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outtahere Surf's up in Margaret River WA's famous wine region can add epic waves and Hollywood hunks to its list of drawcards. Fleur Bainger gets the lowdown on the area's world-class film locations featured in the new surf movie Drift. Looking at the towering waves at Margaret River's famous Surfers Point, it's easy to see why, for seven years, Myles Pollard dreamt about shooting a movie that would harness their power and beauty. The actor best known for his turn in McLeod's Daughters lives in the region and is an avid wave rider, so the thought of combining his two loves in a part-action, part-drama flick with his mate, Sam Worthington, was a no-brainer. The result? The $11.4-million surf film Drift, which was released nationally in May and has since curled and frothed its way to the US. Set in south-west Western Australia in the 1970s, Drift is more than just a big-wave ogle-fest. It tells the story of the Kelly brothers – played by Pollard and Aussie Twilight star Xavier Samuel – as they grow up alongside the ocean, building a successful surfboard business while battling bikies, police, drug problems and a curmudgeonly bank manager. Worthington plays a burly blowin surf photographer named JB who helps the brothers crack the international marketplace. Naturally, the region's ripper surf spots hog a fair bit of the limelight. Artful cinematography chases fearless, fun-loving surfers as they glide up and down huge green walls. The camera reaches inside rolling barrels and captures the rush of air as each mass of water closes over, spitting out surfers and crashing into a writhing layer of white water. All but one of the surfing scenes are real, performed either by the actors themselves or stunt doubles, most of whom are Margaret River locals. "A kid named Shaun Manners surfed the giant wave at the start of the film when a young Jimmy Kelly hits the surf," says Pollard. "Shaun's the son of famous surfer Mat Manners and he was only nine years old. He got hammered, but we got the shot off the first wave and wrapped by 8am. He went off to school after that." The captivating film casts a fond eye over the region's natural charms, with aerial shots zooming over clusters of seals, pods of dolphins, a frolicking whale and the South West's iconic tall-tree forests. "The film is as much about connecting people to the community as it is about nature," says Pollard. It gives a nod to the region's heritage, too, from the days of the timber mills to the muchloved pastimes of skindiving for crayfish and hanging around beachside bonfires. After the film premiered locally in the small town of Yallingup to a crowd of 1,300 people, who arrived via a 50-metre-long red carpet, Pollard took the time to show OUTthere around the Margaret River region, pointing out several film locations used in Drift and revealing some of his favourite behind-the-scenes moments. Gnarabup Beach From the deck of Gnarabup's White Elephant Beach Café, Pollard looks at the flat, navy-blue expanse of water just metres away and all but shivers as he remembers shoving his head underwater during three hours of takes in the depths of winter. "We were filming the scene where the brothers are diving for crayfish," he recalls. "They were poor, so we decided they wouldn't have had wetsuits. I could have made it more comfortable but I decided to go with my artistic integrity. It was absolutely freezing." 17