Woombye backlot becomes dystopian world for ambitious student film

Woombye backlot becomes dystopian world for ambitious student film

The Film Sunshine Coast Backlot at Woombye will be transformed into a dystopian landscape for OUTSET, the Australian Performing Arts Conservatory’s most ambitious screen production to date.

The horror-fantasy film is a story created by filmmaker Mirko Grillini. Set in the near future, it follows heroine Tallulah as she searches for a passage to a new world while humans and legendary beings battle for survival.

Produced by APAC with support from the Sunshine Coast Screen Collective, OUTSET will be the largest production filmed at the Woombye backlot. The five-day shoot involves 15 cast members, more than 25 crew and students in the Sunshine Coast Screen Cadetship program.

The project has been designed as a professional training production, giving final-year Bachelor of Screen and Stage (Acting) students experience on a large set. It will also provide opportunities for Screen Collective crew members and cadets.

Organisers say the collaboration will help strengthen the region’s screen workforce ahead of the opening of Sunshine Coast Studios and expected demand for skilled local practitioners.

Aesop Media is filming the production, which is Grillini’s fourth project at the Woombye property. Production and costume design are being led by Sunshine Coast artist Amanda Grillini, with The Art of Make Up Society contributing makeup and prosthetics.

The production is using a Sunshine Coast-based crew and features local actor Beverley Marcusson, who also helped refine an Indigenous character in the screenplay to improve its cultural authenticity.

For most of the cast, OUTSET will serve as their final screen assessment at APAC.

The film has also been developed with the international festival circuit in mind, offering an opportunity to showcase emerging Sunshine Coast performers, crew and filming locations.

APAC productions have received more than 20 awards at international film festivals during the past four years, competing in open rather than student categories.

The production is intended to demonstrate how education and industry partnerships can develop local talent, expand workforce capability and support continued growth in the Sunshine Coast’s creative sector.