Around 60 film crew descended on the town of Niverville this week to shoot the made-for-Hallmark movie Hanukkah on the Rocks.
The film’s director is Sean Garaughty out of Winnipeg. Executive producer Joey Plager and his California-based company Shalom Amigo Productions were visiting the site at Gan’s Kitchen on Main Street on Tuesday.
The restaurant was closed to public traffic while the crew moved in and retrofitted the interior for a completely new look. During two days of filming at this location, the building was transformed into the set of Gilbert’s Deli in Chicago.
“We’ve taken down all of their décor that suggests that it’s a Chinese restaurant,” says Plager, “and instead brought in a lot of elements that show that it looks like a deli with various signs and all of the appropriate food.”
Prior to their restaurant shoot, the crew also filmed at the Great Canadian Dollar Store, which stood in for a party supply store. A townhouse in the Prairie Crossings development also served as the set for the lead actress’s Chicago-based apartment.
By midweek, the crew will be moving on to one of the local Niverville churches to film scenes which are said to take place at a Jewish community centre.
“We came to Niverville in part because there are tax incentives for shooting in Manitoba and for shooting outside of the urban core,” says Plager. “Our local producer, Juliette Hagopian, is a big supporter of Niverville and is building Jette Studios just down the road.”
Other Manitoba filming locations for Hanukkah on the Rocks include Selkirk and Stonewall. Downtown Winnipeg also made the cut for an eight-day shoot.
“Most of our movie takes place in what we call our hero location, which is a bar in our movie,” Plager says. “We shot that at Wee Johnny’s [Pub] right underneath Johnny G’s on McDermot in the Exchange District.”
Hallmark movie fans may recognize some of the movie’s stars, including the leading lady, Stacey Farber, who is well known for her roles in Degrassi High and Virgin River. The male lead is Daren Kagasoff from Secret Life of the American Teenager. Playing his grandfather is Marc Summers, the long-time host of an American game show called Double Dare.
Hanukkah on the Rocks is set to premiere on the Hallmark Channel by mid-December. It’s expected to be released on the W Network around the same time.
Of the approximate 40 holiday movies made for Hallmark this year, Plager says this will likely be the only Hanukkah-themed film. For Plager, it will mark the fifth Hanukkah movie he’s been hired by Hallmark to produce over the years.
“I’ve got the distinction of being probably one of the most prolific Hanukkah movie producers in the world,” Plager jokes.
Producing a movie of the Hallmark calibre, he says, is relatively easy. Filming takes only about three weeks from beginning to end. This is followed by about seven weeks of post-production work and then it’s ready to air.
Throughout production, Plager says about 120 crew members will have touched the movie in one way or another.
As for Niverville, it was Plager’s first visit, but he’s confident that it won’t be his last.
“I think Niverville’s a great place,” says Plager. “Manitoba is a great place to make movies. The crews are wonderful, the locations are great. This is my sixth movie in the last two and a half years in Manitoba. This is my first time shooting in Niverville. And I’m sure if Juliette has anything to say about it, I’ll be back.”
