Western Australia
WA films: Australian feature films shot in or set in or first shown in or partly financed by Western Australia or by WA directors or writers
3 Acts of Murder (Rowan Woods, 2009)* telemovie, Arthur Upfield story, set in WA
Actress, The (Zak Hilditch, 2005)* wr. Zak Hilditch, Steve McCall; Caitlin Higgins, Matt Hardie, Laura Henderson
Against the Grain: More Meat Than Wheat (Tim Burns, 1981) prod. Tim Burns for Nightshift Films, wr. Tim Burns & Michael Callaghan, dop Louis Irving, ed. Peter Bailey, Chris Cordaux, Melissa Woods; Joy Burns, Letham Burns, Mary Burns, Michael Callaghan, Sandy Edwards, George Sutton; young idealist visits WA to visit family; low budget political drama; Eastman colour, 16 mm, 76 min.
Big Mamma's Boy (Franco di Chiera, 2011) wr. Frank Lotito; Frank Lotito, Holly Valance, Carmelina di Guglielmo, George Kapiniaris, Costas Kilias, Maria Venuti, Steve Mouzakis, Jim Russell, Pia Miller, Natalie Gauci; comedy
Bitter Art (Michael Hatch, 2009) Nathan Coenen, Luke Dabic, Vito de Francesco; Pemberton, WA
Blackfellas (James Ricketson, 1993)* prod. Paul D. Barron et al.; John Moore (Doug), David Ngoombujarra (Floyd), Jaylene Riley (Polly)
Blame (Michael Henry, 2010) Kestie Morassi, Sophie Lowe
Boundaries of the Heart (Lex Marinos, 1988) prod. Patric Juillet, wr. Peter Yeldham, music Sharon Calcraft, dp David Sanderson & Geoff Simpson, 99 min.; Wendy Hughes, John Hargreaves, Norman Kaye, Julie Nihill, Max Cullen, Michael Siberry, John Clayton; filmed in Coolgardie WA; stranded in a small WA township, a 40-year-old spinster struggles with her sexual frustrations; Patric Juillet is husband of Hughes, who gets ass. prod. credit; 'sleep-inducing' (Tony Harrison)
Buck's Party (Steve Jodrell, 1978)* dp Wally Fairweather, Patrick Maher, ed. Geoffrey Hall, Davd Rapsey; Steve Edwards, David Griffiths, Tom Harris, Pauline Hood; short; 38 min.
Bush Christmas (Henri Safran, 1983)* Barron Films; WA funding; Nicole Kidman
Coolbaroo Club, The (Roger Scholes, 1996) wr. co-prod. Steve Kinnane, prod. Penny Robbins, 55 min; award-winning documentary on post-war race relations in Australia; from 1946 to 1960, in East Perth, WA, the Coolbaroo Club was a meeting place and a community focus for the local Aboriginal community; see also Stephen Kinnane's book, Shadow Lines, Fremantle Arts Centre Press, 2003 (Premier's Award 2003)
Crush (Jeffrey Gerritsen, John V. Soto, 2009)* Christopher Egan, Brooke Harmon, Emma Lung; slasher
Daisy and Simon (Stasch Radwanski Jr., 1989)* prod. Pamela Borain & Paul D. Barron, Barron Films, assisted inter alia by the WA Film Commission, 35 mm., 106 min.; Sean Scully, Jan Adele; comedy based on age difference [cf. Spider and Rose, 1994, dir. Bill Bennett] Perth [WA] accountant gradually falls for an older woman after he helps out on her property; tired and unoriginal drama, also released as Where the Outback Ends [original title]
Day of the Panther (Brian Trenchard-Smith, 1988)* prod. Damien Parer, wr. Peter West, dop Simon Akkerman, 84 min. Edward John Stazak, John Stanton, Jim Richards, Michael Carmen, Zale Daniel, Paris Jefferson; martial arts master Jason Blade is sent from Hong Kong to Perth [WA] to sort out drug lord Stanton; the first Jason Blade feature is traditional well-staged action fare from Trenchard-Smith; followed by sequel Fists of Blood (vide infra)
Dingo (Rolf de Heer, 1991) wr. Marc Rosenberg; dp Denis Lenoir, original music Miles Davis, Michel Legrand; Colin Friels (as a trumpeter), Miles Davis, Helen Buday, Bernadette Lafont; review by Raymond Younis in Murray 1995: 337; filmed around Bungle Bungles, WA, and in Paris
This is featured on the NFSA site with curator's notes and three clips.
