Line producer J.J DuBois (right) and location manager Shafik Chernovsky had nothing but good things to say about their recent stay in Osoyoos to shoot the new movie called Heart Felt. (Keith Lacey photo)
The large film crew from Vancouver that spent three weeks shooting a made for television movie in Osoyoos is giving a giant “thumbs up” to the community.
“This is the 10th movie that I’ve worked and I would definitely say this has been one of the most pleasant experiences I’ve been through,” said Jonathan J. J. DuBois, the line producer for the movie called Heart Felt that was shot in its entirety at the Spirit Ridge Vineyard Resort and Spa in Osoyoos.
“I would definitely recommend this place (Spirit Ridge) and Osoyoos to anyone in the industry.”
DuBois and Shafik Chernovsky, a location manager for Odyssey Media Inc., sat down with the Osoyoos Times on the final day of shooting for the movie last Wednesday at Spirit Ridge.
A cast and crew of more than 50 people had spent just under three weeks shooting the movie in and around the vineyards at the beautiful Spirit Ridge resort, which is managed by Bellstar Hotel and Resorts on land owned by the Osoyoos Indian Band.
The movie is a “Valentine’s Day love story” about a young couple working and living on a vineyard, said DuBois.
The movie’s executive producers are Kirk Shaw and Tom Berry. Shaw is the owner of Odyssey Media Inc., while Berry is the owner of Reel One Pictures.
Both companies have been involved in the B.C. film industry for many years.
The movie is being produced for Ion Television in the United States and is expected to be broadcast on that network around Valentine’s Day next February.
After reading the script from Brian Skiba and quickly realizing the entire movie could be shot at a single vineyard, Chernovsky said he started thinking about the Osoyoos and Oliver area because he had visited here on numerous occasions during vacation time the past several years.
“I had been up to this area on numerous occasions the past couple of years and when I read the script, I thought about Osoyoos because of the beautiful vineyards and the great weather,” he said. “I really didn’t think much about it, but during a production meeting, I mentioned Osoyoos again and the producers were interested and basically said let’s see if we can make this happen.”
Senior producers on the project contacted Spirit Ridge management and realized quickly they were very interested in having the movie shot at the resort, said DuBois.
“We called Spirit Ridge back in August and were expecting a lot of ‘no’, but all we kept getting were ‘yeses’ and things just progressed from there,” he said. “They opened their doors to us from the very beginning and were the ones mainly responsible for making this happen.’
Management from the OIB and Chief Clarence Louie and Bellstar management then got involved and a deal was signed to have the entire movie shot at Spirit Ridge within a couple of weeks, said Chernovsky.
The movie could never have been shot during the busy summer tourist season as Spirit Ridge is packed to capacity and wouldn’t have had any room to house a cast and crew of more than 50, he said.
Since arriving in Osoyoos on Oct. 14, the staff and management at the resort, Town of Osoyoos officials and local residents have been incredibly supportive, said DuBois.
“It has been a wonderful experience,” he said. “We know this is a busy resort even at this time of year and we didn’t want to barge in and upset anyone. But the people at the resort and the town have just been so supportive and wonderful to work with. It has been a fantastic experience for everyone working on the movie.”
Even though this movie was shot on a “relatively shoestring budget”, it still takes a cast and crew of 50 working 12 hours a day to make it happen, said DuBois.
The crew includes cinematographers, set designers, lighting crew, grips, location crew, costume designers, makeup artists and editors and assistant editors.
The majority of extras in the film were local residents who showed up for a casting call and 10 people from across the South Okanagan were hired as well, said Chernovsky.
“We try and hire as many qualified local people as we possibly can on every film Odyssey is involved with,” he said. “On this film, we hired two locals to put together an electronic press kit, two production assistants, two liaisons, one assistant location manager and security staff.”
Now that all the filming has been completed, a team will be very busy over the next several weeks editing the movie and completing all post-production work, said DuBois.
The final film should be sent to Ion Television before the end of December, he said.
Once shown in the United States, the movie will be shown on a Canadian cable network around Valentine’s Day as well, he said.
“A distribution company is trying to find a deal with a Canadian company to show the movie, but that hasn’t been completed yet,” he said.
Being able to shoot the entire movie in one location has been a welcome relief to everyone who worked on the film, said DuBois.
“When we’re shooting a movie in Vancouver, you have to be up at four in the morning and driving all over the place to different locations,” he said. “It was so nice to come to this beautiful little town and spend three weeks in the same place.
“We worked long hours, but still had time to enjoy the resort. We formed a hot tub club and really got to enjoy all of the amenities.”
Chernovsky said Odyssey will announce when the movie is being broadcast on Canadian television so local residents will be able to view it.
Chernovsky and DuBois said numerous cast and crew members told them they might not ever shoot another movie in Osoyoos, but many of them planned on returning on vacation.
“Many I talked to were blown away by how beautiful it is around here and I know many of them plan to come back,” he said.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
The 50-plus cast and crew that worked on the made-for-television film called Heart Felt loved their three-week stay in Osoyoos. (Photo supplied)
