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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