Bettina Hamilton

Bettina Hamilton
OccupationFilm producer
Years active2006–present
Known forEmbrace (2016)
Monolith (2022)
Kangaroo Island (2025)

Bettina Hamilton is an Australian film producer based in Adelaide, South Australia. She is known for her work on several successful Australian films, including the documentary feature Embrace (2016), and feature fiction films Monolith (2022) and Kangaroo Island (2025). She has also been line producer on several TV series, including the comedy series Aftertaste (2021–2022) and the 2026 crime series Treasure & Dirt.

Early life and education

Bettina Hamilton grew up in South Australia.[1][2]

Career

Hamilton began working in various roles in film production (including production manager, coordinator, and accountant) around 2006.[3] In 2010, with writer/director Dave Wade, she produced the short film Cropped, which was nominated for Best Short Film at the 2011 Sydney Film Festival as well as being nominated at the inaugural AACTA Awards, for Best Short Fiction Film. In 2011, she produced the 7-minute short film A Tortured Mind for the 2012 Tropfest short film festival. It was partly funded by the Media Resource Centre and the South Australian Film Corporation (one of three South Australian films selected for the Tropfest initiative), with some funds raised via crowdfunding platform Pozible.[4][5]

Hamilton co-produced the 2016 documentary film Embrace, along with writer and director Taryn Brumfitt and others.[6] She was line producer[7] on the ABC and Closer Productions' comedy series Aftertaste,[3] as well as the Fox drama series The Twelve.[7] She was production manager for the acclaimed teenage drama series The Hunting (2019) on SBS, the 2020 ABC Me children's documentary series Are You Tougher Than Your Ancestors?, and the 2022 feature film Gold (2021).[3][8] She also co-produced the documentary feature about Australian rock band The Angels directed by Madeleine Parry, called The Angels: Kickin' Down the Door (2022), with Peter Hanlon and others. The film premiered at the 2022 Adelaide Film Festival and was released in Australian cinemas on 1 December 2022.[9]

Hamilton's first feature film as producer was Monolith, after being selected for development through SAFC's inaugural "Film Lab: New Voices" initiative in 2020.[1] The film, directed by Matt Vesely and written by Lucy Campbell, premiered at the 2022 Adelaide Film Festival, was selected for screening at SXSW in Austin, Texas, in 2023, and had a theatrical release in Australian cinemas as well as in North America.[10][11][12] It was Hamilton who thought of the idea central to the film, that the central (and only on-screen) actor should be a podcaster.[13] Monolith was nominated for Best Indie Film at the 2024 AACTA Awards.[1]

She co-produced the family drama Kangaroo Island with Peter Hanlon. The film, written by Sally Gifford and directed by Timothy David, premiered at the 2024 Adelaide Film Festival, and was released in Australia in 2025[14] and in the US in 2026.[15]

Hamilton is line producer on a crime series made and filmed in South Australia, Treasure & Dirt, based on the novel by Chris Hammer and starring Michael Dorman and Liv Hewson. The series, which is produced by Rebecca Summerton of Closer Productions and directed by Madeleine Gottlieb, is scheduled for release on 19 July 2026.[16]

Production company

Hamilton's production company is Black Cat White Rabbit Productions.[17]

Other activities

In April 2025 Hamilton facilitated an intensive one-day course dubbed the "Launch Lab" at the Mercury Cinema in Adelaide. Aimed at young or emerging producers, the course was focused on skills needed "to navigate the day-to-day world of a busy production office".[7] In June 2026, she ran another Launch Lab at The Mercury, this time on budgeting.[18]

Hamilton was the instigator of the Hamilton Health & Safety Fund, an initiative to improve the standards of health and well-being in the production of South Australian short films. The fund was launched at the Mercury in July 2025, initially funded for three years by Black Cat White Rabbit Productions, the Hanlon Larsen Screen Fellowship, and private funding.[2] Short films are usually created by emerging filmmakers, and this cohort is the intended target of the fund.[19]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Three new South Australian filmmaking teams announced for Film Lab: New Voices 3". Adelaide Film Festival. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  2. 1 2 "The Mercury Launches the Hamilton Health & Safety Fund to Support SA Filmmakers championed by esteemed SA Producer Bettina Hamilton". FilmInk. 9 July 2025. Archived from the original on 25 June 2026. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 "Arts industry Get Together in Adelaide". Equity Foundation. 2 June 2021. Archived from the original on 1 April 2025. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  4. ↑ Noble, Kelly (17 November 2011). "Tropfest Initiative Winners Announced". Glam Adelaide. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  5. ↑ "A Tortured Mind". pozible.com. 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  6. ↑ "Trailer of the Day: Embrace". Cinema Australia. 11 July 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 "LAUNCH LAB: The Production Office with Bettina Hamilton". The Mercury. 12 March 2024. Archived from the original on 17 January 2026. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  8. ↑ Knox, David (15 June 2020). "Are You Tougher Than Your Ancestors?". TV Tonight. Archived from the original on 13 March 2025. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  9. ↑ Cornford, Susy (28 November 2022). "Madeleine Parry embraces the rockstar experience in directing 'The Angels: Kickin' Down the Door'". IF Magazine. Archived from the original on 23 July 2025. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  10. ↑ Slatter, Sean (16 May 2023). "'Lesbian Space Princess' heads into production from Film Lab: New Voices". IF Magazine. Archived from the original on 16 March 2026. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  11. ↑ Mead, Rachael (31 October 2022). "Adelaide Film Festival review: Monolith". InDaily. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  12. ↑ "Monolith's Alien Encounters". FilmInk. 29 October 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  13. ↑ Vesely, Matt (15 February 2024). "A Film with Something to Say: Matt Vesely on Monolith". Roger Ebert (Interview). Interviewed by Lee, Zachary. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  14. ↑ "'Kangaroo Island' (Trailer)". IF Magazine. 18 June 2025. Archived from the original on 20 July 2025. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  15. ↑ Ramachandran, Naman (17 February 2026). "Australian Comedic Drama 'Kangaroo Island' Hops to Blue Harbor for U.S. Release (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  16. ↑ "New South Australian ABC crime drama Treasure & Dirt sees secrets unearthed in Coober Pedy". SAFC. 18 June 2026. Archived from the original on 25 June 2026. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  17. ↑ "SA screen creatives selected for AiF initiatives". SAFC. 28 October 2022. Archived from the original on 18 January 2026. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  18. ↑ "Budgeting A-Z with Bettina Hamilton". The Mercury. 12 March 2024. Archived from the original on 11 June 2026. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  19. ↑ "Supporting South Australia's emerging filmmakers". FIFTY+SA. 17 July 2025. Archived from the original on 12 February 2026. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
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