The Fleurieu Connections Alliance stopped traffic—literally— to help Yankalilla Youth Theatre bring their feature film to life in the heart of Normanville in September.

The Alliance arranged traffic management, which allowed the group to block off the main street of Normanville for several hours to shoot their latest feature film.

The film, Tumbleweed, is set in the wild west and the outdoor set was staged with cacti, western (hobby) horses, a cardboard stagecoach and actual tumbleweeds.

The cast included members of Yankalilla Youth Theatre—aged 9-12 years from around the Fleurieu region alongside community actors including the mayor. Normanville residents were also invited to throw on their cowboy hats and be part of the action as extras.

Other locals also played roles in the film, including a recently graduated film student taking the reins as director.

Traffic staff took care of redirecting approaching vehicles to allow scenes such as a wild west shoot-out and travelling stagecoach to be filmed on the day.

This is the second film for Yankalilla Youth Theatre. The first had its premiere at the local library complete with a red carpet.

Evette Wolf, the film’s writer, thanked the FC Alliance for taking cars out of the picture for a few hours on the main street. ‘It was a major part of the project that would have been impossible without the support,’ she said. ‘We also got so many more people involved by filming there.’

Evette said the production was ‘an opportunity to bring a bit of joy’ to the community and local residents certainly took the chance to join in the fun.

Tumbleweed will be screened in Normanville and will also be available for viewing on YouTube.