As early as next month, Prince George will be home for the feature film, A Great North Christmas, a winter holiday story set in a northern town.
Barker Street Cinemas will commence pre-production in February and will film in its entirety through to mid-March in various locations throughout the city and surrounding areas.
The production team says this is the first in a series of films that could be produced in northern B.C. over the next few years, building capacity in the region to support a more active film industry, with hopes to secure the entire slate of productions to the region following the completion of A Great North Christmas.
Barker Street Cinemas’ Norm Coyne will produce the film, with James Douglas directing.
Local entrepreneurs and film industry champions Cameron and Tammy Thun are partners in the production and will executive produce the project alongside the team.
“We are proud to be from Prince George and want to share our city with the world,” says the Thuns in a joint statement.
“Being in a position to do our part to bring film productions to the city, which adds to the local economy, means the world to us.”
Locations for A Great North Christmas are yet to be finalized, but will include some business storefronts, homes and wintery scenes in Prince George.
Anamorphic Media, Trilight Entertainment and Princ Films are partners on the film.
Owned by former Prince George film commissioner Sara Shaak, Anamorphic is providing the majority of the financing for A Great North Christmas. Anamorphic/Trilight have partnered on multiple previous projects including The Doorman, Girl, Blood on the Crown, and together with Princ Films, worked on Cagefighter plus numerous other titles in development.
“Prince George’s welcoming community and snowy vistas make it the perfect location for a Christmas movie. We’re aiming for this to be the first of many more films to come!” says Coyne.
A Great North Christmas is being sold in the international market by Princ Films and will be delivered in time for the 2021 Christmas season.