Dirt Music, film rights of Tim Winton's novel bought by Phil Noyce in 2002; to be shot in WA set in fictional seaside town of White Point; Layla Tucak, "Noyce to put Music on film", The Australian, 11 May 2002: 3; may be released in 2010 or 2011
Drowner, The, novel by Robert Drewe, pre-production 2011; to be shot in Northern Western Australia and the Goldfields
Exile and the Kingdom (Frank Rijavek, 1994) documentary; Roebourne WA area; best doco AFIs 1994
Fists of Blood (Brian Trenchard-Smith, 1988)* aka Strike of the Panther; prod. Damien Parer, wr. Peter West, Ranald Allan, dop Simon Akkerman, 84 min. Edward John Stazak, John Stanton, Rowena Wallace, Paris Jefferson, Zale Daniel, Jim Richards. Second Jason Blade feature has our hero on the trail of recently escaped adversary Richards, who has shanghaied Blade's girlfriend; routine chop-socky actioner is a sequel to Day of the Panther
Five Of Hearts, The (E. J. Cole, 1911) aka Buffalo Bill's Love Story, aka A Maiden's Distress; Production Company: Pathe Freres; Cast: E J Cole's Bohemian Dramatic Company; this Western was presented by Empire Pictures at the Town Hall, Perth [WA], on 10 May 1911
Fran (Glenda Hambly, 1985)* Barron Films; Bush Christmas Productions; Noni Hazelhurst loses her children as wards of the state due to her failure as a mother; funded partly by the WA Film Council and shot in Perth
Gallipoli (Peter Weir, 1981)* entirely shot in SA, but in the last scene the men are said to be from WA
Gift, The (Paul Cox, 1988)* (TV) Nicholas Hatjiandreou, Vicki Serbos, Alexis Anthopoulos, Constantin Laras, Rena Frangloudakis, Peter Felmingham, Margaret Ford, Michael Milsom, Victoria Eagger, Barry Dickins, Ken James, Bill McCluskey; prod. Geoffrey Daniels, Patricia Edgar, Michael Friedman, Tony Llewellyn-Jones; music Tassos Ioannides, dp Nino Gaetano Martinetti; part of Touch the Sun, a TV series commissioned by the Australian Children's Television Foundation in 1988 as part of the Australian Bicentenary celebrations
Golden West, The (George Young, 1911) Production Company: Australian Film Syndicate. Photography: Lacey Percival. 2500 ft. 'A romance of the west Australian [WA] goldfields', featuring 'magnificent scenery' and 'sensational rides', The Golden West was privately screened at the King's Theatre, Sydney, on 27 March 1911.
Gnow or Never (Franco di Chiera, Carmelo Musca, 2009)* doco; WA
Great Gold Swindle, The (John Power, 1984)* wr. David White; John Hargreaves, Steve Jodrell; the story of the Mickelberg brothers and a theft of gold; based on true story
Harlequin (Simon Wincer, 1980)* David Hemmings, Robert Powell, Broderick Crawford. Shot in Perth, WA, but nothing to do with the setting.
In the Winter Dark (James Bogle, 1998)* prod. Rosemary Blight, wr. Tim Winton (novel), James Bogle & James Rasmussen, dp Martin McGrath; Brenda Blethyn, Ray Barrett, Richard Roxburgh, Miranda Otto
Japanese Story (Sue Brooks, 2003)* Gecko Films; Toni Collette; set in Perth and the Pilbara; screening at Cannes 2003 in the section of the Festival called Un Certain Regard;
Joys of the Women (Franco di Chiera, 1993)* documentary about women's choir Le Gioie delle Donne, originally directed (the choir, that is) by Kavisha Mazella
Justice (Ron Elliott, 1998)* wr. prod. Bob Roget; dop Alex McPhee; Marcus Graham, Kerry Armstrong; West Coast Pictures; shot in Fremantle 1997
Keane Of Kalgoorlie (John Gavin, 1911) Arthur Wright: 'The authorities would not allow Randwick course to be used for picture purposes, so a "scenic" picture of the running of a race in WA (the Perth Cup, I think) was joined up in the film ...'
