Many of the guys in the film have a few conflicts or elements of their past that theyre still trying to come to terms with and that comes out in how they relate to other people. Situated 558 kilometres east of Perth, it was once the state's third-largest town. It was emotional to see the film. I'm not allowed to pick them up cos I'll scare them away. The Place for Local and Family History on the Western Australian Goldfields In terms of unwanted advances, theres plenty more where that came from. Hotel Coolgardie is now available to stream on DocPlay and Amazon Prime Video. The Denver City Hotel, located in the historic town of Coolgardie, Western Australia, a little over. Joe Morgan (born September 19 . The subtext of their employment is that their presence will soothe bored, lonely and frustrated men. Or dumb as a horse: Lina serves customers at Hotel Coolgardie. We didnt even notice after the first day or two that we had a film crew surrounding us all the time., However, despite how tough their time in Coolgardie might have been, in retrospect Lina can see the lighter side of it. At the time the documentary was filmed, the owner would have an agency send two female foreign backpackers every three months to work there and Lina and Steph were the latest. Described as "a nightmare version of Cheers" (POV Magazine) and "one of the most captivating Australian documentar | dG1fbm9wX0pxOU1fUjg. Popular attractions Ben Prior Park and Goldfields Museum & Visitor Centre are located nearby. Through an agency, they find jobs as barmaids at the Denver City Hotel in the remote mining town of Coolgardie. 4.0. I hope that people will understand they affect other people, she says. Australia was always on the top list of places to visit, Lina explains. Coolgardie Hotels Coolgardie, Australia Accommodation Deals Check In / / Check Out / / Guests Deals Free cancellation No prepayment needed Properties with special offers Price -$1 - -$1 Popular & up 3 Free parking 3 3 stars 1 B&Bs & Inns 3 Amenities Free parking 3 Restaurant 2 Pet friendly 1 Air conditioning 2 Show more Distance from When Finnish backpackers Lina and Stephie decided to head to Australia for the "trip of a lifetime" it's not quite where they expected to end up. 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"Once people are in there watching the film, we explore that a bit more.". Pete Gleeson) shows at Event Cinemas George Street, Friday June 10, as part of Sydney Film Festival 2016. Whenever I dropped in youd be able to pick how long the girls had been there by the look on their face or how well they were coping, he explains. Shire of Coolgardie Place Number 00570 Enlarge Map Show Property Street View Location 75-77 Bayley St Coolgardie Location Details Other Name (s) Ghost Inn Hotel, Michelle Lodge Gold Rush Lodge, Railway Lodge Local Government Coolgardie Region Goldfields Construction Date Constructed from 1898 Demolition Year N/A Statutory Heritage Listings Hotel Coolgardie, screening in cinemas now, shows what happened when Lina and Steph arrived in the small Australian town of Coolgardie to work at the Denver City Hotel. All rights reserved. These were tasty. It was his first time at the Kalgoorlie cinema, and he was one of a number of Coolgardie locals who made the 40 kilometre trip. 4/5 Very Good! Please try again later. Its not a movie. Hotel Coolgardie (R16, 83mins) Directed by Pete Gleeson Coopers Crossing this ain't. Sure Coolgardie's Denver City Hotel might look like a typical two-storey Aussie country pub, but. Boulder (Near Coolgardie) Comfortable Villa across the road from the Historic Recreation Hotel is set in Boulder. Chosen by Pete through an agency ("If they look good, they don't need experience," he leers in one of the first of the doco's many disturbing pronouncements), each new pair of backpackers faces a warm welcome that includes outside chalkboard top billing. "It felt like we were being objectified, rather than being valued for who we were outside of just being women. On a dusty highway between Australia's most isolated city and its largest gold pit lies Coolgardie - where the arrival every three months of a new pair of foreign backpackers to work the onl On a dusty highway between Australia's most isolated city and its largest gold pit lies Coolgardie - where the arrival every three months of a new pair of foreign backpackers to work the only bar in town is a keenly anticipated event. Speaking to Jasmine Bamford on ABC Goldfields-Esperance Mornings, Gleeson said he had expected the film to "ruffle feathers". Australian documentaries in recent memory Source: Hot Docs. He reminded people that it was a film and by that very nature, it was only able to capture a limited perspective. Coolgardie is located 550 kilometres east of Perth, approximately 40 kilometres west of Kalgoorlie, and 187 kilometres north of Norseman. Hotel Coolgardie is an observational-style documentary capturing the experiences of two Finnish backpackers who take jobs at the only pub in the small mining town of Coolgardie, 500 kilometres east of Perth. achieves WHAT ALL FILMMAKERS SHOULD REALLY ASPIRE to capturing the TRUTH ', The comments below have not been moderated, By Please try again. I really love each of the characters, Gleeson tells The New Daily. Its us. It's a mining town just west of Kalgoorlie, WA and the middle of