Source : PERTHNOW NEWS
For years, Western Australia has traded on its isolation.
As a State, we’ve lured tourists west with images of wild, remote spaces, pristine landscapes and untouched wilderness.
But that same remoteness also worked against us — particularly when it came to enticing film and television projects to choose Western Australia as a location to film.
Producers saw those beautiful vistas, but backed away, feeling they were just too out of reach.
The infrastructure wasn’t there, it was too expensive to relocate cast and crew, and the cost well and truly outweighed the benefit.
But all that is changing.
In the past few years, generous financial incentives — plus the recently opened $233.5 million Perth Film Studios — have seen an increasing number of film and TV projects choose Western Australia.
Earlier this year, Home And Away fans were treated to a series of special episodes, filmed in the State late last year.
As well as filming in and around Perth, the production headed up to WA’s remote Coral Coast, shooting in Exmouth, nearby Cape Range National Park, and using Bullara Station as a major location for the drama.
Home and Away’s executive producer Julie McGauran says the shoot, though logistically challenging, was a success.
“You know what, every person would have two hands shooting up, ready to go back there again,” she says.
“We had been talking about (taking the show to WA) for a little while … and then we started talking to Tourism WA and it all aligned.”
Home and Away is just one of several productions looking westwards.
In fact, there is a something of a “quiet revolution” happening in the film sector, both here and globally.
Western Australia is currently experiencing something of a “production boom”, aggressively drawing high-profile national and international projects away from traditional east coast and overseas hubs.
Driven by a State-backed Screen Industry Strategy, 10 to 20 per cent production incentives, and the launch of the state-of-the-art Perth Film Studios lot in Malaga, WA has officially commodified its greatest natural asset: its sheer versatility.
“One of the great things about Western Australia is there are just so many looks,” says Chris Veerhuis, ex-head of production at Screen West, who spent three and a half years there implementing the Western Australian Production Attraction Incentive before returning to helm his own production company.
“It has so many diverse looks, and looks that have never been seen before.
“We are not a tired location: Perth, Fremantle, the regions are all fresh on screens.
“And paramount to the example (of a show seeking that out) would be the show Breakers, which is currently shooting down south.”
That’s the big-budget Netflix surf series starring The Boys’ Anthony Starr.
It is being produced by Clerkenwell Films, the UK-based company responsible for TV mega-hit, Baby Reindeer.
Along with the Stan Original / BBC project Two Birds — currently shooting on location in Kalgoorlie and in Perth at the newly-opened studios — they are leading the charge.
And they are just the latest in a stream of productions that have used the state in recent years, with Mystery Road: Origin season two for ABC, the third season of The Twelve and Run for Binge, Ghosts Australia for Paramount Plus, Scrublands: Silver for Stan and Reckless for SBS and NITV amongst projects that have taken advantage of the State’s screen initiatives in recent years.
But these two new productions are different: both involve overseas production companies, kicking things up a notch.
Should shooting go smoothly — and so far, so good — they will help persuade other big names in the film and TV world to consider the west coast as a viable location for their projects.
“WA has, and always will have, incredible locations, and people have always been attracted to that — it’s the studio that adds the final piece to the puzzle,” says Ricki Lea Bestall, CEO of Screen West.
“The Netflix series is injecting $19 million directly into the economy, and over 100 local jobs…
“The AC Chapter One (project) is injecting over $17 mill to the economy, and more than 100 Western Australian cast and crew.
“I think West Australia is just a great place to be right now,” she continues.
“Our incentives are the most competitive, and I think we are the easiest state to work with and shoot with.
“We work closely with our partners in government and also in locations, plus we’ve got, I think, the best film studios in the Southern Hemisphere, on the biggest backlot in the Southern Hemisphere, so you can build what you want.”
Bestall gives a persuasive sell, but there is undoubtedly still a ways to go.
It’s early days, and WA will have to go all-out to try to compete with bigger and more established studios over East and internationally.
For years, creatives have been forced away from the State, and as a result there’s something of a skills shortage locally.
But with the studio now open, training initiatives under way and more productions headed in our direction in the months to come, there’s a hope within industry professionals that things may be moving in the right direction
“The thing about the new studio is that we have a pathway for people to stay in Western Australia,” Veerhuis explains.
“And to pursue the arts as an opportunity, and as a job.
“For so long, people have gone east to prove themselves and to make a living — that doesn’t need to happen anymore.
