The Utah Film Commission today announced the Governor’s Office of Economic Development Board of Directors has approved two new projects for state film incentives.
The Stray is directed and produced by Mitch Davis. Davis has an array of film credits including The Other Side of Heaven, A House Divided, and most recently Christmas Eve. The film is a true story about a stray dog that wanders into a family’s life and heroically saves the family’s father and oldest son while backpacking in the mountains. The production will spend an estimated $637,000 in the state and hire approximately 60 local cast and crew. It will film in Summit County, utilizing the Park City Film Studios.
We Love You, Sally Carmichael! was also approved to receive an incentive. Veteran actor Christopher Gorham (Covert Affairs, Once Upon a Time, Ugly Betty) will make his directorial debut for the family comedy set in Utah. The story revolves around the best-selling romance novelist that the general public knows as Sally Carmichael, who in reality is bitter author Simon Hayes. Produced by Go Films, the project will hire approximately 58 local cast and crew and will spend an estimated $227,000 in Utah.
Both productions will begin principal photography this June, with filming taking place in the state over a period of 45 days combined.
“Both projects have local ties and productions of this size are a great example of how well Utah does in the independent film market,” said Utah Film Commission Director Virginia Pearce. “With what we have in the pipeline, this summer is shaping up to be the ‘summer of indie film’ in Utah.”
