Robert Connolly’s Blueback film cheered at Bremer Bay premiere

WA’s Great Southern coastal town of Bremer Bay laid out the red carpet for the “coming home” premiere of Blueback, a film adapted from Tim Winton’s acclaimed novel of the same title written in 1997. Winton was inspired to write the award-winning story from an early childhood upbringing in Albany and his attraction to its coast and sea that grew into an adult realisation that action must be taken to safeguard the planet from environmental pressures. In the $12.5 million film adaptation, the story follows a widowed environmentalist, Dora Jackson, and her daughter Abby who each take a passionate stance on protecting the pristine Australian coast. Their mission was dramatically highlighted at the Bremer Bay premiere on November 23 when young Abby takes a brave and deep open-sea dive and befriends a large blue groper — a long-living fish species native to the coastal waters of southern Australia. Their relationship inspires Abby’s devotion to save all precious native fish species at any almost any risk. To capture Abby’s epic scenes with the friendly fish she named Blueback without opting for a film animation adaptation, director Robert Connolly had a lifelike swimming puppet constructed for the role of the unique sea creature. Although the amazement of Abby and the fish on the big screen was wonderfully surreal, the film’s hero in the eyes of the author was the courageous and determined widow Dora. It was her fight “against all odds” with the villain developers who wanted to disrupt an ecosystem for their own financial gain that became the author’s moral centre of the story. Winton said it was Dora’s ideals and actions that challenged and inspired her only child Abby from infancy into middle age. “We come from water — we belong to it,” Dora said. Winton said Dora was talking about bonds of allegiance — “family obligations which she embraces faithfully and bravely”. He said everyone needed to find a bit of Dora in them. The story takes place in the fictitious town of Longboat Bay, with most of the filming at Bremer Bay. The underwater cinematography captured the breathtaking fish and coral species of Ningaloo Reef. Winton said people needed strongholds of hope, places like Longboat Bay and Ningaloo where the realisation of family and the blue planet resonate as “our only home”. Leading actors included Mia Wasikowska, Radha Mitchell, Ilsa Fogg, Liz Alexander and Eric Bana, plus there was a host of local credits from the Jerramungup Shire’s community involvement. Connolly said Fogg, a farm girl from Geelong, played her first film role as young Abby, with renowned actor Wasikowska playing the marine biologist role of the older Abby — “both giving incredible performances”. Local Gairdner farm girl Brianna Jones also made a debut in the film world taking on the role of production runner, boat skipper and relief drone pilot. She jumped at the opportunity to be part of the film crew as a 2019 graduate of film and screen production at Notre Dame in Fremantle. “Working on Blueback showed me how film can bring small communities together and spread important messages,” Ms Jones said. “Even though I consider myself more terrestrial than aquatic I’ve always had an affinity with the ocean.” She said after finishing her degrees including biology, she was a spare hand back on the family farm and helped wherever needed as well as working mornings at the local CBH bin. “I drive the grader, slasher, sprayer, and loader plus machinery maintenance and repairs and I help mum with the books and sheep work,” she said. Ms Jones and her family along with partner Sam Bertola took a break from harvest and walked the red carpet at the premiere with anxious anticipation. “I was filled with joy to see the gigantic puppet fish come to life on the big screen,” she said. “It was the beautiful message that got me — promoting the protection of the species and conservation of the environment and the importance of family.” Also making a debut in the film, local shearing contractor Howard Morrison traded his handpiece for a role as a police officer. “I can shear 200 sheep in a day, but shooting a single scene can take a lot longer — much respect to the film industry,” he said. In all, 287 locals were involved in the film, which was in production from early February to March 2021, with many taking roles as extras and also in support jobs as caterers, set location providers and general staff. The premiere took place at the Bremer Bay Resort, where more than 500 people gathered to view the first screening of the film. Blueback is set to be released across Australia on January 1 and will also distributed globally. A request to the audience to shout out when they saw a local face or familiar location was what truly made the Bremer Bay screening a very special event. Jerramungup Shire president Joanna Iffla said the Great Southern Development Commission advocated in 2018 for Blueback to be filmed in Bremer Bay. She said a tour of the area by sea and land soon had the director convinced it was an ideal location which resulted in bringing Winton’s novel to life. “The filming process provided many members of our community with the opportunity to become involved with the project from being cast as extras through to the provision of a range of goods and services and production support,” she said. “It was a wonderful moment to see so many familiar faces at the local screening and this is something which we can all celebrate and be very proud of.” Ms Iffla said Blueback would put Bremer Bay on the map and provide new business opportunities for the region and help grow the local and regional economy. “This wonderful film achievement will demonstrate that large-scale productions can be achieved in regional WA,” she said. In the WA Government Legislative Assembly on October 27, MLA member for Roe Peter Rundle acknowledged the communities of Bremer Bay, the film’s writer, director, producers and actors, the Great Southern Development Commission, the Shire of Jerramungup and all the local support from businesses and schools that had a role in supporting the film. “On New Year’s Day, a small town in WA will shine bright on the world stage,” he said.