Written by on Mar 28, 2014. Posted in On Location

Nicole Kidman filming Australian-Irish co-production Strangerland in Sydney

Nicole Kidman has started filming new Australian-Irish co-production Strangerland on location in and around Sydney. Kidman and Joseph Fiennes star as a couple whose teenage children go missing in the Australian desert and Hugo Weaving is the detective who leads the search.

Strangerland is being supported by the Irish Film Board, Screen Australia, Screen NSW and Worldview Entertainment.

“I am always looking for the right script to bring me home to Australia,” commented Kidman, who starred in Baz Luhrmann’s big-budget romantic epic Australia in 2008: “The moment I read Strangerland I knew this was a film I couldn't say no to. I'm looking forward to working on a film in Australia and I’m very excited to be working with Joseph Fiennes and Hugo Weaving.”

Added Macdara Kelleher of production company Fastnet Films: “It's wonderful for Fastnet Films to be producing an incredible project that has attracted an A-list cast in Nicole Kidman, Joe Fiennes and Hugo Weaving.

“It's great to be able to bring such talented Irish crew including cinematographer PJ Dillon, sound recordist Rob Flanagan, writer Michael Kinirons and photographer Ross McDonnell, as well as many others, as part of the Irish-Australian co-production.”

The BBC will be filming its historical drama Banished on location near Sydney in the next few weeks. Australia also recently hosted a special holiday shoot for the hit US sitcom Modern Family, which could help boost regional film tourism.

Big-budget features Gods of Egypt and San Andreas are also scheduled to film locally. A 16.5% Location Offset is designed to attract international productions to Australia and the country also offers a separate AUD20 million filming incentive fund for negotiating one-off deals.