It’s Christmas time in Revelstoke, at least according to Hallmark.
This week, Mackenzie Ave is draped in reds, greens, presents and fake cotton snow. People walk to and fro into shops wearing puffy jackets and scarfs. If it wasn’t for the yellowing trees and grass, you might expect to see Santa Claus.
Hallmark is filming a new Christmas movie that is scheduled to play on the Countdown to Christmas series that starts Oct. 26 on the Hallmark Channel. This is the third film that has been made by Hallmark in Revelstoke.
READ MORE: Parking closures for Hallmark movie filming in Revelstoke
“It’s a beautiful and unique setting,” says Producer Trevor McWhinney. “The people are wonderful and inviting. It’s easy to film here.”
More common film locations for Hallmark are Fort Langley, Abbotsford, Steveston, and Langely.
“We do Christmas movies here because Revelstoke gets the second largest per-capita amount of snow in B.C., after Barkerville. However, every time we come here we miss the snow,” says McWhinney with a laugh.
While ideally it would be perfect to film winter holiday movies in January or February, McWhinney says it’s common to film in the summer/fall due to scheduling issues.
“Because we have so many Christmas movies, they can’t all be filmed at once. They take awhile to be planned and approved.”
Hallmark has 22 Christmas movies planned for this year.
“Hallmark owns Christmas. They put out the most magical movies,” says McWhinney.
Previous movies made in Revelstoke include: Marry me at Christmas and Frozen in Love.
READ MORE: Hallmark to film again in Revelstoke
Frozen in Love was filmed last November at Revelstoke Mountain Resort. However, there was no snow. So Hallmark had 19 dump trucks of snow delivered from Rogers Pass.
“We have an amazing snow team. We make movie magic,” says McWhinney. This time, in addition to using cotton snow, Hallmark has shipped in semi-trucks of manufactured snow from Vancouver.
McWhinney says they put a lot of care and attention into snow and they have a good sense of what works and what doesn’t. They use special lenses, de-focusing backgrounds, and putting in a fake backdrop. This film, which is yet to be named, is meant to be set in Colorado. So, the brown and green Selkirk Mountains will be replaced by the snow-clad Rocky Mountains. McWhinney says Hallmark is meticulous in making everything appear real.
“There is nothing worse then when you’re trying to pay attention to the actors in the film and there’s a piece of cotton flapping in the background. It tends to take you out of the scene. How can I believe the actors if I can’t even believe the set?”
So far, McWhinney says many locals are being cast in the film as extras. He says it unusual how keen everyone is.
“We’ve had to turn people away. That doesn’t happen in other places.”
On Friday, the last day for filming, there will be roughly 70 extras on set.
McWhinney says Hallmark will definitely be back in Revelstoke for another Christmas movie.
“Hopefully this February, so we can partake in some actual snow.”
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