Why was part of ballarat closed off?

We hoped to park near Ballarat’s art gallery, but the road was closed. Police stood patrolling. People in iridescent green vests waved potential drivers away, but what was going on was hard to guess.

Extras heading to the filming location, Ballarat

We parked a couple of streets away and when we returned to the scene, streams of people in clothes from the 1920s were heading towards the closed off street. We followed hoping we could get into the gallery and learned a movie was being filmed — The Road to Boston about a marathon runner.

Extras waiting at the filming location, Ballarat

The filming was on Ballarat’s most stunning street where buildings were graced with wrought iron balconies and looked liked they’d just been painted. We stepped into the art gallery and when we came out had to hide in a doorway as a scene was just about to be shot — runners racing down the street with the extras decked out in period clothes clapping as they passed.