Let's Get Skase (Matthew George, 2001)* released after the death of Christopher Skase, this film did not appear to do well
Little Sparrows (Yu-Hsiu Camille Chen, 2010) Nicola Bartlett, James Hagan, Nina Deasley, Melanie Munt, Arielle Gray, Scott Jackson, Nick Candy, Whitney Richards, Nick Gray, Simon Lockwood; drama; 88 min.
Love in Limbo (David Elfick, 1993)* wr. John Cundill; Craig Adams, Aden Young, Maya Stange, Samantha Murray, Russell Crowe, Rhondda Findleton; shot in Perth and Kalgoorlie
Lost Thing, The (Shaun Tan, 2010) Tim Minchin; animated short, 15 min. Academy Award 2011; director from WA
Mad Bastards (Brendan Fletcher, 2010)* drama set in remote Kimberley Indigenous communities; Sundance
Mad Bomber in Love (James Bogle, 1991) Craig Pearce, Rachel Szalay, Alan Lovell, Zachery McKay, Alex Morcos, Laura Keneally, Craig McLachlan, Max Cullen, Zoe Carides, Marcus Graham; 86 min.; psychedelic horror-soap, no-budget
Natural Justice: Heat (Scott Hartford-Davis, 1996) tele-feature; prod. Paul D. Barron, dp Russell Bacon; Claudia Karvan, Steve Bastoni, Sonia Todd, John Moore, Martin Jacobs, Jeremy Sims, Igor Sas, Maurie Ogden, Lynette Narkle; shot and set in York, WA; pre-sold Channel 7; 93 min.
Needle (John V. Soto, 2010)* Ben Mendelsohn, John Jarratt, Khan Chittenden, Luke Carroll, Michael Loney, James Hagan; horror, slasher
Nickel Queen (John McCallum, 1971)* prod. Joy Cavill and John McCallum, wr. Joy Cavill, Henry C. James and John McCallum, from story by Anneke and Henry James, dp John Williams, design Bernard Hides, music Sven Libaek, ed.Don Saunders; Ed Devereaux, Peter Gwynne, John Laws, Tom Oliver, Alfred Sandor, Ross Thompson, Doreen Warburton, Googie Withers; colour, 35 mm, 89 min.
No Milk, No Honey, 1997, documentary; British group-settlers; WA
Olive Tree, The (Edgar Metcalfe, 1975) prod. Elizabeth Backhouse, David Morre, Film Centre Productions, wr. Elizabeth Backhouse, dp Wally Fairweather, ed. David Moore, High Kitson, music Marisa Robles; John Adam, Alan Cassell, Faith Clayton, Jenny McNae, Robert Van Mackelenberg, Leith Taylor; family crisis on WA cattle station
Pastmaster (Steve Jodrell, not made, 1997) wr. Peter Bibby, short story by Lloyd Davies; Nigel Hawthorne; comedy; apparently not funded
Plugg (Terry Bourke, 1975)* wr. Terry Bourke, prod. Ninki Maslansky for Romac Productions, dp Brian Probyn; Reg Gorman, Cheryl Rixon, Peter Thompson, Norman Yemm; Perth WA; colour; sex comedy; 88 min.
Plum Role (Zak Hilditch, 2007) wr. Zak Hilditch; Matt Hardie, Laura Henderson, Luke Jago, Adam McGurk; 74 min.
Pursuit of Happiness, The (Martha Ansara, 1988) Anna Gare, Laura Black; shot in Fremantle, WA
Rabbit-Proof Fence (Phil Noyce, 2001)* Everlyn Sampi, Kenneth Branagh; based on true story about Aboriginal children escaping custody in the 1930s; shot in SA (partly in WA: the scenery without people), but set in WA
Red Dog (Kriv Stenders, 2011) wr. Daniel Taplitz, Louis de Bernieres (novel); Josh Lucas, Rachael Taylor
Right Hand Man, The (Di Drew, 1987) UAA presents a Yarraman Film Production, c 1986 UAA (Australasia) Limited; budget $5.5 million; location: Bathurst, NSW; dist. GUO; opened 21 November 1987. "One of the handful of Australian films made under 10BA for the Perth-based [WA] production company UAA (as distinct from its tax-funded investment in overseas productions) ..." Murray 1995
Running on Empty (John Clark, 1982)* wr. Barry Tomblin; Terry Serio, Richard Moir, Deborah Conway, Max Cullen, Penne Hackforth-Jones, Chris Haywood, Grahame Bond. Fox (Richard Moir) is the king of street drag-racing. Mike (Terry Serio) has to beat him, with the help of blind Rebel (Max Cullen). Shot in Sydney and Cobar, NSW, despite being the first feature wholly backed by the Film Corporation of Western Australia, WA.
