My Brilliant Career begins today on Netflix worldwide. Filmed in South Australia last year with the support of the South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC), locations include stunning regional landscapes and historic houses in the Southern Barossa region and South East, metropolitan Adelaide and the SAFC’s Adelaide Studios.
Based on the Miles Franklin novel of the same name, My Brilliant Career follows Sybylla, a fiercely modern young woman with one burning ambition: to be a writer, even as her family pushes her toward marriage. Sybylla breaks every convention of 1900 Australia as she chases a story that could write her way to independence, until she falls in love. Will she marry, or risk it all for a creative life?
Philippa Northeast leads the cast as Sybylla, joined by Christopher Chung as Harry, Anna Chancellor as Mrs Bossier, Genevieve O’Reilly as Helen, Kate Mulvany as Augusta, Jake Dunn as Frank, Alexander England as Julius, Sherry-Lee Watson as Nell and Miah Madden as Betty.
My Brilliant Career is the single biggest season of television ever made in South Australia, injected an anticipated $19 million into the state’s economy through direct production spend, employed 600 South Australians across the production’s creatives, crew, cast and extras, and engaged 410 South Australian businesses across supporting services including hospitality, accommodation, transport and more.
SAFC Acting CEO Leanne Saunders said: “My Brilliant Career is another great example of what can happen when local expertise is combined with global ambition, and it demonstrates the depth of talent we have here in South Australia’s screen sector.
“Productions like this don’t just create employment and generate investment – they leave a legacy. In the case of My Brilliant Career, that legacy includes valuable skilling and training for up-and-coming local crew through a special Netflix and SAFC attachments initiative, with a number of roles specifically created for hands-on training across production design, costume and more. These are the sort of opportunities that strengthen our industry, and our state as a whole, long after filming wraps.”
South Australia’s screen industry has been a hub of activity in recent times, with multiple projects currently in production or post-production around the state including WWII film Lady Death, horror films Wolf Creek Legacy, Ruby Ruby and The Debt, documentaries Aftermath and KUMARANGK: Sacred Women’s Business, Tilda Cobham-Hervey’s feature directorial debut It’s All Going Very Well, upcoming Catherine Zeta-Jones series Kill Jackie, season three of ABC comedy series Austin and more.
My Brilliant Career starts on Netflix today.
