The drought-ridden town of Beulah was renamed Kiewarra for the film The Dry.
In the film, Beulah is the town where Bana’s character Aaron comes back to bid his friend farewell and confront the ghosts of his past.
Most scenes involving evidence finding and interrogations took place in this tiny Victorian town.
Eric Bana and Robert Connelly turned up in Beulah with Nikki, the location scout, in 2018. They arrived with photographers to check out this small windswept town of Beulah. It suited their needs, and Nikki returned to look for the many locations they would need in the area.
The cast and crew got to know the Wimmera/Mallee region well during the filming of The Dry in 2019. Spending several weeks shooting in Beulah and Minyip and the towns of Murtoa, Banyena, Hopetoun, and Warracknabeal.
Based on Jane Harper’s novel of the same name, ‘The Dry’ is a crime-mystery film. Aaron Falk (Eric Bana), a Melbourne-based federal cop, visits his hometown Kiewarra after two decades to attend the funeral of his childhood friend, Luke Hadler.
Luke had allegedly killed his wife Karen and their son Billy before taking his own life. Only their infant daughter, Charlotte, was spared. Luke’s parents ask Falk to stay and investigate the crime, and he reluctantly agrees.
The film, directed by Robert Connolly, stars Eric Bana. Including a cast of familiar Australian actors, including Jon Polson, Julia Blake and Bruce Spence.
Auditions were done in Beulah and Minyip. Many locals were excited to be extras in the film, from school children at the school to the large crowd at the funeral.
The town had been changed to look in ‘full drought mode’, including dirt spread throughout the streets.
