A FEATURE film currently in production in Esperance will soon visit Bunbury to spend three weekends filming at the Airport.
A World War I project based on true events of the Western Australian ANZAC's, 'Before Dawn' will feature Bunbury local Peter Mitchell's World War 1 replica aircraft the 1918 Sopwith Camel flying to and from the airport.
There are almost 30 extras from Bunbury who are in the film, including the 10th Light Horse Bunbury Troop.
The historical drama is directed by Jordon Prince-Wright who is fresh off directing his first feature, The Decadent and Depraved, which was released in 2018.
The Mail recently caught up with Mr Prince-Wright, who said production of 'Before Dawn' was in its fifth week of filming.
"It's been a lot of fun and a lot of hard work, but it's all coming together really well," Mr Prince-Wright said.
'Before Dawn' is the first World War I film to be shot in Western Australia with local crew.
It features actual sets constructed in Esperance where trenches have been created to help replicate the battle of Messines Ridge.
Mr Prince-Wright said it was reading diary entries from the 44th battalion from Western Australia that inspired the story for 'Before Dawn'.
"A lot of people weren't aware of what the ANZAC's did on the Western Front, but they were a driving force behind the war."
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Bunbury Musical Comedy Group President Tony Carey said the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and it's variants around the world had had a powerful impact on the theatre and film industry.
"The days of looking east toward Melbourne or Sydney and beyond to Hollywood, as the place where an actor's dreams can come true, are gone. Here is a new film, from the largest independent movie-making studio in Western Australia, in which actors from Bunbury can and are taking part. Whatever the next projects are from Prince-Wright Productions, there will likely be great roles that local Bunbury actors to audition for," Mr Carey said.
"With Prince-Wright Productions showing the way, how many more independent film-makers and film-making co-operative enterprises might be encouraged to forge their own niches locally? Before long, Western Australia may have its own version of Hollywood, even if some pun-loving pundit dubs it "WAllywood"!"
Actors featured in 'Before Dawn' include Dunsborough-based Myles Pollard, Levi Miller (Pan, 2015), Travis Jeffery (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, 2017), Tim Franklin and Stephen Peacocke (Home and Away).
With production currently set to wrap in mid-August, Mr Prince-Wright said he hoped to release 'Before Dawn' in November 2022 before heading onto his next project.
"I can't say too much but I've already signed two contracts for my next projects. I like to fact that I'm not on a linear curve, each project of mine is going to be five times bigger than the previous," Mr Prince-Wright said.
Despite being mostly plane shots, Mr Prince-Wright invites Bunbury residents to the airport to watch the 1918 Sopwith Camel take to the sky when the crew arrives in mid-July.