Post-apocalyptic feature Die Alone filming in Regina, director's hometown

Production began in Regina on Sunday for a post-apocalyptic love story hitting theatres next year that was written with Saskatchewan in mind.

Die Alone is a feature film about a young man's journey back to find his girlfriend while under siege by zombie-like monsters during a catastrophic pandemic. Wolfcop director and Regina native Lowell Dean is the writer and director of the feature. 

"This movie is actually gonna showcase a lot of what Saskatchewan has to offer," said Dean.

He called this a rural-based film, and said that while writing Saskatchewan was the landscape he often envisioned. 

"This was the smartest place to do it by far," said Dean.  

Production began at Saskatchewan Polytechnic and over the next twenty days is also set to shoot in Qu'Appelle, Fort Qu'Appelle and Katepwa Lake.

Dean, who has directed four features set in the province, is grateful to be filming in his hometown again as production in Regina was once completely out of the picture. 

"With the new incentive, it actually worked out that we could come back and make the movie bigger than and better than what I was originally thinking," said Dean. 

In 2022 the provincial government got rid of the old film employment credit and boosted funding into the Saskatchewan grant program for film and television. 

Stars share excitement

Dean said the first draft for the movie was completed ten years ago, and involved a love story set in a future society overtaken by a pandemic. 

Kimberly-Sue Murray is playing the main character's girlfriend in the film. The Toronto-based actress has been wanting to work with Dean for a while. 

"Lowell has been on my radar for a couple years now," said Murray. "So, I'm just happy to be working with him." 

She said the film is a passion project and that energy translates on set. 

"It's a beautiful love story and I love the genre. I love the statement it's making." 

This is Murray's first time filming in Regina and the same for co-star Douglas Smith, who plays the main character Ethan. 

"My only knowledge of Saskatchewan was growing up looking at my Canadian placemat," said the Don't Worry Darling actor. 

Smith's character has amnesia and wakes up separated from his girlfriend amidst societal collapse. Teaming up with survivalist Mae, played by Matrix actress Carrie-Anne Moss, together they begin the quest to find his girlfriend. The two spend the film trying to escape Kai, who is played by Captain America: The Winter Soldier actor Frank Grillo. 

"There's a lot of memories and flashbacks and it's kind of like a dream at the same time," said Smith. 

Smith lives in the U.S. but often films in Toronto or Vancouver. He was impressed with the facilities in Regina, noting how large the sound stages downtown were. 

"I was not expecting such a large state-of-the-art studio, especially for a movie of our size," said Smith. 

"When I make a movie of this size in Toronto, we do not have access to the facilities of of that size. Usually that size of a facility is reserved for a large budget television production like a CBS show or something like that." 

Rebuilding the industry

The film is being produced by Minds Eye Entertainment as the first project they are shooting in Saskatchewan under the new grant. 

"For us, born and raised here, have our company here. It's just really a thrill to come back," said Kevin Dewalt, CEO of Minds Eye Entertainment.  

After twelve years of filming in different parts of Canada, Dewalt is confident more projects will now be attracted to Saskatchewan. 

"The good news is that the provincial government came back. They announced a grant program last year, they enhanced it this past year," 

The new grant program by Creative Saskatchewan, who have provided 2.1 million for the film, made filming the feature in Saskatchewan possible. The film is projected to have great paybacks to the economy, as over a hundred people are already being employed on set. 

"To have an incentive which now competes with any incentive across the country, and as Minds Eye we are very confident that we can attract bigger projects here," said Dewalt.

"In a sense, we're rebuilding the industry." 

Die Alone is expected to hit theatres in 2024.