Rosalie Ham and Sue Maslin clubbed together to make The Dressmaker

IT WAS on Fairfield’s Yarra Bend Golf Course seven years ago that Rosalie Ham and Sue Maslin decided to take a hit at collaborating on The Dressmaker.

Author Rosalie Ham (left) and producer Sue Maslin paired up to make a movie of The Dressmaker. Picture: Josie Hayden

IT WAS on Fairfield’s Yarra Bend Golf course seven years ago that Rosalie Ham and Sue Maslin decided to take a hit at collaborating on The Dressmaker.

The Universal Pictures film, set for general release on October 29, was officially in the pipeline more than a decade ago when Maslin, a film producer, read Ham’s novel and realised the author was an old school friend.

“I’d been up in the Pilbara shooting a movie called Japanese Story and the book came out in that time,” Maslin said.

“I saw the cover, realised I’d gone to school with Rosalie 30 years earlier, and picked it up, read it and fell in love with it.”

Ham, now living in Brunswick, and Maslin, who lives in Fairfield, both grew up in Jerilderie and their enduring passion for life in small communities shines through in the project.

The Dressmaker tells the story of Tilly Dunnage — played by Kate Winslet — who returns to the community in which she grew up to look after her ailing mother Molly, played by Judy Davis.

News_Rich_Media: Liam Hemsworth, Hugo Weaving walk the red carpet for the Australian premiere of 'The Dressmaker'.

Molly had sent Tilly away at the age of 10 because of false accusations of murder.

Tilly becomes an expert dressmaker in Paris and, upon her return to Australia, transforms the locals with her couture creations — exacting revenge on those who wrongly accused her all those years ago.

For Ham, the themes explored in the novel are all evident in a small community.

“I started writing it thinking about vanity, competition, one-upmanship and ambition — all those sorts of things are found in a small community,” Ham said.

“Dressmaking is using clothes as a form of disguise but it also enhances the sense of importance. That was my driving force and inspiration behind writing the book.”

Ham and Maslin reconnected over a beer and a round of golf, verbally agreeing on the 18th hole at Fairfield’s Yarra Bend to work together.

“Through the project we became reunited. I read the book and instantly wanted to get in touch with Rosalie,” Maslin said.

“Dressmaking is using clothes as a form of disguise but it also enhances the sense of importance. That was my driving force and inspiration behind writing the book.” — Rosalie Ham

News_Image_File: Liam Hemsworth and Kate Winslet star in the movie The Dressmaker. Supplied

Five years after that initial round, the pair were again playing golf when they finally agreed to work together on the film.

“We were coming in on the 18th and Rosalie said to me she wasn’t sure if she was going to renew the option with this other producer,” Maslin said.

“She asked me if I was interested and we moved very quickly from that time on to start the process.”

News_Rich_Media: The Dressmaker trailer

Seven years down the road, and the process of adapting her novel to film has been a rewarding one for the author.

“It was completely new to me but I knew I had the right producer in Sue, who is also from a small community,” Ham said.

“She knew what it was about and wanted to honour the book and she did that. And I trusted (director) Jocelyn Moorhouse too. It wasn’t a traumatic thing at all, I’m really happy with the end result.”

Maslin said the finished product was “intensely visual”.

“(Tilly travels) from the design houses of Paris to the middle of nowhere in a small town in Australia,” she said.

At the heart of getting the film right was accurately portraying the central relationship, Maslin said.

“The key was understanding the relationship between mother and daughter. It’s about their reconciliation, but woven around that is this hilarious and often savagely wicked story,” Maslin said.