By Steve Hubrecht
Lights, camera, action — the Columbia Valley is set to star on the silver screen once again.
The valley will serve as backdrop and shooting location for an independent comedy feature film starring a pair of big-name up-and-coming actors, with filming likely to start in just a few weeks.
The movie, ‘All Night Wrong’, features Maria Bakalova and Zach Cherry. Jason James is director. Entertainment news site Deadline Hollywood described the film as a “comedy noir” about two people who meet for a hook-up via dating app Tinder, but instead end up caught in a chaotic set of circumstances involving a dead body, a killer’s car and thousands of dollars in cash.
The movie is the fourth in recent memory to be filmed in the valley, following on the heels of 2017’s multi award-winning arthouse film ‘Suck It Up’ and Hollywood blockbusters ‘The Mountain Between Us’ (also 2017), starring Kate Winslet and Idris Elba, and ‘Alive’ (1993), starring Ethan Hawke.
The Pioneer recently reported on the efforts of the Columbia Valley Community Economic Development Office (CVCEDO) to promote the valley as a shooting location for the film industry, and officials had hinted there may be a film shot here soon.
As it turns out “soon” means very soon indeed: Columbia Valley Chamber of Commerce executive director Pete Bourke told the Pioneer the exact filming schedule has yet to be finalized, but he expects it could start as early as mid October. It will likely wrap up before late November or early December.
The exact filming locations have not yet been confirmed, but Bourke said “it will be shot throughout the Columbia Valley . . . we will share that info (the locations) once it is finalized, and if there are opportunities for people to come watch the shooting happening, that’ll be part of the buzz.”
There was certainly plenty of buzz around Invermere when ‘The Mountain Between Us’ was shot here, with Elba spotted snowboarding at Panorama Mountain Resort when not on set, and Winslet reputedly visiting the famous can’t-miss ice-fishing shack of Invermere resident Jim McGilvery (known throughout the winter ice-fishing season as the unofficial ‘Mayor of Lake Windermere’). And ‘Suck It Up’ got people talking too, with key scenes filmed in iconic local landmarks, such as the downtown candy store and the bowling alley.
Bourke said he expects ‘All Night Wrong’ to create a similar stir, even if the budget is not quite as high nor the production on the same scale as either ‘The Mountain Between Us’ or ‘Alive’.
“I wouldn’t put it in the Hollywood blockbuster category,” said Bourke, but added that the two lead actors, while perhaps not yet as famous as Winslet, Elba, or Hawke, “are definitely emerging stars.”
Bulgarian-born Bakalova appeared in several European movies before making her breakthrough on this side of the Atlantic by playing the daughter of English actor Sacha Baron Cohen’s famed Borat Sagdiyev character in the 2020 mockumentary ‘Borat Subsequent Moviefilm’. That role earned her an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress. She also starred in ‘The Apprentice’, released earlier this year.
Zach Cherry will be the male lead in “All Night Wrong” that will film in the Columbia Valley.
PHOTO SANDY HONIG
Cherry is best known for playing one of the lead roles in the 2022 series ‘Severance’, which garnered considerable critical acclaim. He has also appeared in two Marvel Studios movies: ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ and ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’, and has co-hosted ‘The Great American Baking Show’ on two occasions.
The Columbia Valley’s beautiful natural surroundings were the primary reason it was the shooting location for ‘The Mountain Between Us’ and ‘Alive’.
For ‘All Night Wrong’, however, they were “a factor, but not the determining factor,” said Bourke, adding that the major driving force was the fact that Anamorphic Media founder and financing producer Sara Shaak had prior connections to the Columbia Valley.
The film is a partnership between Goodbye Productions, Resonance Films, Big Safari Productions, and Anamorphic Media.
“It is great for it to be here in our area,” said Bourke, adding there is an opportunity for ‘All Night Wrong’ to be a “strong catalyst not only for other movies, but also perhaps for a television series to be shot here, or other productions that could benefit our region.”
