Add Category
Central Victoria is gearing up for two renovation television series to call Gisborne and Kyneton home, just as the region is set to play a starring role in major upcoming productions.
Key points:
- Two television productions have chosen Gisborne and Kyneton as their next bases
- Film Victoria says Hollywood is looking to regional Victoria with an increase in productions over the past year
- It expects to see at least six major projects filmed in the 2021-2022 financial year
Film Victoria says the move to regional Victoria is not out of the ordinary, with Hollywood eyes looking to the state for its diverse locations.
Chief executive of Film Victoria, Caroline Pitcher, said at least six major projects are to be filmed in the 2021-2022 financial year.
These productions are estimated to deliver a 52 per cent increase from the previous year in production expenditure into Victoria's regional economies.
Supplied: Film Victoria
)While physical production was allowed to continue throughout the coronavirus pandemic, companies looked to regional Victoria for its locations due to the eased restrictions and the opportunities the communities presented.
But Ms Pitcher said regional areas offer more than just flexibility.
"It's not because of the pandemic that there's a rise in filming in regional Victoria," Ms Pitcher said.
"What we've got is a global growth in film and television production. All around the world there is an insatiable audience demand for content.
Universal's dystopian drama La Brea was partly filmed at Hanging Rock to mimic prehistoric Los Angeles.
The series injected $70 million into the state's economy.
Other recent regional Victorian productions have included Korean feature film Road to Boston and drama mini-series New Gold, both in Ballarat, and Netflix's Surviving Summer along the Great Ocean Road.
Long-lasting impacts
The buzz film productions bring to regional areas can have lasting impacts for years to come, Ms Pitcher said, with The Dry a prime example of the benefits on the community and tourism industry.
Off the back of Romulus, My Father ,which was filmed in Central Victoria, the "Bana Burger" was created by a local eatery to honour the film's Hollywood heavy-weight star Eric Bana.
Supplied: Film Victoria
)"You can be a part of the cast as an extra, the crew will be accommodated in your local caravan parks and motels, they'll be eating in your cafes.
"There's a story about a local general store that burnt down and the community was able to get together and help rebuild that because a film had invested in that area."