Filming of a feature-length movie by Sylvan Lake author Shelley Brzak has been pushed back a year thanks to COVID-19 restrictions.
The movie was set to begin filming in Sylvan Lake this summer, but the current pandemic has put a halt to all stages of the production.
Brzak says because of the delay she now has to reapply for the grant which made the movie possible in the first place.
“They basically told me that nothing can be done this year and that I can reapply for the grant, which is a lot of work and accounting, all of which I do myself,” Brzak said.
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The movie Brzak is working on is based on a character from her second book, “Inside My Tub.”
She says it will be an original story, different from the one told in her book, which was released in 2015.
“For the grants and everything it has to be an original story, it can’t be anything that has been done before,” she explained.
The story will follow Deni Dupre, who is also the main character of “Inside My Tub,” in what Brzak is calling a horror, suspense movie with a bit of comedy sprinkled throughout.
Brzak decided on a new Deni Dupre story for the movie after creating a short two minute trailer, or short film.
The short, titled Deni Dupre in the Canada Shorts Film Festival, received an honourable mention. It can be watched on YouTube under the title “Film Souls Re work.”
https://youtu.be/i_vXHG9V-jE
“I really wanted to see if there was an interest in Deni and her stories, and after getting an honourable mention for the trailer I think there is,” she said.
Like the short film, Brzak plans to film the feature-length movie in and around Sylvan Lake. However, she says that also comes with its own barrel of problems to over come.
“We have to have agreements in place, and deposits paid in order to film in places like the beach or at Bukz. And, with everything that is going on we have to basically start over again.”
Brzak is writing, directing and will star in the upcoming untitled movie, which is currently scheduled to film in Sylvan Lake next summer.