Advance screening of WA feature film The Furnace draws Mount Magnet crowd

Crew and community members gathered around a blow-up screen in Mount Magnet this month for an advance screening of feature film The Furnace. Shot in Mount Magnet and Kalbarri, the movie is a work of historic fiction that delves into the life of an Afghan cameleer during the 1890s gold rush in WA. Badimia Land Aboriginal Corporation chair Vincent Jones acted as a cultural consultant on the film, and he said he was “elated” to see the final cut. “It was done on my traditional country, “ he said. He praised the use of Badimia language, beautiful visual landscapes and the kindness he was shown by the production crew. “People are going to be talking about this for a very long time,” he said. Familiar Mount Magnet faces — and shoulders, backs and hands — featured in the film as extras, with local butcher Kent Lucy particularly enjoying the flickering moments he made it on the big screen. “My bum is famous now,” he said. The Furnace had its international premiere at the 77th Venice Film Festival in September.