nowhere. "Our concern was in an observational film about a particular situation; it's up to the audience to decide.". Hoping to recoup travel funds and have an "authentic" Aussie experience, the women landed a gig working as bartenders at the Hotel Coolgardie, which, admittedly, they'd never heard of. , updated This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Australia, which closed in 2021. One of the town's highlights though, is the arrival of new barmaids every few months. The locals eagerly anticipating the arrival Lina and Stephie's arrival. Lina isnt entirely sure what breeds such xenophobia. Even their boss hurls insults at them, calling them 'stupid' and asking: 'You eat seals and s***, don't cha? History Coolgardie GoldRush Motels. Hotel Coolgardie is every negative connotation of Australian culture transformed into a single, slanted building: a den of alcoholism and antagonism that blights Steph and Lina's exploits from the outset. The sometimes amusing, sometimes appalling documentary follows two young Finnish backpackers, Lina and Steph, as they weather a Hotel Coolgardieis to bogans whatJawsis to sharks. Tick to subscribe, untick to unsubscribe from any newsletters below: Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture. Khaleda Rahman For Daily Mail Australia The gruff pub owner cycles through female employees every three or so months,giving them food, money and a place to sleep in exchange for hard work and minimal complaints. All the drama of their Outback stintwas captured on camera and is the subject ofHotel Coolgardie, a documentary currently showing at the Sydney Film Festival. At a pub in the remote mining town of Coolgardie a revolving door of barmaids provide entertainment for the mostly male patrons. It did feel like we were being objectified. RIP Canman, a good dude. They can play nice with the locals, or face the consequences of continued and likely increasingly aggro harassment. It's clear that despite having to "bite our tongues and be nice and polite, then cry behind closed doors" (as Lina told The Guardian), it was decided that the girls weren't playing along nicely enough. Maybe they are showing off? she guesses. [One man]says things that are laced with bitterness and violence but I think hes trying to reach out.. The behaviour of the men in Coolgardie is undoubtedly unsettling, though the film wasnt made from a feminist perspective. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work. And thats where things start to go wrong. But we had just been robbed in Bali and didnt want to lose the job, because we needed the money. Gleeson, a Perth local, decided to make the film after regularly spending time at the pub, confessing his own interest in the barmaids. But others display a concerning attitude towardswomen, with one patron complaining b***hes dont like me and suggesting killing them as a solution to his lady problems. (ABC Goldfields-Esperance: Nathan Morris) Shire President Malcolm Cullen said he would not be going out of his way to view the film. We came for a meal and I was told the Garlic Steakburger with chips was a very large meal and thoroughly recommended. "Harangued by their new boss, relentlessly pursued and pilloried by booze-addle patrons and prey to madness and malaise of an environment as claustrophobic as it is isolated," read the synopsis of the film at the time. "Harangued by their new boss, relentlessly pursued and pilloried by booze-addled patrons and prey to the madness and malaise of an environment as claustrophobic as it is isolated," the film's synopsis reads. A restaurant and a bar/lounge are featured at this motel. AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), abc.net.au/news/outback-documentary-hotel-coolgardie-holds-mirror-to-culture/8622168, Get breaking news alerts directly to your phone with our app, Help keep family & friends informed by sharing this article, Daily letter deliveries in the firing line as part of new Australia Post review, Defiant Wilkinson lays out defamation defence, Edmund Rice Education Australia issues apology to parents at Victorian school for failing to meet child safety standards, Station master arrested over deadly Greece train collision, Australia leads India by 47 runs after spin dominates day one of the third Test, Three unpublicised data breaches affected millions of Australians' personal details, according to watchdog, NSW mother to be sentenced next month for 24yo daughter's manslaughter, Key figures from the Voice 'Yes' and 'No' campaigns explain the state of play, Dutton warns against UK submarines for AUKUS, drawing fire from government. He hopes the film starts conversations about "what it's like to be a woman in a masculine environment like that, and just how exhausting it can be to have to duck and weave and play the game and take everything in good humour when you probably have the right to call people on their behaviour and draw boundaries". Every day we got [told] that we were stupid or dumb as a horse. Was told the steak was very big so my wife and I decided to go halves. Hotel Coolgardie (R16, 83mins)Directed by Pete Gleeson. Imagine you're on an adventure on the other side of the world. The relationship between backpackers and the Australian outback is a popular subject for fictional horror film, but according to new documentaryHotelCoolgardiethe