Sci-fi movie filmed in Elgin forest, garage premiers in LA
Local Producer, Director, VFX Artist, and Screenwriter Kyle Parish has returned home after visiting Los Angeles to celebrate the premiere of his new film, ‘Fallen Star’ at the historic Chinese Theater. Parish was in the city of angels on Feb. 17 to partake in the Golden State Film Festival.
Spearheaded by his company Parish Productions, ‘Fallen Star’ was filmed in the spring of 2024 in Parish’s hometown of Elgin. In fact, throughout his career, most of Parish’s film work has been based in the Elgin area.
“From my very first film up to this one, I’ve been very fortunate to have the support of so many in the community,” Parish told Brockvilleist. Part of the reason for filming here is practical because my family has lots of forest land and waterfront from having lived here for over 100 years. That makes it extremely convenient for outdoor locations as there is a little bit of everything here.”
Parish’s family owns cottages at Battams Camps, which provided comfortable housing for the film crew and an idyllic location to relax on days off.
The filmmaker, traditionally reliant on practical effects, had to adapt due to the script’s demanding settings, including a forest fire, an ancient shrine, and a futuristic city.
“While large studios have the money to build massive sets to fit these needs, I don’t have millions and millions of dollars to do it. So I was able to convert my garage into a virtual production studio. They have a couple of large ones in Toronto but again, the cost of these is astronomical. For indie films to survive, we have to be creative in how we make our films.”
Parish was able to see his visions come to life with the technological possibilities of a virtual production studio.
“We can now build any set and environment you can imagine in a computer and in real-time, film the actors and see them in these environments. The physical camera and the virtual camera in the computer match perfectly with each other in real-time. It’s the exact same system that was used to film the original Avatar movie, and now it’s in my garage.”
Parish had a wonderful time filming in Elgin, mostly because of the excitement and engagement from the local community.
“The environment is incredible and it’s actually a bit of a selling point when you are pitching projects to actors and crew. They all love it out here. I always source out food and supplies locally from the community.”
He continued, “ I’ve been doing this for a while in the area, but I think it also surprises people when they see the gear and understand it’s not like using a regular camera, it’s big professional stuff. But the support from the community has always been great.”
‘Fallen Star’ is a sci-fi drama that tells the story of a young woman named Rokari, who is found in a crater in a distant world. The man who finds her, Koda, lives in exile and helps Rokari to try and recover her memories. ‘Fallen Star’ explores the topics of religion, belief, family and forgiveness. It really digs deep into these topics. And that’s something that’s rare when you consider that this film is a Star Wars fan film.”
Parish will attend a screening in New York City next month and then head back to Kingston for a special event hosted by Cineplex on May 3.