WHEN The Gods of Wheat Street premiers next Saturday it will mark another milestone in the region's growing film industry.

The Gods of Wheat Street producer and chair of Northern Rivers Screenworks Lois Randall said last year the screen industry contributed more than $27million directly to the local economy.

The industry also led to the creation of 800 jobs locally.

The biggest spender was The Gods of Wheat Street which contributed $5.2 million. Ms Randall said the Northern Rivers region has a huge potential to grow the local screen industry.

"I think we have this unique combination which is that we have beautiful environments and locations which are very diverse coupled with that really experienced crew base," she said.

When Screenworks was established more than 10 year ago, organisers were blown away by the amount of professional film industry talent residing locally.

About the Gods of Wheat Street 

• An Australian drama featuring the Freeburns, a modern Aboriginal family of local legends.
• The series is about letting go of the past, with the aid of a little magic and enough deadpan humour to tackle the future.
• The six episode drama takes place in a fictionalised version of Casino.
• The Gods of Wheat Street premieres on Saturday, April 12 from 8.30pm on ABC1.

"We were blown away, 90 people turned up for the first gathering of professional film industry people," Ms Randall said.

"We just suddenly realised there were heaps and heaps of really experienced film people living here who work all over the country, but they chose to live here.

"I think once you get that critical mass and you become recognised now as a creative community, I think that will just continue to occur."

The Australian drama series East of Everything, filmed in Byron Bay, was proof there was enough talent residing locally to make filming in the Northern Rivers financially viable. Ms Randall said producers were often reluctant to film in rural or regional locations due to the additional costs of accommodation and transport for crew members.

"East of everything proved it's financially viable to create mainstream drama in the region," she said.

"We employed 277 people on The Gods of Wheat Street."