Sculptor, The (Christopher Kenworthy, 2009) Dungog FF, 30 May 2009; 103 min.
Shallows, novel by Tim Winton; pre-production 2011; to be shot partly in Albany, WA
Shame (Steve Jodrell, 1988)* Barron Films; WA; location Toodyay, WA
Southern Cross (Mark DeFriest, 2001)* wr. Ron Elliott, story Paul Barron, prod. Paul D. Barron, remake of A Waltz Through the Hills (Frank Arnold, 1988) from the novel by Gerry Glaskin; Heath Bergersen, Bill Kerr, Michael Loney, Geoff Kelso; two Vietnamese children escape from an institution for refugees, and make their way to Perth
These Final Hours (Zac Hilditch) prod. Liz Kearney; financed 2011; shooting 2012; apocalyptic thriller
Toll, The (Zak Hilditch, 2010) wr. Zak Hilditch, Steve McCall; Nick Britton, Lee Jankowski, Steve McCall
Tree, The (Julie Bertucelli, 2010)* wr. Judy Pascoe, prod. Sue Taylor; Charlotte Gainsbourg, Marton Csokas, Arthur Dignam, Penne Hackforth-Jones; Aust-French co-production; Sue Taylor's office, Taylor Media, is in Perth
Tudawali (Steve Jodrell, 1987)* prod. Paul D. Barron, Julia Overton, wr. Alan Seymour, dop. Michael Edols, prod. design Phil Peters, ed. Kerry Regan; Ernie Dingo, Jedda Cole, Peter Fisher, Frank Wilson, Charles Tingwell, Suzanne Peveril, Bill McCluskey, Michelle Torres; WA; made for TV, 91 min. docu-drama about Aboriginal actor, Robert Tudawali (star of Jedda)
Two Fists One Heart (Shawn Seet, 2008)* wr. Rai Fazio; Daniel Amalm, Ennio Fantastichini, Jessica Marais, Rai Fazio, Costas Kilias, Paul Pantano, Tim Minchin, Rosemary Lenzo; boxing; set in Perth
Under the Lighthouse Dancing (Graeme Rattigan, 1996)* Aden Gillett, Ingle Knight, Jacqueline McKenzie, Jack Thompson, Naomi Watts; set on Rottnest Island
Waltz Through the Hills, A (Frank Arnold, 1988)* wr. John Goldsmith, novel Gerry Glaskin, prod. Paul D. Barron, Roz Berrystone; Andre Jansen, Ernie Dingo, Tina Kemp, Dan O'Herlihy, Geoffrey Atkins, Maggie Wilde West, Margaret Ford, Geoffrey Gibbs, Robert Faggetter, Pippa Williamson (farmer's wife); AFI Best Actor Ernie Dingo, 1988; Pater Award Best Children's Drama, 1988; made in WA
Wasted on the Young (Ben C. Lucas, 2010)* wr. Ben C. Lucas; Oliver Ackland, Adelaide Clemens, Alex Russell; made in WA
Windrider (Vincent Monton, 1986)* Barron Films; Bush Christmas Productions; Perth, WA; budget $2.5mill; dist. Hoyts; 25 December 1986; 35mm.; 92 min. Simon Chilvers, Tom Burlinson, Nicole Kidman, Jill Perryman, Charles Tingwell
Winds of Jarrah (Mark Egerton, 1985)* second feature wholly backed by the Film Corporation of Western Australia; location: Dorrigo, NSW; first film adapted from a Mills & Boon novel - from The House in the Timberwoods, 1959, Joyce Dingwell; set in 1946; originally to be shot in Pemberton
Zombie Brigade (Barrie Pattison, 1988)* prod. Carmelo Musca, dop Alex McPhee, music John Charles & Todd Hunter; John Moore, Khym Lam, Adam Wong, Bob Faggetter, Maggie Wilde-West, Geoff Gibbs; shot in Toodyay, WA; lead actor is indigenous, and another indigenous character, Charlie, provides the turning-point in the plot (cf. Howling 3); 90 min.
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