A character-driven observational documentary set in an Australian ski resort, exploring the clash between legacy locals and a rapidly corporatised mountain economy - in the vein of American Factory, but inside a fragile alpine world.

LOGLINE

In a remote Australian ski resort, general manager Stuart Diver fights to hold a divided community together as a warming climate and a defiant old guard threaten to bring down the season.

SYNOPSIS

Set over a single winter in a remote Australian ski resort, The Last of the Locals follows resort General Manager Stuart Diver as he attempts to hold together a fragile mountain community under increasing pressure. Once defined by its wild spirit and tight-knit culture, the resort now sits at the intersection of corporate growth, environmental instability, and deepening social divides. Stuart is at the centre of it all - tasked with keeping the operation profitable while maintaining the trust of a community that feels it is slowly being pushed aside.

Stuart’s connection to the village is deeply personal. He was the sole survivor of the 1997 Thredbo landslide, a disaster that killed 18 people, including his first wife, and he has since endured further loss. That history shapes his leadership: beyond running the resort, he is driven to unify the fractured town and restore a sense of cohesion. But the task is complex. Locals feel alienated, staff are transient, and corporate expectations continue to grow.

Standing in opposition is Casee, a Dutch immigrant and long-time local who has lived in the village for over fifty years. A relic of its past, he is deeply sceptical of the resort’s direction and openly questions what is being lost. For Casee, change is not progress, it’s erosion. His resistance shows the broader tension running through the community, where nostalgia and identity collide with the demands of survival.

Alongside them are Angel and Kayleigh, a hardworking immigrant couple who have built a successful business in the village while raising their young daughter. Their story offers a counterpoint - one of opportunity and class-systems - yet they too feel the strain of a place shifting beneath their feet.

As the season unfolds, from early anticipation to peak intensity and eventual decline, the mountain itself becomes an unpredictable force. Snowfall is no longer reliable; warm spells and rain threaten critical periods, placing pressure on both infrastructure and morale. Snowmaking machines are brought in to compensate, underscoring a deeper reality: what was once natural is now increasingly manufactured.

With intimate, unprecedented access, The Last of the Locals captures a community in transition. While rooted in one ski resort, it reflects a broader global reality - where climate change, economic pressure, and competing visions of the future are reshaping not just landscapes, but the people who call them home.