Downtown Morden has been transformed into a Christmas village for a new Hallmark movie, with filming underway in the southern Manitoba city this week. “We took a section of downtown Morden and transformed it into a winter wonderland,” said Ian Dimerman, the movie’s producer. Photos and video sent to CTV News show Stephen Street reimagined as a wintry wonderland, complete with Christmas trees, wreaths and fake snow. Dimerman, who lives in Winnipeg, said his job is to take the script from Hallmark and assemble a crew of predominantly local cast and hundreds of extras “to make the Christmas magic for them.” The movie, with the working title “Single at the Wedding,” is expected to air on the W Network during the holiday season, though Dimerman said the title will likely change before it airs. “The story really is centred around some family going back to a small town for a wedding,” he said. Filming began at the end of June, with additional shooting already completed in Winnipeg and Grosse Isle. Crews are set to finish up in Morden this week before moving into post-production. “A big chunk of this movie, I’m proud to say, is being shot in Morden,” Dimerman said. “Five days on a movie this size is a pretty significant chunk of the movie that’s being shot there, for sure.” Dimerman said the production relies heavily on Manitoba talent, both in front of and behind the camera. “We predominantly like to cast these movies with as many Manitobans as we possibly can,” he said, adding that while some leading cast members are from outside the province, background performers are overwhelmingly local, including extras who spent days in winter attire despite temperatures hitting 34 C and 35 C. “I’m just so grateful that people really came out in big numbers to support this movie,” Dimerman said. With 60 to 70 crew members eating out nightly and hotel rooms booked across the city, Dimerman said the production’s economic footprint on Morden has been substantial. “The economic impact is pretty profound,” he said. “I think we gobbled up every available room in Morden and possibly Winkler.” Dimerman credited the City of Morden, its council and the Chamber of Commerce for their support, calling Morden a “friendly Manitoba town that’s really welcomed us with open arms.” “It’s just a welcoming community that I look forward to working with on many other projects in the future,” he said.
