Star Wars star Daisy Ridley set to film in Albany as part of role in upcoming WA-produced We Bury the Dead

A little bit of Hollywood is set to come to Albany and the Great Southern early next year when Daisy Ridley arrives in the region to film We Bury the Dead in February. The British actor, who has been the face of Disney’s multibillion-dollar Star Wars franchise, will star in the survival thriller which is written and directed by WA’s Zak Hilditch and produced by Perth production company The Penguin Empire. Producer Kelvin Munro said about 100 cast and crew would be coming to Albany for what is expected to be five weeks of filming. He said it was exciting as a WA production company to “make films where we live”. “Albany has the best locations and landscapes that match the story we’re trying to tell,” he said. “It’s a great regional centre for locations and its ability to host a film crew of size is another big tick for Albany.” The film will be Hilditch’s fourth feature and it is described as a moving story about grief, loss and the undead as a desperate woman searches for her missing husband in the aftermath of a catastrophic military experiment. The filming locations will be wide and varied according to Munro, including in central Albany and in residential areas, as well as forest and natural settings along the coast. “For us, it will be just like filming in a city,” he said. “We’ll come and shoot every corner of Albany and its surrounds. “It’s a beautiful area and it’s got great diverse locations not far at all from where everyone will be staying in the centre of town . . . there are a lot of big ticks for it a being film-friendly region.” The production will also look to engage and involve the community wherever possible, including opportunities for Albany locals to feature as extras. “I’ve already engaged with a local who is helping me scout locations and it will just continue to scale up from now,” Munro said. “In terms of extras, we’ll have an extras casting person who will engage with the locals — so there will definitely be opportunities there for sure.” The production is being supported by the State Government’s Western Australian Regional Screen Fund. Arts Minister David Templeman said the “film will provide an amazing opportunity to showcase our Great Southern region and our local talent”. Regional Development Minister Don Punch said the production would bring “employment and business opportunities to locations in our unique Great Southern, which will be a great boost to the region.” Munro said it was incredibly exciting to have reached the point where the company could announce filming would take place in Albany “because there are years of work just get it to this point”. “To be able to announce that we are coming to Albany as a place we are really excited to film in is a massive win for the local industry, for the local community and the WA film industry,” he said. “We know there has been a bit of production down there over the years and this is just another thing that adds to the viability of having these types of projects come to the Great Southern. “It’s super exciting for us. We’re pumped — it means that we now start to put all the pieces together to get there at the end of January for filming in February and March.”