Call for film production hub in WA

A South West-based film expert is calling for newly announced State Government funding for the regional film industry to go towards WA’s first production facility. The funding, announced on Tuesday, is a continuation of the WA Screen Fund and will see $16 million invested in the industry over four years. John Fairhead has worked in the film industry for more than 30 years, in front of and behind the camera. He says the lack of facilities puts WA behind other States. “Historically we didn’t get much of a look-in because we suffer from not having production facilities over here and on the east coast they are far better,” he said. “Every other major State in Australia has at least one or two studio facilities and we don’t have anything.” Mr Fairhead worked on the WA produced Breath and Drift and on the 2020 film Go!, filmed in Busselton. He says there are great advantages for filmmakers shooting in WA and the funding will continue to support the industry and the region. “One of the appealing things, apart from the beautiful location, is the light and the fact the sun goes down in the west,” he said. “The previous four years of funding encouraged quite a lot of production all around really and there was lots of economic investment in the regions. It also involves picking up local crew, employing local people and using local services.” Mr Fairhead says the lack of facilities is an international problem as demand for content to be produced continues to rise. “There was an international report in 2019 pointing to the worldwide lack of production facilities because the content demand is so great there is a need for these facilities as a foundation for more productions,” he said. “We’ve got to build capacity and need to implement the right sort of production facilities.”