The South Australian Film Corporation celebrated its fiftieth anniversary, and achievements as Australia’s longest running state screen agency, with industry members and stakeholders at Adelaide Studios this week.
Established in 1972, the SAFC has elevated South Australian stories, skills and talent in and on screen for half a century, supporting, connecting, and championing South Australian screen creatives and businesses and building the capacity of the sector from film and TV production through to post production, digital and visual effects, game development and more.
Since 2020, the SAFC has partnered with Channel 44 to deliver the First Nations Internship Program, providing mentorship and valuable opportunities to First Nations screen creatives.
As part of the First Nations Screen Strategy 2020-2025, the FNIP has provided on-the-job training and mentorship to First Nations screen creatives, leading to employment opportunities and the production of a new First Nations talk show, Mob Talks. Season 1 of Mob Talks is due to air on C44 in the new year and Season 2 will go into production mid-2022, thanks to support from the Community Broadcasting Foundation.
More than 300 people from across the SA screen sector gathered in Adelaide Studios. As part of the celebrations, the SAFC paid special tribute to six of South Australia’s longest-serving crew members, whose work over the decades has played a significant role in establishing and growing the state’s screen industry: Cinematographer David Foreman ACS, who has worked in the sector since starting as a junior assistant at the SAFC in 1973; sound designer James Currie, whose multi award-winning career dates back to 1977; costume designer Ruth de la Lande, whose first credit came on SAFC feature film Money Movers in 1978; cinematographer Malcolm Ludgate and camera and electrical department member Graeme Shelton, who both started their careers on SAFC feature film Blue Fin in 1978; and Beverley Freeman, one of South Australia’s longest serving female crew members, with a career spanning makeup, wardrobe and production design dating back to 1983.
SAFC CEO Kate Croser and Board Chair Julie Cooper presented each recipient with a hand-blown glass art trophy from the Jam Factory in recognition of their contribution to South Australia’s screen industry.
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Images: Clare Elvia
