Sepia Films and LA-based Singer Entertainment are shooting a suspense thriller television movie; the production companies opted to bypass Vancouver for Kelowna.
“Kelowna is beautiful, and there are so many films being shot in Vancouver right now, it gives a whole new look,” said film producer Kim Roberts.
Almost half of the crew on the set of “Tiny House of Terror” call the Okanagan home.
“It’s wonderful to be able to stay home and work,” makeup artist Denise Barnes said on set Wednesday.
It’s not the only movie being shot in the Okanagan Valley.
Academy-award nominee Casey Affleck and Oscar winner Nicholas Cage are both shooting films near Osoyoos.
But what Kelowna was really missing to attract more large-scale productions was a soundstage, until now.
A parcel of land next to the Kelowna airport will soon be home to a $3.5 million 15,000 sq.ft. state of the art soundstage.
It will be built by Burnaby-based company Eagle Creek Studios.
Film industry representatives say it should attract large productions and T.V. Series to the Okanagan.
“The bigger productions need a studio to be able to do their productions and having that here will make a big difference,” Roberts said.
Kelowna mayor Colin Basran calls the new facility a “game-changer.”
“Because now it really is the last piece of the puzzle… we really think this is going to have a number of positive spinoffs for the community and really take the film industry to a whole new level,” he said.
It is music to the ears of local workers like Barnes.
“I think once we have this local soundstage built it’s going to improve even more.”
Earning the Okanagan Valley the title of “Little Hollywood North.”
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