We Bury The Dead commences production in the Great Southern
The Great Southern region is abuzz with activity this week as filming commences on survival-thriller feature film, We Bury The Dead, featuring international star Daisy Ridley and Australian stars Brenton Thwaites and Mark Coles Smith, across the next 6 weeks.
The film is described as a terrifying yet moving story about grief, loss and the undead which follows Ava (Daisy Ridley), a woman desperately searching for her husband, who is missing in the aftermath of a catastrophic military experiment. Hoping to find him alive, Ava joins a “body retrieval unit”, but her search takes a chilling turn when the corpses she’s burying start showing signs of life.
The project has received $1.93 million in funding through the WA Regional Screen Fund and Scripted Production Funding via Screenwest, demonstrating the State Government’s continued support to grow, develop and build the screen industry throughout Western Australia.
The WA Regional Screen Fund (WARSF) is designed to attract screen projects to undertake production in regional Western Australia to encourage regional film industry activity, build local capacity and contribute to the liveability and vibrancy of regional WA communities.
We Bury The Dead will create 210 jobs for Western Australian cast, crew and extras, and is estimated to result in $7.2 million expenditure in the state, including $2.7 million regional expenditure.
This will be Hilditch's fourth feature film and the project is being produced by local company The Penguin Empire along with Campfire Studios and Gramercy Park in the United States.
The WARSF aims to build Western Australian regional capacity and contribute to the liveability and vibrancy of the State's regional communities. The fund has supported many high-profile productions such as the multi-award-winning film Sweet As and the critically acclaimed series Mystery Road: Origin, plus popular documentaries including Ningaloo Nyinggulu.
The WARSF is funded by the State Government through the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries, and managed by Screenwest.
Commenting from the set, director Zak Hilditch said, “It’s so exciting to finally get cameras rolling here in Albany, which is proving to not only be an incredible backdrop for our film but a great place to work. The local community has opened their doors — literally and metaphorically — to welcome us and our incredible cast. With Daisy and now Brenton and Mark, we’ve got an incredible roster of talent to bring this story to life.”