And now the rest of Australia knows it too.
The Southern Riverina can now officially lay claim to one of the best directors in the country.
Mr Wilson last month picked up an Australian Directors' Guild Award.
It is just the icing on the cake as Little Tornadoes continues to receive critical acclaim.
Reaching out to his hometown newspaper to share the exciting news, Mr Wilson told the Southern Riverina News he was honoured to have accepted the guild’s award for Best Direction in a Narrative Feature Film (Budget < $1M).
“This award, judged by industry peers, is one of the big film awards in Australia,” he said.
“It is wonderful recognition of the great many talented and generous folk who collaborated to bring this film - shot in the Murray River region - to life.
“It’s an immense honour to be acknowledged and recognised by my peers, who are such amazing, inspiring heroes of mine.”
Another bit of news for Mr Wilson and his team to celebrate came on Boxing Day, when Little Tornadoes was listed in The Guardian’s top 10 Aussie films of 2022.
Little Tornadoes is an exploration of past trauma and present survival.
Its protagonist, Leo, is a down-on-his-luck father of two as played by Australia’s own Mark Leonard Winter.
“Leo is very much the archetypal Australian guy,” says Mr Wilson.
“He’s that very stoic, down-to-earth rural guy we’ve all met or seen. And he’s who I very well could have been had I stayed in Tocumwal, and never left.”
With cinematography by the renowned Stefan Duscio, Little Tornadoes depicts social, cultural, and internal turmoil played against a backdrop of iconic local landscapes.
Mr Duscio is known for capturing break-away Australian hits The Invisible Man –starring Elizabeth Moss, best known for Hulu-hit The Handmaid’s Tale – Upgrade, and The Dry.
Set in 1971, Little Tornadoes grapples with post-World War II immigration, and is shadowed by a then-raging war in Vietnam.
But in this period of excitement, tragedy and turmoil Mr Wilson instead casts his focus on one man’s struggle with change, sacrifice, and responsibility.
Following the disappearance of his wife, Leo must rely on the help of the newly emigrated Maria, as played by Silvia Colloca.
Mr Wilson lived in Tocumwal until he was 17, when he moved to Melbourne to study engineering.
Finding the subject “too dry”, he found his way into film and theatre studies and was later accepted into a directorial fellowship in Singapore.
This is where he developed the script for what would become his debut feature, Canopy.
Little Tornadoes will hit the big screens again in Melbourne from next weekend, as part of Melbourne’s ACMI summer screening program.
Mr Wilson said Cobram Cinemas is also expected to show the film again as part of its encore summer program early this year.
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