Location a key part of film: Baker

Simon Baker has praised the community and the landscape in the Great Southern as filming for Breath, an adaptation of Tim Winton’s novel, enters its final stages.

The film follows two teenagers who form an unlikely friendship with an older surfer and was shot primarily in Denmark and surrounding locations.

Variable weather conditions are integral to the beauty of the region, Baker says.

“The weather fluctuates here, that’s one of the things that makes this particular region so beautiful for this film,” he said.

“The change in conditions and the enormities of the skies, you do that deal with Mother Nature for the beauty of it.”

Baker also indicated the film crew had been received well by the local community, which he attributed to a respect for the novel.

“We’ve been really fortunate with the local community; they’ve been incredibly supportive,” he said

“I think we owe a lot of that to Tim’s book and how much people embraced that book — I think a lot of people have a lot of respect for this particular story.”

Baker said the community had played its own role in the film.

“We’ve used a lot of the local community and their experience and expertise and knowledge of the area to help us to really form and help form the story,” he said.

“It takes a village to make a film and we’re really grateful to be able to be here and be able to do it.”

Baker expects filming, which is now in its fourth week, to be finished by the end of the month.

The State Government recently announced a $16 million regional film fund as part of the Royalties for Regions program in the hope of attracting national and international films into WA’s dynamic natural landscapes.