Five years after filming was completed, Lovers in a Dangerous Time made its Creston debut in a one-night-only showing at the Tivoli Theatre last May. Now, it’s back for a weekend, once again offering Creston Valley residents a glimpse of their home on the big screen.
Picked up by distributor Landmark Cinemas, Lovers runs in Cranbrook, Kelowna and Calgary for a week starting Jan. 28, the same day it opens in Creston for a three-day showing.
“Landmark’s taken a chance — it’s a lot easier for them to take on whatever Hollywood is putting out next,” said Mark Hug. “We were pretty shocked that this has all happened. It’s excellent.”
Hug and May Charters co-wrote, -directed and -starred in the film, in which Creston, Kootenay Lake and many residents play themselves. Shot between 2003 and 2005, Hug and Charters, a real-life couple, play childhood friends Todd and Allison, who start a relationship after returning to Creston for their high school reunion. Since 2009, Lovers has been shown at more than a dozen film festivals, earning awards — including best feature and best actor — at several.
It’s been a long haul, one that the film’s creators don’t regret.
“We weren’t anticipating it could go where it’s gone,” said Charters. “When you’re an artist or in anything you do, you have a dream and a goal, and when that shifts and leads to another one, you have to have passion and stamina. ... It is something we felt passionate about, luckily.”
Anticipation was running high before the showing last year, and Hug hopes that people are still keen to see the film — it’s much better viewed in a theatre, he said.
“I want everybody in Creston who wants to see it to get a chance to see it together in a theatre,” said Hug. “When you watch a film that was shot in your town and you recognize everything, that’s an event to be a part of.”