The small town of Hafford, Sask. has nearly doubled in size this weekend – hosting the cast and crew of an all-Saskatchewan feature film.
Doug Luciuk, along with six other people, started writing “The Keepers of Kielbasa” two years ago. The group wasn’t able to get federal or provincial funding, and now they’re making the film on a microbudget of $10,000.
“To turn back and not make the movie was just letting all of these people down,” Luciuk said. “So my wife and I came up with whatever money we could come up with to make the movie.”
The film is a comedic story of three Ukrainian brothers trying to make the greatest film of their careers.
“I’m a crazy Ukrainian, so we wrote a crazy Ukrainian movie,” Luciuk explained.
The small town used as a backdrop for the film has strong Ukrainian roots. People from all over Saskatchewan travelled to the area to be an extra and see themselves on the silver screen.
“It’s been very cool to come into Hafford and see the town’s reaction,” said Kristel Harder, who plays Delphine in the film.
Cynthia Shepherd owns a local restaurant and has spent the last week feeding the cast and crew.
“I love having them here,” she said. “I don’t want them to go. I’m probably going to cry when they leave, because it’s more like family.”
Filming will wrap up on Monday and "The Keepers of Kielbasa" will premiere next summer.
Based on a report by CTV Saskatoon's Mark Villani
