THE Perth Hills is hot on the heels of York as a film destination with filming being wrapped up last week on a new survival thriller feature film Shed starring legendary Australian actor John Jarratt and Mani Shanks.

Playtime Motion Pictures award winning director and independent filmmaker Steven J Mihaljevich said this was his third feature film in seven years, all set, shot and made in the Perth Hills including Midland, Swan View, Mundaring, Parkerville, Hovea, and Greenmount.

“It seems our local area has become a springboard for filmmaking, utilising the scenic and iconic Perth Hills landmarks and capturing the beauty of our local areas. We are calling it our mini Hollywood Hills,” Mr Mihaljevich said.

His first film, The Xrossing, made in 2019, was entirely set and made in Swan View, with the story and characters soley representing the area, and all three movies, which also include Violett and now Shed, with production and post production done at a local film production studio in Swan View.

The Xrossing featured at many festivals around the world, and was awarded best indie at Toronto and Paris international indie festivals, and has just been picked up in the US for worldwide streaming via Apple TV and Prime.

“The movie obviously had a big impact on the Swan View community, but there are still so many people who have not seen it, so after four long years they now have the opportunity,” Mr Mihaljevich said.

“This was a much-loved film within the local community as it spoke to many different people from social and cultural backgrounds. For this film, I wanted to create a story about my local neighborhood, highlighting the beauty and darkness that exists in this very unique area of the country.”

It is a moving story about the beauty and darkness of growing up in the Perth Hills, with powerful themes of misjudgement and the absence of role models, acceptance and human understanding.

“After The Xrossing, we received private funding to make a second feature movie in the Perth Hills, and this year, we released Violett, shot entirely in Hovea,  Mundaring, Swan View, Midland and Greenhills, east of York,” Mr Mihaljevich said.

Violett is a psychological mystery and has just won best Australian feature at ANOH international film festival in Sydney.

Screenings start next month at Kookaburra Outdoor Cinema in Mundaring December 8-10.

Violett was made on a budget of just under $500,000 and has won a large number of awards, including Best Australian Film and Best Australian Performance (Georgia Eyers The Xrossing) at the ‘A Night of Horror International Film Festival’ in Sydney, and best narrative feature film (under one million) at the WA Screen Awards.

When streaming in the US it was the number one rented movie for three weeks on Apple TV.

Mihaljevich’s third feature in six years - Shed, the survival thriller about a courageous 10-year-old girl Mia, who is locked inside a work shed and must survive inconceivable odds whilst trying to learn what happened to her family, is yet another movie set around the Perth Hills - this one in Swan View, Greenmount, Mundaring and Chidlow.

Shed, currently under post-production, features an outstanding performance by young actress Mani Shanks (Violett) as well as veteran actor John Jarratt (Wolf Creek, Django Unchained).

“I always felt that the Perth Hills is an extraordinary backdrop for filmmaking, given the breathtaking views, atmosphere and different types of landscapes - which is one reason why I moved out here 10 years ago now,” Mr Mihaljevich said.

“I have built my film production company Playtime Motion Pictures over nine years now to be a creative boutique studio house in Perth Hills, focusing on feature film post-production as we continue to strive to make more movies out here.

“More creatives need to know what we are doing out here as we continue to expand our crews and work with different people, it is quite remarkable what we have been able to achieve in a small space of time. I am excited about what the future holds.”