The star of last year’s The Great North Christmas movie was so taken with Prince George’s enthusiasm for the film she thought she’d come right back here to film her own movie this year.
Meeting Mr. Christmas is the first movie Laura Mitchell has written and she will be taking her place behind the camera as director when filming takes place Feb. 6 to 19.
Prince George is taking on a life of its own in the movie with its own thread woven into the tapestry of the story line, Mitchell said.
“People in Prince George were so open to help and to share and to just be a part of something and that was really touching because coming from Vancouver people are kind of over the film industry there and they don’t find it as exciting as they once did so when I came to Prince George and just seeing that excitement was really something quite beautiful, to be quite honest, and it was just so lovely because even if people didn’t know about it and were new to it they were so eager to learn and they just picked it up right away and for me that was really lovely.”
As soon as the opportunity presented itself for Mitchell to write a movie and direct it she decided to return to the place that welcomed her so warmly last winter, she added.
“In this film, Meeting Mr. Christmas, the Prince George community is actually a character in its own right, it’s like a thread that runs throughout the entire film as it’s the community that holds the whole movie together and that’s so important - so what better place to do that than
the community that is so important to the people of Prince George?” Mitchell said. “So that’s what really inspired me and coming back and seeing all the faces that we worked with last year is really lovely. And we’ve been able to cast a couple of people from Prince George and that’s really exciting too. It’s a wonderful experience to come full circle.”
Writing a movie was just something Mitchell knew she could do as she has always written out synopses of ideas she’s seen in her creative mind’s eye.
When it came to actually sitting down to put it all together it was a bit daunting but having worked in the film industry for a long time helped her understand the structure of a film.
“So my boyfriend, who is a cinematographer, and I just kind of sat down together and came up with this idea and just pounded it out and it just flowed,” Mitchell explained the collaboration with Ryan Petey, who will be the cinematographer on Meeting Mr. Christmas.
All the casting is complete but there is always a need for more hands on set to volunteer in the art and props department.
“So if someone is good at decorating for Christmas we always need more people to do that,” Mitchell said. “It’ll be really fun and we’ll make sure it’s a great experience for everyone.”
Locations already picked out include The Makerie Craft & Coffee Bar and The Twisted Cork restaurant, both located in downtown Prince George.
To volunteer for a behind-the-scenes adventure email meetingmrchristmas@gmail.com.