“You can stay here, come out of the education system or not, get yourself onto a film or TV series and skill up.”
Gavin O’Grady, executive producer at Clerkenwell Films, is on the ground in Western Australia right now shooting Breakers, and says the State has — so far — given his team everything they need “creatively and practically”.
“Because the show is filmed almost entirely outdoors, reliable weather and consistent natural light were incredibly important, and the region gave us that alongside some of the most spectacular landscapes in the world,” he explains.
“As one of the world’s premier surfing destinations, Margaret River also brought an authenticity that would have been impossible to replicate elsewhere.
“Surf culture is deeply embedded in the community, and the powerful Indian Ocean conditions gave us access to world-class waves and visually dynamic surf sequences that are central to the story we wanted to tell.”
“One of the things that is really interesting about that project is that Clerkenwell are UK-based, but it’s for Netflix, so that means it is a world-scale project that is going to see Margaret River and surrounds (go far and wide),” says Veerhuis.
That kind of exposure will have huge knock-on benefits for the region, which is already benefiting from having cast and crew on the ground and spending their production ‘per diems’ in the area.
“It will generate things like tourism — it has that return on investment,” he explains.
Barriers that once prevented large-scale projects from choosing WA as a location are slowly being eradicated, the financial blow softened by those incentive sweeteners.
“The number one thing for producers will be the look. What does it look like? Is it new? Is it interesting? Is it fresh? Does it serve the story?” says Veerhuis.
“But after that it’s about serviceability: can we actually physically get there, can we service it?”
That is no longer an abstract question. These productions are proving it can be done, with those incentives the cherry on the cake.
“Western Australia has one of the best rebates, if not THE best rebate in the country,” Veerhuis points out.
“There is no fixed number — it differs production by production — but the federal (incentive) is set at 30 per cent, so you know you’ll get 30 per cent from the Feds, plus what you get from the State.”
It’s an alluring figure for international productions.
“And that is where Screen West has that opportunity to really touch point,” he explains.
“To really find that number for the right project, because each project has a unique cost point, and they are offsetting certain things, delivering certain crew and actors in.”
We’re looking like an increasingly attractive proposition.
And, as Bestall and Veerhuis both point out, Western Australia’s unique “look” — that very same thing that has lured travellers here for decades — is something that might just push us over the line to one-up our competitors.
“We have incredible talent, obviously,” says Bestall. “But the weather. The light. Every DOP (director of photography) or film maker talks about the incredible light here — it’s somewhat similar to LA.”
The breadth of locations, coupled with the safety of filming somewhere like Western Australia, with its ease of getting around, only serves to add to its appeal.
Perth and surrounds can “double” for other places in the world.
You want the Mediterranean? We got you. How about a European city? Fremantle’s got the heritage, and Screen West’s 1900-strong database of potential film locations showcases all this.
Previous productions have leaned into this already: Ghosts Australia used historic Woodbridge House. York was used as a setting for the town in Runt, and York Town Hall plus nearby Buckland Estate, Faversham House and Castle Hotel took starring roles in The Twelve season two.
The 1912-built Augusta Hotel featured prominently in Scrublands: Silver, which shot in and around the tiny South West town in 2024, and regionally, Bremer Bay was a key location for the Tim Winton film Blueback.
The Dongara Denison Drive-In was used in the Stan series Invisible Boys, and Derby, in the Far North of the state, was used to film that streamers’ comedy, Population 11.
Fremantle has become increasingly sought-after, finding itself front and centre in eight productions over the past two years, including Twice Over, Run, Reckless, End to End, Whale Shark Jack, The Travellers, The Twelve and Proclivitas.
“Fremantle is increasingly emerging as one of Australia’s most compelling film and television backdrops, combining striking visual appeal with depth of character and practical ease,” says Hana Murray, Events & Place Partner for The City of Fremantle.
It’s had a positive knock-on effect for the local econy.
“Productions generate significant local spending across accommodation, hospitality, and service providers,” Murray adds.
“For example, recent filming of Reckless (SBS/NITV) and Run (Warner Bros/Binge) delivered approximately $550,000 in economic benefit over three months, largely during the winter season.”
With a slate of as-yet-unannounced projects on the way, Bestall hopes WA will continue to prove a compelling location.
“We have gone full steam ahead in the last 18 months to really fill out our locations directory, to make sure whether you want historic houses, or whether you want incredible landscapes, or Tuscan villas or a horse paddock, we are ready with those opportunities.
“It’s an exciting time.”
