Film industry chooses Hawkesbury for wide open plains

A new production of Stephen King's Children of the Corn began shooting at in purpose-grown cornfields at Western Sydney University Hawkesbury's Riverfarm campus back in April.

More recently, a low budget original story called Dark Noise was shot in East Kurrajong and Windsor.

This month, amateur filmmakers used Windsor to shoot their entry into the SF3 SmartFone FlickFest competition. Titled Unroadworthy, the short film is a dark comedy about friendship, loyalty and a dead body in the boot of a broken down car.

"It's a hilarious concept and we had an absolute blast making the film with an incredibly talented cast and crew!" writer and director Frazer Ruddick told the Gazette.

Mr Ruddick, from Neutral Bay, had his eye on Hawkesbury as a filming location for five years, having visited the area annually as a volunteer land crew member for the Hawkesbury Canoe Classic - which starts in Windsor and ends at Mooney Mooney.

The crew shot the film on the unsealed part of Pitt Street, between two paddocks.

"Windsor was our first choice for filming with lovely scenery while still being close to all the local coffee shops, restaurants and stores," Mr Ruddick said, adding that being close to amenities - and public transport - was important for the cast and crew.

"Local onlookers were amused at what we were doing, while being supportive, polite and accommodating."

A couple of neighbourhood dogs even joined the set over the two days of filming.

"They turned up one day and then came back the next day, and we had to get our production assistant to keep them out of the shot. We don't know where they came from. It was so funny!" Mr Ruddick said.

The film stars Liz Marcobello, Adrian Glen, Ryan Wilson (a Hawkesbury local) and Chris O'Mallon.

Mr Ruddick said he enjoyed preparing entries for the SF3 festival, for which he made the shortlist last year.

"There's something more personal about shooting on a smartphone," he said.

The SF3 festival will screen a selection of entries. If Unroadworthy makes the cut, punters can watch it at Event Cinemas George Street, Sydney, on October 9 or 10.

In the meantime, Mr Ruddick has set-up a crowdfunding page to fund the film. If you want to pitch in, go to australianculturalfund.org.au/projects/unroadworthy-short-film.

The film will be made available online later in the year. Keep an eye on twitter.com/unroadworthy8 for updates.