Where Was “The Dry” Filmed?

Is Kiewarra in “The Dry” a real place?

The movie takes place in the town of Kiewarra, but people who aren’t from Australia may not know whether or not it’s a real town. We see plenty of locations that are sure to make you ask: where was “The Dry” filmed?

According to News.com.au they shot the movie in the Mallee Wimmera region of northwest Victoria. This acted as the fictional hometown of Kiewarra from the movie.

Eric Bana explained why he thought filming on location in Mallee and Wimmera suited the authenticity. “There is another version of this film that exists 50 minutes outside of a metropolitan area where you can cheat it and still make a great movie, but you wouldn’t see the movie that you’ll see.”

Bana was friends with director Robert Connelly and shot the movie in 2019. However, like many films produced that year, it had its’ release pushed back to 2021 in order to secure a theatrical release.

Beaulah: home of “The Dry”

While they filmed the movie across the Mallee and Wimmera region, the production wound up filming in one town more than others. Kiewarra can feel bleak and very affected by the drought. However, that doesn’t stop you from asking: where was “The Dry” filmed?

ABC News Australia reports that much of the filming took place in the town of Beaulah. The town of 300 had been in dire need of some help after dealing with two years of drought conditions and “The Dry” became the perfect opportunity.

The town’s Historic Learning and Progress Association has leaned into being the filming home of “The Dry”. In fact, they have put up pamphlets and information along with a smaller sign added to the town’s welcome sign.

The town is still in the process of recovering from the difficulties it faced in recent years. Being the home of one of Australia’s highest-grossing movies of all time will be sure to drive some tourism to the Victorian town.

Other notable “The Dry” filming locations

Sure, Beaulah gets most of the attention for its role in the movie. However, there are still other locations that are sure to make you ask: where was “The Dry” filmed?

According to The Cinemaholic, since Eric Bana’s character is Melbourne based, all they filmed all of the scenes in the beginning of the movie on location. One of the other more famous locations they mention is Castlemaine, Clunes, the filming location for famous films like “Mad Max” and “Ned Kelly.”

There are a few other places in the Mallee and Wimmera region, thankfully a visitor’s page for the area has put together a handy self-driving tour. This includes the pub that we see in the movie, which they actually filmed in the town of Minyip.

It sounds like it’s not quite a pub anymore, so if you visit it for yourself you should expect to find a good cup of coffee and a pastry. Another very important location from the movie they mention is the school where the detectives question the local principal. Hopetoun Neighborhood House in Hopetoun doubled as the school and is another location they recommend checking out for yourself.

Another town in the area that we see is the city of Horsham. IMDB reports that it is also the filming location of the popular Australian television show ”The Flying Doctors.”

It was also one of the filming locations for the 2015 Kate Winslet film, “The Dressmaker”. Coming from a long line of great Australian movies, “The Dry” finds itself one of the country’s more memorable movies from recent years. A sequel to the movie based on the subsequent Jane Harper book is said to be in the works. We hope to see the production return to Northwestern Victoria.

Let one of Australia’s best-loved soaps inspire your next production by checking out where they filmed “Home and Away”!