A TELEVISION series shot in Moe hit Netflix last month.
Videoland, a six-part coming-of-age romantic comedy, was shot on location at Future Flicks video store last year. The six-parts were merged into two episodes for the Netflix release.
The series tells the story of a young video store clerk grappling with her new-found lesbian identity.
Needing an appropriate set in which to shoot, the film’s production company Pickelet Pictures, discovered Moe still had an active video hire shop – one of the few left remaining in the state.
With that, Future Flicks, Moe was closed to the public in June 2023 to shoot a number of scenes.
Store owner Ricky Dyt graciously gave up a number of weeks of trade to assist the filmmakers.
This was no small-scale production either. Trucks, vans and cars carrying film equipment camped out in the store carpark for days on end, while on set, the interior of the store was transformed to take actors back to the 1990s.
No detail was spared – the store was painted light pink to match the style of the time, while every single DVD in the store was replaced by a video cassette. Don’t forget, there were no DVDs in the ’90s.
The company was also taking no chances. Every crew member wore a face mask, as the risk of losing even just one day to a COVID outbreak had the potential to derail the entire production.
Locals were able to get involved as extras playing video store customers.
Local artist Steve Bechaz gets some screen time, while the Gippsland Times’ own Liam Durkin enjoys a one-second cameo playing the role of a customer returning and then browsing a video.
That one second took four hours to shoot.
Perhaps being a movie star isn’t all it’s made out to be.
Both episodes of Videoland are now streaming on Netflix.
