South Australian Film Corporation from 1972 the first model for other states to revive screen industry in Australia

A state-of-the art film production array was offered at South Australian Film Corporation's Adelaide Studios in Glenside from 2011.
Image courtesy South Australian Film Corporation

The South Australian Film Corporation, started in 1972 by Don Dunstan’s state Labor government, revived the Australian film industry and became the model that other Australian states followed.

Established under an act of parliament, the corporation’s aim was encourage and develop the local film and television industry and to attract production to the state.

Australian television and film director, producer and writer Gil Brealey was the founding director and chairman. He led South Australian Film Corporation’s blend of commercial enterprise and industry development including:
       * producing films;
       • services relating to films and screening, through the South Australian Film and Video Library (1972-94);
       • information services about films and their availability:
       • arranging courses in film projection;
       * storing, distributing and selling films; and
       • researching distribution and effectiveness of films.

The South Australian Film Corporation’s first feature, Sunday Too Far Away (1975), was a profit-making hit and won four Australian Film Institute (AFI) awards, including best actor for Jack Thompson. The film, about the struggles of itinerant sheep shearers in the 1950s outback, spearheaded the Australian new wave of cinema.

Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) also became an Australian cinema icon, with national and international acclaim, followed by other successes films including Storm Boy (1976), Blue Fin (1979) and Breaker Morant (1980). Early television productions included Sara Dane (1982), All The Rivers Run (1983), Robbery Under Arms (1985) and The Shiralee (1987).

South Australian Film Corporation also turned out many documentaries, training films and short films before ceasing production in its own right in 1994 and becoming the state government’s central agency to assist the independent industry.

In the 1980s, the corporation moved from its original home in Norwood, in Adelaide’s eastern suburbs, to a disused factory in Hendon, in suburban northwest.  Hendon Studios was one of Australia’s most sought-after screen resources, providing independent feature film and television producers with high-end sound and post-production as well as basic production areas, including two sound stages.

Productions from Hendon included Bad Boy Bubby (1993), Wolf Creek (2005), Ten Canoes (2006), Lucky Miles (2007), The Boys Are Back (2009), Oranges and Sunshine (2010), Red Dog (2011) and Snowtown (2011).

South Australian Film Corporation moved again in 2011 to Adelaide Studios in Glenside on the Adelaide city fringe. Formerly an asylum, the heritage-listed 1800s sandstone building was renovated for the film corporation, blending the historic with cutting-edge production areas including two state-of-the art sound stages, edit rooms, screening theatre, a Foley stage, production offices and a Dolby Premier mixing studio with official Dolby Premier accreditation in 2012.

Designed to be an integrated hub for local screen creatives, the new studio also featured new office spaces, including room for dozens of local film, television and production businesses. From 2011 Adelaide Studios housed high-profile projects including TV drama series Pine Gap (2018) and Wanted S3 (2018) and feature films The Babadook (2014), Hotel Mumbai  (2018), Storm Boy (2019), I Am Mother (2019) and Mortal Kombat (2021).