Hotel Coolgardie
A working holiday becomes a test of endurance for two out-of-luck Finnish backpackers who find themselves the latest batch of “fresh meat” sent to work as barmaids in a remote mining town.
rawandcookedmedia
Synopsis
Fresh off the plane, two Finnish backpackers find themselves the latest batch of “fresh meat” sent to work as barmaids at the only pub in a remote Australian mining town. Confronted with a culture of alienation and impunity, in limbo between being desired and disdained – their working holiday rapidly deteriorates into a bizarre test of endurance, as they discover that to meet expectations they’ll need to do more than just pour drinks. Set deep in Australia’s harsh interior, Hotel Coolgardie is a sometimes amusing, sometimes appalling, surprisingly moving portrait of small town insularity, fragile masculinity and the plight of the outsider forced to adapt or face the consequences.
Photo credit Raw And Cooked Media Pty Ltd 
Filmed and Post Produced in Western Australia
on the Traditional Country of the Wangkathaa, Kalaamaya, Malpa & Noongar Whadjuk peoples
Watch the trailer
Production Information
Writer & Director
Pete Gleeson
Producers
Melissa Hayward
Kate Neylon
Co-Producer
Pete Gleeson
Post Producer
Grady Habib
Executive Producers
Grady Habib
Brad Habib
Camera/Sound
Pete Gleeson
Distributor
Journeyman Pictures LTD
Publicity
Nicholas Cheetham (NIXCo)
Key Locations
Coolgardie
Perth
Post Production Sound
Ric Curtin
Editor
Pete Gleeson
Additional Editing
Lawrie Silvestrin, ASE
Additional Camera/Sound
Melissa Hayward
Colourist / VFX
Tony Bannan
Matthew Kerley
Jaemie Manners
Online
Tony Bannan
Production Accounts
Rose Grandile-Pizzi
Supported by
Screenwest
Film and Television Institute WA
Sandbox Post Production
Director's Profile
PETE GLEESON is a West Australian filmmaker with a passion for observational documentary filmmaking…
and its capacity for illuminating the otherwise hidden, unconsidered, or unacknowledged. Directing, shooting, and editing his own ob-doc material, he also edits, writes, shoots, lights, and produces content for others across a range of genres and forms. He has directed experimental films, corny elimination-style reality TV, a series of micro-films telling Indigenous stories, several films collaborating with participants with high-needs disabilities, and the provocative short film Enemy.
Photo credit Tourism WAFilming in Coolgardie
Coolgardie is a tiny town set amongst the scrubby, semi-arid Goldfields region of Western Australia
The town is located 350 miles inland from the state capital Perth. For the past 120 years it’s fortunes and population have fluctuated with the boom/bust cycle of the gold-mining industry. In 1898 it was the third-largest town in the state – a wild, bustling mining hub with twenty-six hotels.
Production Gallery
Raw And Cooked Media Pty Ltd 
Raw And Cooked Media Pty Ltd 
Raw And Cooked Media Pty Ltd 
Raw And Cooked Media Pty Ltd 
Raw And Cooked Media Pty Ltd 
Raw And Cooked Media Pty Ltd 
Raw And Cooked Media Pty Ltd 
Raw And Cooked Media Pty Ltd