‘Beautiful landscape’: Waskesiu the site of two feature films

By Nolan Kowal

It’s not exactly Hollywood, but it’s as close as Saskatchewan has to a perfect backdrop for a movie.

The picturesque hamlet of Waskesiu will be the site of two movie sets in the coming weeks, with both films being put on by Trilight Entertainment.

“We really were looking for a remote location that kind of fit both stories since we are doing two back to back, and they’re both two very different films,” said Trilight Entertainment vice-president Jessica Watch, who is involved in both “Gifts of Christmas” and “Escape the Lodge.” “One is a Christmas movie out at a lodge, and the other is supposed to be set in Colorado in a cabin kind of resort area.

“This is an area we haven’t been able to shoot in before. We’ve kind of gone all over (the province) so this is another area where we haven’t actually gone before as a company and shot a movie. And it’s gorgeous. I’ve spent years out here personally, so it was nice to actually bring work here and show off this beautiful landscape that they have,” she continued.

The production of “Gifts of Christmas” is beginning this week. Once that film is complete, the movie crew will start on “Escape the Lodge.” Watch said there will be a variety of outdoor and indoor scenes in both.

“Luckily, Elk Ridge Resort has been very accommodating for us and been very helpful with us, and we’re getting to achieve our goal with the scenery and everything, indoor and outdoor, so it’ll definitely be a mixture of both,” Watch said.

Megan Folden with Creative Saskatchewan said the two projects will create a significant economic spinoff.

“Together we expect them to have an impact of $1.4 million for the province, which is great news,” Folden said. “Film is big business … They hire a lot of crew, there’s lots of positions and the ripple effect in the economy, just in terms of the local expenditures, are felt far and wide.

“It’s really great news for the industry and for Saskatchewan.”

There is no exact timeframe as of yet for when the films will be released.