Online series F*CKING ADELAIDE brings local crew home in ironic celebration of hometowns
Arts
A NEW Aussie drama series celebrating the idea of home is bringing its crew back to their roots.
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Filming for F*cking Adelaide, the six-part series from Closer Productions, began in South Australia’s capital last week.
Directed by South Australian Sophie Hyde, the series laughs at generic hometown jokes associated with smaller cities while highlighting a sense of belonging and pride.
Hyde said although the movie centres around the jokes and perceptions of Adelaide, the themes could be applied to any city around the world.
“Adelaide has this reputation where people think it’s just this giant country town that’s really quiet and everyone knows each other. While a lot of those things are true, it’s so much more,” she said.
“We wanted to reclaim that joke, laugh at ourselves a bit but also pay tribute to the city and what it is that we find so good about living here.
“It could be f*cking Portland or f*cking Manchester, because every place has their own jokes, but it’s still home and people recognise the idea of going home or back to your family.”
All key creatives and heads of department on staff are from South Australia.
Hyde said Adelaide had been a “kind of secret city” separated from the rest of the country and because of this different companies such as Closer Productions were able to succeed.
Local Adelaidean Tilda Cobham-Hervey stars in F*cking Adelaide. Picture: Daniel Purvis.
She said having a local cast, including one of the scriptwriters, Matt Vesely, was an ironic parallel to the movie’s theme of bringing people back home.
The notable Australian cast includes Green Room Award-winning Australian icon Pamela Rabe (Wentworth, Cosi), Kate Box (Rake, The Little Death), Brendan McLean (The Great Gatsby, Tracks), and Adelaide-native Tilda Cobham-Hervey (Hotel Mumbai, 52 Tuesdays, Barracuda).
In the series, three close but disparate siblings reunite in Adelaide. But when they discover their mother is selling their childhood home, their middleclass freedoms and sense of security is rocked and they are forced to confront a past that none of them can let go of. Each 12-minute episode is told through the unique point of view of one of the main characters.
Commissioned by the ABC and Screen Australia through their Long Story Short initiative, F*cking Adelaide was one of six successful projects out of 290 applicants. The series has received additional funding from the South Australian Film Corporation.
“Closer Productions is an innovative filmmaking collective who are part of a distinctly South Australian new wave of filmmakers,” South Australian Film Corporation CEO Annabelle Sheehan said.
“Their work represents a unique creative voice in the Australian screen landscape. Being selected as one of six projects from almost 300 applications confirms how dynamic and compelling South Australian stories are.”
The series will shoot from early December through to mid-January on location in Adelaide and other parts of South Australia.
ABC will premiere F*cking Adelaide online on its iview platform in the second half of 2017.
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