The latest made for T.V. film, Vintage Hearts, is the first of seven being filmed in the Okanagan, and the films by Reel One production company are slated to bring an estimated $7 million to the valley.
“They are testing right now, they have seven scripts that they own,” said Jon Summerland, Okanagan Film Commissioner.
“They are going to do those here and if they work out, they are going to move forward and just keep doing them. It’s getting too expensive to do it on the coast in places like Langley and Fort Langley and all these places.”
Summerland predicts that this is just the beginning and that soon there will be feature films with budgets upwards of $25 million having the Okanagan as their backdrop.
In the meantime, Reel One is setting up shop in Kelowna for a while. “We are looking to kind of make a little home here for a while,” said Costa Vassos, producer.
“There’s a great crew here; they are really talented. It’s important to just keep the community together and have everybody working together.”
Now 95 per cent of their crew working on the film is from the Okanagan and eight of the 12 principal roles were filled by Okanagan talent.
The crew has been spotted filming at a house of Abbott Street, the Kelowna Fire Department Station #2, Krafty Kitchen, The Laurel Packing House and Olive and Elle.