A retirement home may not be the first thing that comes to mind when scouting for filming locations. In the case of the movie Old Stock, however, a vibrant retirement community was exactly what was needed.
A Canadian film, Old Stock is about a young man living with his grandfather in a retirement home in order to escape from his past. The film was recently featured in the Santa Barbara Film Festival and the producers are hopeful that it will make it to this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.
“The film shines a very positive and hilarious light on retirement living,” says Donna Holwell, owner of the Lord Dufferin Centre, which played host to the crew filming some of the early scenes of the movie in the Orangeville, Ontario retirement home. More than comedy, however, the film offers a fresh way to think about life in a retirement community.
“I think the movie presents aging a positive light. It is contrasted by a young person wanting to run away and shut down his life versus his vibrant grandfather who is getting on with his life,” adds Donna. “It shows the retirement home as an active community. The writer did a great job of capturing this.”
The first two days of filming were a learning curve. “It was a bit difficult at first,” said Lord Dufferin Centre Service Coordinator Mary Ann Parsons. “The film crew and the staff and residents had to get used to one another. They [the film crew] had to learn how to balance between our needs and their needs.” After working out the kinks of those first couple days, everything proceeded much more smoothly. “The crew was super nice to everyone and we were sorry to see them go at the end of the filming,” said Lord Dufferin Centre owner Donna Holwell.
One challenging aspect of hosting a film shoot is the need for absolute silence during filming. The staff had to watch for elevators opening up in the area where filming was going on and Donna made a regular announcement about turning down the ringtone on telephones before the filming began. On one memorable occasion, she used the word “shooting” instead of “filming” during the announcement and sparked a small frenzy as people tried to figure out what was going on.
The film crew worked shots around the residents and a number of them can be seen in the background during different scenes. For the residents, it was a welcome presence.
“It was a change from the usual,” says Donna. “The residents were energized by the cameras and new people. It was a phenomenal experience that we won’t forget.”
When they were finally able to see the film, it was “such a thrill to see the Lord Dufferin Centre up on the big screen,” said Mary Ann. “It was also very fun to see some of our names listed in the credits.”
“The comedy and humour in the story is very true to life.”
They are currently planning on a special screening evening for residents at Lord Dufferin Centre and are trying to bring Old Stock to the local Orangeville theatre. In the meantime, you can watch the trailer of Old Stock and see show times and locations here.