reality is almostas disturbing. Maybe they were showing off, or scared of being hurt, says Lina. For something soaked in XXXX beer, Hotel Coolgardie is absolutely sobering, absolutely skin-crawling and absolutely necessary viewing. "Not only to be an outsider, but what it means to be part of the dominant culture or majority and what responsibility that might entail," he said. Gleeson said he had told the story of "outsiders" trapped in a difficult situation. Melbourne Herald Sun, sad FUNNY cringe-worthy STAGGERING shocking EXTRAORDINARY Source: Hot Docs. Improve this listing Property amenities Bar / lounge Coffee shop Restaurant PETE (OOS) . Director Pete Gleeson first came across Coolgardie's Denver City Hotel - the setting of doco Hotel Coolgardie - around 15 years ago on a visit to the remote West Australian mining town. And certainly what's represented is a disturbing microcosm of toxic masculinity and rape culture (where the ever-present threat of male sexual aggression permeates all interactions and forces the outnumbered women to alter their behaviour accordingly). Every day we got to hear that we were stupid. Coolgardie is a mining town, so most of the population will be men who "fly in fly out" to work on up to 4 weeks on 1 week off swings. "I hope that the movie is an eye-opener. The 120-year-old building contains the town's watering hole and 26 hotel rooms in the centre of Coolgardie's . Denver City Hotel Coolgardie, adres 73 Bayley St, Coolgardie WA 6429 . In remotest red-dust Australia is the sleepy mining town of Coolgardie. The Finnish women are less at home. Director defends controversial documentary on 'backpacker nightmare' at Coolgardie Pub, There is an emergency bushfire warning in place for Maintongoonin Victoria. Hotel Coolgardie is now available to stream on DocPlay and Amazon Prime Video. It was really emotional to see the film, Lina says. They delved deep into the Australian outback on the hunt for a job and they landed in a mining town called Coolgardie, a small dot on the map about 550km east of Perth, with a population of about 1000. Released January 7th, 2018, 'Hotel Coolgardie' stars The movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 24 min, and received a user score of 75 (out of 100) on TMDb, which collated reviews from 11 experienced . As the story naturally evolves, unexpected characters surface in the story, and there are moments of affecting emotion between the backpackers and locals. Every day we got to hear that we were stupid. "I thought it was going to be worse than what it was," one Goldfields woman said. The women face a horrendous torrent of sexist and racist remarks from the locals, as the drunks demonstrate their shaky understanding of geography and culture by assuming Lina and Stephs Finnish background means they dine solely on reindeer. 7.8/10 (45 reviews) Coolgardie GoldRush Motels. The new manager has said the practice no longer happens at the Denver City Hotel and that the documentary was filmed several years ago. Phil Thompson on Google (August 21, 2019, 5:02 am) Stopped here for some lunch, we had roast chicken and gravy rolls and a huge serve of wedges. If we had been in a better economic situation, we would have left the same day we arrived in Coolgardie, says Lina simply. Enjoy free WiFi, free parking, and breakfast. Hotel Coolgardie filmmaker defends controversial documentary, Kobe Bryant family settles lawsuit for $41 million over graphic 2020 helicopter crash photos, 'People are starting to run out of money': Businesses brace for downturn as GDP numbers show rate hikes biting, Man issued with $11,000 Robodebt bill tells royal commission he was made to 'feel like a welfare cheat', ANZ bank apologises after customers' personal information found in Perth skip bin, How farmers and supermarkets will deal with collapse of national freight carrier, Nightmare construction problems reach boiling point in the west, as homeowners consider legal action. Top hotels in Coolgardie. 0.9 mi from city center. They had been robbed in Bali, so needed/wanted to earn enough money to buy a car and drive around Australia. Fully refundable Reserve now, pay when you stay. Hotel Coolgardie is in cinemas from June 15. Jan 2 - Jan 3. 09:42 GMT 22 Jun 2017. documentary or otherwise, to come out of Australia in ages. Film Blerg, veers between INTIMATE MOMENTS of human warmth and vulnerability Discover genuine guest reviews for Coolgardie GoldRush Motels along with the latest prices and availability - book now. Or [maybe] they dont even know theyre being sexist maybe they think thats just the way things are? Consult the website for up to date screening information. As uncomfortable as it is essential, Hotel Coolgardie bears witness to a hot-button issue that, in an era of pay equity and gender equality, demands to be addressed. Hotel Coolgardie the Film FRESH OFF THE PLANE AND IN NEED OF MONEY, 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. He even lewdly comments that his male patrons 'grow a new leg' when new girls come to town and even compete to see who can bed them first. You're told you've signed up to work a stint at a pub in a mining town, a minimum of three months. But after they were robbed in Bali, they needed the work to replenish their travel fund and return home. 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