When you read a little about Port Augusta you quickly realise that its 'crossroads - pass through' life goes with the history of the place. It was in its day the most important rail link in the country, every train criss-crossing the continent passed through Port. The railways were the main employer in town, until about 15 years ago when this strong union town was decimated by the winding down of the national rail infrastructure. A town with a population of 14,000 lost 3,000 jobs almost overnight.

Port Augusta has been battling to fight its way back ever since. There have always been the massive power stations of the Spencer Gulf. Augusta, Port Pirie, Port Lincoln, Whyalla, Port Germain all have them. (It's worth the drive into Port Augusta at night to see the brightly lit and very sci-fi station hovering off across the flats - really quite a beautiful sight, particularly if you, like me, are a fan of the night vision of post-post-industrial engineered landscapes in films like Blade Runner and places like Queensland's Gold Coast.)

Sam Johnson has come to Port to present The Illustrated Family Doctor and meet the local school kids again. He'd enjoyed Briagolong so much, he needed another Big Screen hit. So Friday night he's spinning his country charm again and setting the film up for the Port Augusta audience beautifully. While the film was on we headed back to the Traveller's Rest Hotel in Stirling for dinner and few games of pool.

We'd spent Thursday night there on the recommendation of Michelle Coles, who runs Cinema Augusta with her husband Roger. It's her local and what a good tip. Another classic small country pub, with great pub food and some very serious pool players. Sam works in a pub off and on and takes his pool very seriously, so we put our names up on the board to join the comp. By the time Sam was into his second game he'd earned the absolute respect of every pool player in the pub. He was offered the 'black mariah' to play with, an absolutely beautiful cue, owned by the pubs top player, and never handed out lightly. The great thing about this was that none of the blokes had a clue who Sam was, just another bloody good pool player as far as they were concerned. The jukebox blared rock n roll and we played on into the night (well, I played one game and got whipped). It was such a good calm local night we just had to go back for dinner while the film screened.

The after-screening party was fantastic, with over 100 locals staying on to talk to Sam and chat about the film. Again there was great acceptance from the crowd. And this is mostly a truly local Port Augusta audience, with just a smattering of 'flicerarti'. There were grannies well into their 80s, prison workers, rail-workers, 30-somethings, school teachers, nurses and a teen or two, and they all seemed to thoroughly enjoy the film and the night.

Afterwards both Sam and I thought the smartest thing to do would be to head straight back to the pub, lock ourselves in our rooms and very quietly watch tele. But no! We are dragged out by a couple of locals to the Augusta for a quick beer. Two beers later we're back at the lodgings and turning in early, both completely stuffed by the day's events.

At the cinema next morning we run the Bub's Club screening of Dot and the Kangaroo, to 91 kids their mums and dads and grandparents. It's a stunning turn out, and they are all so appreciative.

The rest of the weekend hums along with reasonable attendances, but Sunday is almost killed off because Adelaide and Carlton are playing as we screen, and Port is big on AFL.

Port Augusta is a great town, shaped by its hard-working history and its isolation. Like Coober Pedy it's a hard nut to crack. The isolation and the harshness of the landscape shape a very particular kind of person: resourceful, down to earth, honest, hardy and yes conservative. But these are people who are very giving and devoted to their towns. They live in these tough, arid places because they love them. I am very lucky to be in a position where I can tap into their worth very quickly and get to know them very quickly. It's a town more people should take the time to stop in between the pie and the petrol.

And there is so much support and such real desire to be a part of the greater audience for their own Australian films, that Port is a nut Big Screen will crack.

Next stop Ulladulla.

Peter Castaldi
p.castaldi@afc.gov.au