Red Deer-produced ‘Bollards’ wraps filming with all-local cast and crew

“These guys have been buddies for 40 years, so the story is [the bar manager, Kelly] is trying to figure out why these guys are the way they are, and it’s because they’ve known each other since they were 18-19 years old,” Busch said.

He said he came up with Bollards when he was brainstorming ideas for a goofy story. He ended up finishing the script a year ago.

“They move to a small prairie city and take over a navy-themed bar, and then we just threw some personalities in there,” he said. “We’ve got one guy who’s super protective of his group, and the other guy is more level-headed. Then there’s the character that I play who’s a bit of an underachiever, but he’s very loyal to his friends.”

Dean Busch and Dale Dinan pose behind the camera on the set of “Bollards” in Red Deer. (Image Credit: rdnewsNOW/Ian Gustafson)

He partnered with Dave Dinan of Hot Shoe Studio Media Production to help shoot the film, which they completed for the most part over the last week at Commerce Court, a corporate office building in Red Deer. They shot in different spots in the building and even created the bar layout inside. They have one more location to shoot at, which will be at a house in the community.

Dinan said what made him want to get involved is the people; he said working with local talent is important to him.

“I think people start to not only believe in the project but believe in themselves that there might actually be something here in central Alberta,” he said. “We’ve got brand new people here and some real seasoned veterans, so it’s cool to see that.”

Busch said the reason why they were able to shoot the movie so fast was that they didn’t have to travel. They just transitioned from different sets within the building.

The movie is expected to be approximately 72 minutes long, and some of the stories within the movie, he said, are based on his experiences when he served in the Canadian military.

“If people can get past the fact that this is a micro-budget and look at what we’ve done, they’re going to be pretty impressed,” Busch added.

Busch is also the founder of the Central Alberta Media Production Association, a non-profit organization where people in the region share their ideas for film.

He said they’re trying to get more people involved, and much of his crew is also from the association. They’ve also helped with at least three or four short films in Red Deer.

The crew on the set of Bollards consists of seven people and four main cast members, all of whom are from the province.

“I’m a huge proponent of using local or Alberta people,” Busch said. “I think it’s important because there are a lot of stories that aren’t told because they’re not big-budget. My attitude is I think we can tell good stories and we don’t have to break the bank to do it.”

Paul Boultbee, who plays one of the three retired Navy members, said it’s not often you get a script focused around gentlemen their age.

He added that because the movie was filmed here and that everyone involved is local, Red Deer can take great pride in the film.

“We would hope that they would then support the film so this kind of thing can grow and become a part of the arts community as well as the general community,” Boultbee added.

Before it’s available for the public to view, Busch hopes to do a small film festival run and have it ready by early spring at the latest. He said it will be available on pay-per-view first, and then he hopes to get it on a few other channels such as Amazon Prime and Tubi.

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by Ian Gustafson

Red Deer-produced ‘Bollards’ wraps filming with all-local cast and crew

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