Sci-fi short wraps filming in Kitsap

POULSBO — Scenes from the upcoming short film LIONS may feature some familiar locations to viewers from Kitsap County when it premieres on Jan. 19, 2019.

The short film recently finished shooting in the area and features a number of prominent locations around the peninsula. LIONS director Justin Zimmerman said early on he and writer Brian Dorsey thought the short would work perfectly for the area.

“We thought it would be special to shoot it exclusively on the peninsula, not only bringing up some of my Portland film crew, but we cast almost exclusively out of Portland and Seattle,” Zimmerman said. “We had an enormous number of people from the local community who worked with us. … We really felt like if we were going to bring this short military science fiction piece to life, we would need to find a community that would meet us halfway, to really make it special. I’m delighted to say that they did.”

Zimmerman said he and his crew worked to highlight the beauty of the area in their film.

“We really brought the natural beauty of the place to life,” Zimmerman said, noting that the crew shot in parks, interiors and open spaces around the area, including Port Orchard, Silverdale, Bremerton and Fort Worden. “We really did bring that entire peninsula to life in a unique way, and I cannot wait for people to see the footage because I don’t think they’re going to believe it happened there, but it did. It’s just a true thrill to think about how everybody is going to respond to this when they do get to see it.”

According to the film’s writer, Brian Dorsey, LIONS is a character-driven story thar focuses on the relationship of two sisters, set in the near future. While details about the short were slim, the creators said folks can expect to see its release on Jan. 19, 2019.

Dorsey said the group would likely be working together on future projects in the area.

“We have a really good feeling about how well we work together, and so we want to continue to do that,” he said. “We want to continue to focus on the inherent value — particularly in terms of community involvement and location availability — here in the area. We are looking for other projects that we can bring to Kitsap County.”

—Nick Twietmeyer is a reporter with Kitsap News Group. Nick can be reached at ntwietmeyer@soundpublishing.com