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Sudbury is a choice filming location, producers say

After six weeks of shooting in Greater Sudbury, the principal photography on Dark Rising: Warrior of Worlds is wrapping up. On Aug.
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'Demon police officers' were on standby as the Dark Rising: Warrior of Worlds film crew set up for their next shot. Photo by Jenny Jelen.
After six weeks of shooting in Greater Sudbury, the principal photography on Dark Rising: Warrior of Worlds is wrapping up. On Aug. 13, demons could be spotted throughout Memorial Park, where the production team was stationed for filming some final scenes.

Starring Sudbury native Brigitte Kinglsey as a half-human, half-demon, all butt-kicking warrior, the five-episode television series filmed in various Nickel City locations over the summer.

The episodes will feature scenes filmed on Durham Street in downtown Sudbury, Elgin Street and the underpass there, as well as at Science North and a local mine, among other locations, including the Northern Ontario Film Studios.

Mihkel Harilaid, executive producer of the show, said Sudbury proved to be a choice location.

“I love Sudbury,” he said. “I love everything about Sudbury.”

He said he'd be more than happy to return to the Nickel City for future work.

Craig Fleming, vice-president of productions at Black Walk, the independent producer behind Dark Rising said the accommodating nature of the city, and everyone working locally to bring the production together, served the production well.

He saved particularly kind words for the Northern Ontario Film Studios, brainchild of local partners David Anselmo and Pierre Bonhomme. The show was the first production to make use of the fledgling studio housed in the former Barrydowne Arena.

“Northern Ontario Film Studios has been an amazing home base,” he said.

A crew of around 30 Sudburians working alongside the 20 or so people the company brought with them from Toronto. Not only did this provide local jobs, but also good promotion for the quality of film crew workers to be found here, Fleming told Northern Life.

“There's some great skills development happening,” he said.

Eager and willing to learn, he said local professionals have been working hard to become part of a greater “team.”

This is the fourth project under the Dark Rising banner. Kingsley said it all started in 2006 with the filming of Dark Rising, where a weekend camping trip turns into a frantic fight against the supernatural when an ancient demon and a fearsome female warrior (played by Kingsley) bring their eternal battle into the present day.

“It was a small movie, but it just kept growing and growing,” Kingsley said.

Dark Rising was nominated for a record six Canadian Comedy Awards in 2008, in the categories of best writing (Andrew Cymek), best direction (Cymek), best actress (Kingsley and Julia Schneider) and best actor (Landy Cannon and Jason Reso), but did not win any.

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