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Proposed new film studio in Kelowna good news for region

The studio will encourage more filmmakers to look at the TNRD area when filming major projects that need studio space.
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Robert Redford was one of the stars of the 2005 movie 'An Unfinished Life'

The area around Ashcroft, Cache Creek, Spences Bridge, Kamloops, and the Nicola Valley has long been popular with filmmakers and TV companies, largely for the spectacular scenery and locations the area has to offer. However, if a new film studio goes ahead in Kelowna, it could present many more opportunities for the region to benefit from productions coming to the area to film.

“We have a lot of exterior work done here, particularly in the spring and fall; but that depends on the script,” says Victoria Weller, film commissioner for the Thompson-Nicola Film Commission. “But in order to qualify for the distant regional tax credit, more than 50 per cent of the production must be filmed in the regions. Often productions limit their days shooting in the regions because the majority of the film needs to take place in a studio. B.C. studios are primarily based in Vancouver and Burnaby.”

Earlier this month it was announced that Eagle Creek Studio, based out of Burnaby, is to launch a full service, purpose-built soundstage facility in Kelowna. The property was purchased in 2016, with plans to open the facility in 2017. The studio’s Burnaby facility is in full production with the Amazon TV series The Man in the High Castle, an Emmy-winning show that is in its third season at the site.

Weller says that filming more than 50 per cent of a production in the region has always been a challenge for studios, given the lack of studio space in the area. She anticipates that a new Kelowna studio would spur more productions to extend their shooting days in the region, thus attracting more film and TV work to the TNRD. She adds, however, that attracting productions depends on the locations required by the scripts, and whether the TNRD can supply those locations.

Ashcroft stood in for Ishawooa, Wyoming in the 2005 film 'An Unfinished Life', meaning several area stores had to have an American makeover. Here, the liquor store becomes a gun shop. Photo by Wendy Coomber.

New online channels such as Amazon and Netflix have flipped things around as far as the shooting of TV series goes, says Weller. “They’re not on a seasonal pilot system; they already have a green light, so they film all the episodes in a season at once. It becomes like a super-movie in terms of budget, time, and crew. This is changing how the timing of productions works as well, which creates opportunities for the regions.”

Traditional TV networks will film a pilot, or first, episode of a proposed new series, only commissioning follow-up episodes if the pilot is a success. Weller says that since TV networks generally have a large budget for a pilot episode, they will often film the episode on location, then move the series somewhere else to be filmed if it is picked up.

“The pilot for Smallville was filmed in Merritt,” says Weller, “but the series is filmed a lot closer to Vancouver. Justifying a studio becomes more of a reality as companies want studios and location space. But we have to be prudent. One of the challenges about having a studio is you want to keep it going all year round. The ideal [for the proposed new Kelowna studio] would be to have a project all ready to go.”

Weller notes that film work can have a huge economic impact on local communities. “Even smaller productions bring free money, for businesses and the community.”

Recent film productions in the region have included the big-budget film Monster Trucks, the opening of which was filmed in Ashcroft, and the independent film Tomato Red, a large part of which was filmed in and around Ashcroft and Cache Creek. Tomato Red will be opening the Dublin Film Festival later this month; the trailer can be viewed at http://bit.ly/2kksvKA.