A Hollywood movie starring Parker Posey and Ken Jeong and Aden Young began shooting this week in Sooke.
The film, Elsewhere, is set for release next year and will be filmed in the Sooke and Metchosin area for approximately the next five weeks.
Chris Cole, producer of the movie, said the crew looked all over Vancouver Island but decided that Sooke would be the best place to film.
“We were looking for places that were a little more desolate and a little more hippy-ish and cool,” said Cole. “And then we finally found this wonderful property in Sooke and thought ‘wow this is perfect’.”
Cole added that they will be shooting at various locations around Sooke including Home Hardware and the 17 Mile House Pub, as well as some nature scenes at different parks and cliffs in the area.
He said the crew has been enjoying their time filming here, explaining that Sooke has so much to offer in terms of nature, local shops and restaurants, and friendly locals.
Elsewhere tells the story of a man named Bruno (Young) who is hopelessly attached to the seaside cottage him and his wife built together.
When Bruno gets evicted from the cottage, he will stop at nothing to get it back. Bruno plans to disguise himself as the handyman for the cottage’s new tenant (Posey), but in the process, turns his whole life upside down.
“It’s essentially a romantic comedy but at the end of the day it’s also going to be really heartfelt,” said Cole. “It’s a script that’s gotten a lot of attention, and is something that we all feel is really promising.”
The indie drama/comedy cast also includes Beau Bridges, Jackie Weaver and Jackie Tohn.
This isn’t the first movie to be filmed in Sooke in recent years. Last year, the TV-movie The Convenient Groom was shot at the Prestige Hotel.
Victoria film commissioner Kathleen Gilbert said 2017 has been a much busier year for film this year as opposed to 2016.
“The summer was a little bit quiet but now we are starting to get really busy,” Gilbert said.
“Generally speaking spring and fall are our busiest times, it’s easier, hotels are cheaper, the weather is still good so there’s a lot of reasons why people choose to come here spring and fall rather than summer.”
She added neither 2016 or 2017 were as busy as 2015, as records were broke all over the world within the film industry.
Gilbert said often romantic comedies such as Elsewhere will be filmed in the Greater Victoria because it has lower tax incentives than Vancouver, and because of the downtown look.
Because Elsewhere is about a seaside cottage, it’s probable that they chose to do shooting in Sooke because of it’s remote location and beautiful landscape.
Other films that have been shot on the Island this year include Deadpool 2 starring Ryan Reynolds, Richard Says Goodbye starring Johnny Depp, Pup Star which is part of Air Bud Entertainment, and other television movies such as An Emma Fielding Mystery and the Fixer-upper Mystery series.