Bamawm's own low-profile starlet has landed herself on the big screen, acting beside Eric Bana in The Dry.
Francine McAsey can be spotted in the movie theatres as Amanda, the assistant to the local school principal, in the murder-mystery film based on the Jane Harper novel of the same name.
“This is my first big release,” Ms McAsey said of The Dry.
“Most of the stuff I’ve done in the last few years has been unpaid short films and student films, just to get some experience.”
Raised on a Bamawm dairy farm and schooled throughout Rochester and Echuca, the 53-year-old said she “really had to pursue” the production team in Los Angeles to secure her role.
“My role is small but the stakes were really high for me in this,” the Bendigo-based public servant said.
“In fact, it’s a really good film. I’ve seen it five times now between the cast and crew screening, the world premiere in Horsham when I took my family and friends, and a Q&A session.”
Ms McAsey said there was “some cheering” from her friends and family when her face appeared, but the one graced with the loudest response was a local Horsham girl who worked as an extra in a pub scene.
“When she came on everybody lost it,” Ms McAsey said.
The movie was filmed in 2019 in Victorian towns including Castlemaine, Minyip, Beulah and Hopetoun.
“The biggest thing about it is both the director, Robert Connolly, and Eric Bana have said it's not a ‘mystical outback’ setting, it’s a real rural story that people who live in these country towns and drive through them will recognise,” Ms McAsey said.
“It’s the Australia people know.”
Other big moments in Ms McAsey’s side-career include officiating a wedding on the TV soapie Neighbours in 2020.
“Once you’ve been on Neighbours that’s it. Is there anywhere higher in Australian acting?” she said.
“I’ve also been in another feature-length film called Rock Sugar by Angela How. It’s nothing like The Dry but it is an interesting film. It’s currently in negotiation for its release.”
Ms McAsey plays a vice-principal in the psychological thriller, which is filmed from the perspective of a 12-year-old schoolgirl.
It seems Ms McAsey is findinggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg a niche in the Australian film industry as an authoritative office worker.
No doubt her past life as a government staffer in Canberra has helped her embody the roles.
A few days after she spoke to our reporter, Ms McAsey went to Melbourne to help Peking Duk film a new music video.
The band is well known for its high-quality music videos, which regularly pull over two million views on YouTube.
“It has something to do with an office workplace,” Ms McAsey said of the music video.
“Most of my headshots are quite corporate. I am finding I’m picking up those sorts of jobs.”