Patrick Harbron
MAX Peters, Suki Kaiser and Cameron Daddo star in
Hope Istand, currently shooting in Britannia Beach.

TV series helps

HOPE Island lived up
to its name recently
when producers of the
family T'V serics rallied
support to revitalize a
barren playing field for
the community of
Britannia Beach.

Lions Gate Television, the
North American distributors
of the one-hour drama series
were so impressed with the
charm and community of
their shooting location that
they wanted to give some-

_ thing back to the community
that welcomed them, says
series publicist Leri Davies.

After six months of shoot-
ing, with almost 21 episodes

in the can, the producers of
Hope Island have not only

’ given the town a financial = -

~ boost, but they

and rebuilt a local communi-

ty park that was destroyed by

a flood several years ago.
“We wanted to give some-

thing back to the residents of

’ Britannia Beach,” says pro-

ducer Jonathan Goodwill.

- “This community has been so

-, supportive of the series, with
many of the locals appearing
as ongoing extras or assisting
with the Production in other
capacities. Creating this par!
is our way of thanking the
community for taking us into
their hearts and being such
an important part of Hope

: “sland”

‘> After the treacherous

-flood, the park’s playing field
- was covered in contaminated
soil and debris. Revitalizing «
the area was financially out of
the question for the small
community of about 300 res-

have financed -

Britannia Beach

idents.

Hope Island location man-
ager Michael Williams, who
spearheaded the idea, was
undaunted by the price tag.
After contacting several local
unions, everyone from team-
sters, directors, actors and
writers joined in to help
rebuild the park.

Williams then approached
a number of the show suppli-
ers, the Squamish Lillooet
Regional District and the
B.C. Museum of Mining.
Copper Beach Estates joined

¢ program, donating equip-
ment and labour, trucking in
donated sand and installin,
the irrigation system, whic!
was also a gift from a local
firm. A number of volunteers
from the community added
needed elbow grease to help
finish the project.

“Everyone pulled together
on this one,” says Williams.
“We really hope that this —
playing field and the sets we

ve built and those we’ve
restored from 80-year-old
abandoned mineworker bunk
houses will be here tong after
the show eventually wraps.
It’s a great place to film now,
and the sets provide a badly
needed small-town look for
future shows.”

Hope Island stars
Cameron Daddo as Daniel
Cooper, a recently ordained
minister who chooses a new
life in the beautiful and
quaint seafaring town of
Hope Island. Suki Kaiser co-

_ Stars in the show, which is

currently seen in the U.S. on
Pax TV.

Negotiations are under
way for a Canadian broad-
caster.

TELEVISION

KARAOKE Queen, a : 7 o
half-hour drama set
in the kitschy milieu
of karaoke, gets its
world premiere on
Vancouver
Television’s
Storyteller series
Sunday.

Produced by West
Vancouver’s Kimberley
Wakefield, the program airs
at 7:30 p.m., Jan. 9, on :
VIV. Karaoke Queen is also
anticipated to air nationally §
on the CTV network and
will showcase on the
Women’s Television
Network in 2001.

Big-girl Angie, a karaoke
video director, out-
manoeuvres her boss when
she boldly casts her bounti-
ful self-as che leading lady
in what will surely be her
last video.

As the popular media
emerges from “waifmania”
and once again embraces
women with curves, Karaoke Oucen’s
message is a timely one. it’s a playful
reminder that on-screen romance isn’t
limited to Hollywood’s narrow version
of beautiful people, and a theme that
attracted WIN. They got behind
Karaoke Queen because, in their words:
“it promises to deliver a positive mes-
sage for women of all shapes and
sizes.”

Vancouver-based writer-director

Caro! Clusiau, a graduate of the
Canadian Film Centre’s director’s resi-
dency program, was struck with the
idea for Karaoke Queen through her
experience directing over 70 karaoke
videos in a six-month period. Clusiau ~
wanted to make a film about karaoke
because, as she realized, “it’s a world
that few people know, and it’s such a
strange world.”

Karaoke Queen mixes fantasy and

CEREMONIAL
and turbans,

Redefining beauty and so

colourful

Friday,January 7, 2000- North Shore News - 17

Photo Tara Agate

IRENE Karas is Angie, a heavier-than-average woman and closet karaoke singer,
in the locally produced Karaoke Queen, which airs Sunday on VTV. .

reality, exploring the boundaries of
gender, love, and sexuality in an enter-
taining and honest way.

Above all, Clusiau felt it was impor-
tant for the audience to have a good
time with the film’s karaoke theme. By
creating a cast of off-beat characters
immersed in peculiar happenings, she
has done just that.

Karaoke Queen stars local Vancouver
talent Irene Karas and Bob Frazer.

Behind temple doors

swords Saint Soldier, a revealing one-

hour documentary about being

parades and almost constant
newspaper headlines are the
more visible aspects of the
Sikh presence in Vancouver.

a modem Sikh at the turn of

je ceniury, premieres on VTV,

Sunday, Jan. 9 at 2 p.m.
Produced by Deep Cove’s

What is lesser known to the Kathryn Newsom, The Saint
wider community is the mean- Soldier goes behind the temple
ing behind the ceremonies and wails to film the core of the

bitter internal conflicts. The

Sikh religion, = _-

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