 2020 South Australian Screen Awards, being presented by Mercury CX in a special virtual ceremony on 4 December.
Finalists have been announced across 15 genre and craft categories, with a remaining six to be announced on the night.
SAFC supported productions The Loop (prod. Carl Kuddell, Jennifer Lyons-Reid; dir. Lorcan Hopper, Johanis Lyons-Reid), Deadly Family Portraits: Crombie Crew (prod. Gina Rings, dir. Edoardo Crismani) and Dusty Feet Mob - This Story's True (prod. Carl Kuddell, Jennifer Lyons-Reid, dir. Johanis Lyons-Reid, Paul Tanner) have scored eight nominations between them, including Best Documentary nominations for all three films.
David Tang (The Loop) and Johanis Lyons-Reid (Dusty Feet Mob - This Story’s True) were both nominated for Best Cinematography, while Justin Pounsett was nominated for Best Music Composition for his work on both films.
The SAFC's own Adelaide Studios sound technician Carlos Manrique Clavijo also scored three nominations for Best Sound Design, including for Crombie Crew.
Winners are set to share in $35,000 of support and recognition, including a $2,500 Grand Jury Prize awarded by the SAFC.
All members of the SA screen sector are invited to attend the virtual awards presentation, which will include special guests including Minister for Innovation and Skills The Hon. David Pisoni MP, SAFC Chair Peter Hanlon and Adelaide Film Festival Creative Director Mat Kesting.
Find out more about the awards and register your place here.
Image: Elaine Crombie in Deadly Family Portraits: Crombie Crew.
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Applause: accolades, awards & appointments
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● SAFC supported productions scored 24 further AACTA nominations in the final round of award categories announced last week. Stateless, Operation Buffalo, First Day, I Am Woman and Maralinga Tjarutja received nods in categories for directing, screenplay, cinematography, editing, score, sound, production and costume design and more. ABC drama Stateless now leads the list of nominees, with 18 nominations overall. The AACTA Industry Awards are announced tonight at 6pm in a virtual ceremony. Read more
● And SA continued to shine in the AACTAs nominations this week, with five of the 12 feature films in line for the Byron Kennedy Award being SA made and SAFC supported. The Babadook, Cargo, Girl Asleep, I Am Mother and The Infinite Man are all up for the jury-selected award as examples of "outstanding creative enterprise" from the last decade. Usually awarded to a person or organisation, the award carries a cash prize of $10,000. Read more
● SA made and SAFC supported children's series First Day, produced by SA's Epic Films, and Are You Tougher Than Your Ancestors, created and produced by SA's Flying Kite Pictures, continue to gain international recognition, taking out the first and second prizes respectively for Best Live Action TV at the Chicago International Children's Film Festival this week. Read more
● And that's not all for First Day, which also scored two nominations at the 2021 Kidscreen Awards for Best Live Action Series and Best Inclusivity. The series was also recently nominated in the prestigious Rose d’Or Awards. Read more
● Two SAFC supported productions were recognised at the recent 2020 Australian Screen Sound Guild Awards. Deafinition won Best Sound for a Live-Action Short Film for Adelaide Studios' own sound technician Carlos Manrique Clavijo and Victor Ivchenko, while Upright episode five won the award for Best Sound for a Drama or Comedy Under 30 minutes. Read more
● Adelaide actor Luca Sardelis has been named as a 2020 Casting Guild of Australia Rising Star for her performance in SA made and SAFC supported series The Hunting. Read more
● The soundtrack for Adelaide Studios mixed feature film I Am Woman won Best Original Soundtrack or Musical Theatre Cast Album at the 2020 ARIAs this week. Read more
Image: Cate Blanchett in Stateless, image supplied.
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