Boasting a wide variety of heritage and modern architecture, beautiful beaches just minutes from the city centre and the flexibility to easily double for a range of European cities, South Australia’s capital Adelaide provided the perfect locations for upcoming feature film Jimpa, starring Academy Award winner Olivia Colman and Golden Globe winner John Lithgow.
Set to premiere at Sundance 2025, Jimpa is the latest feature film from acclaimed South Australian writer/director Sophie Hyde (Good Luck to You, Leo Grande), who wrote the script alongside South Australian writer and frequent collaborator Matthew Cormack (52 Tuesdays).
It tells of film director Hannah (Colman) and her non-binary teenager Frances (Aud Mason-Hyde in their feature debut) who travel to Amsterdam to visit Frances’ beloved gay grandfather “Jim-pa” (Lithgow). When Frances yearns to stay with Jim for their final year of school, Hannah has to reconsider her beliefs about parenting and confront old stories about her relationship with her father.
With the story unfolding across Australia and Europe, Adelaide needed to not only represent itself on screen but also stand in for a range of other European cities including London and Sitges in Spain, while filming also took place in Amsterdam and Helsinki.
Producer Liam Heyen of Mad Ones Films said, “Jimpa is a film that explores the idea of home. Our characters grapple with the implications of living far away from their immediate family, and as such the locations in Jimpa are very important to the storytelling and experience of the film.”
In the heart of Adelaide’s CBD, the city’s many beautiful heritage buildings, quirky laneways and modern cafes and bars transported the production to London. Local hospitality favourites Exchange Coffee in the city’s buzzing East End, and Leigh Street Wine Bar in the trendy Leigh/Peel precinct stood in for a London café and restaurant for scenes with Colman.
“We worked with two incredible South Australian location managers on the film, Scott McCarten and Sarah Abbey. We were constantly amazed by the locations they put forward, which needed to span multiple decades from the 1970s to present day.”
– Jimpa producer Liam Heyen
Surrounded by leafy gardens on the city’s main cultural boulevard North Terrace, the historic halls of the University of Adelaide doubled for London Film School, while just a short drive south of the city in the suburb of Goodwood the stunning 1941-built Art Deco-style Capri Theatre made the ideal backdrop for a scene set at a film premiere. A mid-century house in Rostrevor, in the city’s east, and the 1970s era Dom Polski Centre community hall in the CBD both proved period gems for the production team, all examples of the unique character buildings just waiting to be discovered across Adelaide.
With Adelaide Airport only a 15-minute drive from the city centre, Adelaide is a popular destination for productions seeking convenience for visiting cast and crew, and Jimpa was no exception – but this time the newly upgraded terminal was also used as a filming location.
The producer also found a double for the coastline of Sitges, Spain in beautiful Seacliff Beach, with miles of clear, white sand and crystal blue waters just 30 minutes’ drive from Adelaide’s CBD.
“As an interstate producer I found shooting in Adelaide such a joy, some highlights including a great day of filming with Olivia Colman at the Adelaide Airport, using Seacliff Beach as a stand in for Sitges, Spain, and our time at a beautiful mid-century home surrounded by gum trees in Rostrevor.”
– Jimpa producer Liam Heyen
“Adelaide’s such a wonderful place to make a film because there’s the studio’s basically in the middle of the city, which is quite rare. So, it’s easy to get around.”
– Jimpa producer Liam Heyen
Combined with outstanding production incentives, flexible facilities at the South Australian Film Corporation’s (SAFC) Adelaide Studios and an array of award-winning world-class post-production and VFX companies, South Australia is the perfect location for screen productions of any size.
To find out more about filming in South Australia visit the SAFC’s Locations Gallery online at safilm.com.au/locations or contact SAFC Head of Production and Development, Leanne Saunders, at [email protected]
Jimpa is a Closer Productions, Mad Ones Films and Viking Film production. Major production investment from Screen Australia and Align with the support of Netherlands Film Fund and the Netherlands Film Production Incentive. Financed in association with The Finnish Impact Film Fund, Aurora Studios, Cinéart, The South Australian Film Corporation, Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund and Mind The Gap Film Finance. Further financing provided by Kojo, Closer Films and Mad Ones Films. ANZ distribution by Kismet and The Unquiet Collective, and Cinéart is distributing in the Benelux region. International sales by Protagonist Pictures and CAA for North America. Developed with assistance of Screen Australia and the South Australian Film Corporation.