Over the decades, the outstanding scenery of the Macedon Ranges and the unique topography of the Hepburn Shire have featured in local and international films and international series since the 1960s, when the kids fantasy drama Boomerang was filmed in Mount Macedon and Australian soap opera Bellbird opened with scenes filmed around Daylesford.

Sixty years later and Beneath the Storm, a shark thriller movie, filmed scenes around the Macedon Ranges. Starring Bridgerton’s Phoebe Dynevor and Gladiator’s Djimon Hounsou, it will be released in 2025. Hepburn Shire featured in the recently released horror movie Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism with many locals used as extras, while Glenlyon and the Wombat State Forest feature in 2023 film The Rooster. Featuring Hugo Weaving and Phoenix Raei, the film was shot on the bush property of director Mark Leonard Winter and actor Geraldine Hakewill (who also stars in the film).

Other acting greats our region has hosted include Mel Gibson, Eric Banner, Kate Winslet and everyone’s favourite pig Babe.

The tiny goldrush town of Clunes has become a magnet for many artists, film and television folk. It originally came to fame as the first Victorian town to strike gold in 1850. In 1979 Clunes struck gold again, as one of the locations for Mad Max. Long time Clunes locals all have a story about when Mad Max was filmed in the main street, the railway station and a private residence. Other more recent shows include Australian miniseries Bloom (Jackie Weaver and Bryan Brown), Tomorrow When the War Began, and The Dry (Eric Bana and Miranda Tapsell).

Ned Kelly has had a good run in the region, with the 2003 biopic (called Ned Kelly) starring Naomi Watts, Geoffrey Rush, Rachel Griffiths, the late Heath Ledger and English actor Orlando Bloom and more recently, the True History of the Kelly Gang, released in 2020.

Then there’s the Australian classic story, Picnic at Hanging Rock, based on the novel set in the Macedon Ranges, which has been filmed as both a movie and a series. Charlotte’s Web (Julia Roberts, 2006) is set in Maine but was actually filmed in Heidelberg and on the ‘Morrocdong’ sheep farm, near the old mining town of Greendale.

Nicolas Cage and Australia’s Rose Byrne filmed Knowing in the Macedon Ranges in 2009, while Kate Winslet, Liam Hemsworth and Hugo Weaving filmed parts of 2015 movie, The Dressmaker in the region. Muckleford Railway Station even featured in its publicity posters. A scene from action thriller Backlight (2022), was filmed at a popular swimming hole in Macedon. The film stars Liam Neeson (who is on the record as a fan of the region).

Other recent shows include: Scrublands, a murder thriller series, filmed in Maldon; Glitch, a series about six people who return from the dead in the fictional town of Yoorana, filmed around historic Castlemaine; Down to Earth, a global sustainable living documentary, featuring Zac Efron and Mount Macedon; NBC’s La Brea, an action-packed mini-series set in Los Angeles and 10,000 BC, filmed mainly the Macedon Ranges – in 2021.

And Australian renovation show The Block will film in Daylesford in 2025 where the countdown to novice building and personality clashes collide to make some great television viewing. The Block also filmed a series in Gisborne in the Macedon Ranges in 2023.

Tax rebates for international productions mean our region will likely continue to feature on the big screen. Daylesford local Jacqui Walter has worked internationally in music and film for 30 years. In her role as Head of Sales for Stage and Screen Travel she believes location scouts will be heading our way.

“I recently attended the AusFilm Week in the US where at least seven or eight major films have been slated for Australia. That’s great news for the local film industry in Victoria and there will be more opportunities for location work in Daylesford and the Macedon Ranges.”

Hero Image: Kate Winslet, in The Dressmaker 2015.