Key Points
- A movie set with a Nepali backdrop has been created in regional Victoria for the shooting of Ice Road 2: Road to the Sky.
- The film is expected to create employment opportunities and boost the state economy.
- Members of the Nepali community in Australia say they are excited for the movie, while some reflect on the film industry in their homeland.
About 180 kilometres east of Melbourne, a regional Victorian township has been converted into a Nepali village.
Decorated with multicoloured prayer flags and given a fresh coat of paint, Walhalla in Gippsland has been transformed into a mini Nepal for the shoot of Ice Road 2: Road to the Sky, a sequel to the 2021 film The Ice Road, starring Liam Neeson.
The Ice Road 2: Road to the Sky movie set in Walhalla, Gippsland. Source: Facebook / Walhalla's Star Hotel
The original look of the Walhalla's Star Hotel and its surroundings. Source: Facebook / Walhalla's Star Hotel
Transforming Australia into Nepal
Russell Wright is the President of the Walhalla Mountain Rivers Tourism Association.
He said it has been fascinating to watch the ‘mountain hamlet’ turn into a Nepali village.
“The main hotel [Walhalla's Star Hotel] has been repainted and decorated to look more Nepali, covering over some of the English detail and ageing the building, growing vines over the front of it, and putting dirt on the main road,” said Mr Wright, who is one of 20 residents of the former gold-mining town.
“The car park alongside the hotel has been made into a sort of an open-air large market. The cafe next door to the hotel has been converted into a teahouse, with a little market next door to that.”
They’ve converted the rotunda into a little prayer hut. All the things you would expect to find in a Nepali village, baskets and stuff around are here.Russell Wright, President of Walhalla Mountain Rivers Tourism Association
Walhalla's Star Hotel has been decorated to resemble a Nepali village house, while a vehicle emblazoned with 'Nepal Police' is parked in the front. Source: Facebook / Walhalla's Star Hotel
“We have anywhere between 90 to 200 cast and crew along with onlookers and regular day trippers, being summer school holidays. People are basically on set from about 7am until about 7:30pm,” he said.
When you’re standing on set you feel like you are in Nepal, and not in a town in Australia. The only giveaway is the cockatoos flying over your head.Russell Wright, President of Walhalla Mountain Rivers Tourism Association
Onlookers at the Ice Road 2: Road to the Sky set at Walhalla, Gippsland. Source: Facebook / Walhalla
It is expected to create almost 600 local job opportunities and bring a $30 million boost into the state economy.
A bus painted to resemble a tour bus in Nepal. Source: Facebook / Walhalla
Excitement in the Nepali community
Many Nepali Australians, who make up the , have greeted the town's makeover positively.
Melbourne student Grishma Acharya said she is excited that her home country is being represented in a major Hollywood film.
“Mostly when people think of Nepal, they either know only about Mount Everest, or nothing at all. But from this movie, hopefully, people will know a bit about Nepal, and I am proud that our country is being represented in this movie,” she said.
Ujjwal Malakar, 24, an accounts specialist from Melbourne, said he hoped Ice Road 2 can offer a fresh perspective on the action movie genre and showcase a different side of Nepal.
“This will be a change of scenery as most movie locations of this genre have lately been based in Europe. In Nepal, when it comes to international movies, normally only documentary style or movies related to Mount Everest are shot, due to the geography,” he said.
With a thrilling and captivating movie like this, it will show that such films with heroes and villains can also be shot in Nepal and it might open potential doors for film shoots in the upcoming years, as well as promote tourism.Ujjwal Malakar, Melbourne
An open-air market has been created at the car park beside Walhalla's Star Hotel. Source: Facebook / Walhalla
Movie industry professionals seek exposure
While some community members may question why the film couldn't be shot in Nepal, Sydney-based filmmaker Apil Bista said there were great challenges to executing a big international production in the Himalayan country.
“I think this shoot was done outside of Nepal due to various factors,” he said.
In Nepal, there are fewer line production companies of this kind and the logistics and security are complicated when it comes to a crew with hundreds of people.Apil Bista, Filmmaker
Dev Karki from Sydney has been working in Nepali film distribution across Australia and New Zealand for about a decade.
He said Nepali movies need more exposure to reach an international market, but Hollywood productions may not be the answer.
“Currently there is hype about the shooting in Walhalla with a Nepali set, and how much this will help the Nepali movie industry is something only the future can show, but as of now, I do not see any direct link,” he said.
“For that, either the Film Development Board in Nepal has to step up, and Nepali filmmakers need to find ways to collaborate with international distributors and creators like Hollywood or Bollywood and create more viable content.”
Vans with 'Nepal Police' written on them. Source: Facebook / Walhalla
Australian actors Bernard Curry, Geoff Morrell and Grace O’Sullivan are also expected to be seen on screen.
The production is also said to be taking place across Melbourne, including Docklands Studios.
