The Ridge

Outback New South Wales there’s a town where dreams can either be made or broken - a place that is harsh and dusty and sometimes unforgiving to those who dig its soil for the elusive gem that will hopefully one day make them rich. Lightning Ridge is one of Australia’s better-known opal fields, rich in history and highly regarded for its unique black opal. This documentary film follows the daily routine of some of those miners who have made the “Ridge” their home, and through their personal stories we learn just how dedicated and determined they can be in the belief that one day they will find the “big one”. Opal mining can be tedious, exciting or just plain hard work but at the Ridge, a town where men outnumber women by six to one, there is a shared camaraderie that unites the community, regardless of who you are or where you come from.