Elise Archer,Minister for Arts
The Tasmanian Government is proud to announce that our screen industry is back in production with SBS drama series The Tailings now shooting on location in Queenstown.
The short-form mystery series follows a daughter’s investigation into her father’s death and takes place in her tight-knit, remote mining community in the extraordinary wilderness of the West Coast of Tasmania.
Our Government, through Screen Tasmania, has invested $120,000 into this Tasmanian project, and has supported its development since the initial pitch to Screen Tasmania from the Tasmanian creator and screenwriter, Caitlin Richardson.
In 2019/20 alone our Government invested $1.16 million through Screen Tasmania across five screen projects, which is estimated to have generated $5.1 million for the local economy during production, and employed more than 200 Tasmanian cast and crew members.
Screen production delivers a valuable economic injection into communities with The Tailings spending an estimated $650,000 on Tasmanian goods and services, which will provide a boost to regional Tasmania.
I am also very pleased that Tasmania’s recovering tourism sector is set to be a major beneficiary with over $60,000 alone being spent on accommodation on the West Coast by the production.
Almost 40 Tasmanian crew, 20 Tasmanian actors and 30 Tasmanian extras will be hired, with all extras and up to 10 crew being hired from the West Coast. Importantly, the scale of this production gives Tasmanian cast and crew the exciting opportunity to work in senior roles and prove themselves at higher levels, further developing the sustainability and reputation of Tasmania’s screen sector.
The cast has been announced today and is led by two emerging stars, Mabel Li and Hobart’s Tegan Stimson, guided by the wealth of experience of our own Kris McQuade (Rosehaven, Wentworth). The series will be directed by up-and-coming director Stevie Cruz-Martin (Pulse) and produced by Please Like Me’s Liz Doran, Richard Kelly (The Gloaming) and Steve Thomas of Tasmania’s Roar Film (Looky Looky Here Comes Cooky).
The Tailings is a Good Lark production for SBS, in association with 2 Jons and Roar Film. Principal production investment is from Screen Australia in association with SBS and is financed with support from Screen Tasmania. The Tailings will premiere on SBS On Demand in 2021.
