The movie Tomato Red will begin filming in Kelowna this weekend.

The filming will start on Saturday and last for six or seven days before moving to Vancouver, where the remainder of the movie will be shot.  Okanagan film  commissioner Jon Summerland said Kelowna will be used for the higher wealth neighbourhoods in the movie.

“They’re spending a lot of time in bigger homes, country clubs and that sort of stuff,” he explained.

“We tried for the whole film, but there was a very specific look for the houses, there had to be two lower income homes that were right beside each other and they had to be elevated so you could see the whole valley below.

“They did find that in the Ashcroft area and it was a very tricky beat, because it was a perfect location for them. So we lost half the film to them, but that’s OK as long as it’s going to be a great film and we can all see it.”

Tomato Red is being produced by filmmakers from the United Kingdom, and will be hiring around a dozen local people to help with the production.

While summer is usually a downtime for filming in the Okanagan due to prices reflecting tourism season, Summerland is optimistic about how this year will turn out.  He noted the Okanagan averages around five full films a year, plus a number of films that are partially shot in the valley and various TV shows that are partially shot here.

Summerland said he currently has 28 films in the budget range of $2.5 to $10 million that he is trying to bring to the Okanagan, and if he can land eight of them they will provide a great economic impact.