By Mal Butler
A Sandown shop has been used as a location for a magical pilot episode of an American TV series, entitled ‘Small Town Witches’.
The Holistic Emporium, in the High Street, was transformed into a spellbinding set for some scenes, to be shown in a witchy drama, mixing ancient traditions with a modern-day techno-fantasy twist, set to be show-cased on Amazon Prime.
Dadina Sagger, of the Island People Agency, is also involved with Isle of Wight Film Fixers CIC, which gets local people involved in film productions on the Island. She said: “This is an American production using local people and, if it is a success, then that could lead to a series of six episodes.
“We promote filming on the Island, and work with the company to solve all the logistics that can showcase everything which is good over here. We have local crews and runners, boom people, actors and businesses who can provide accommodation.
“As this is an American production, it cuts the costs significantly because our people wouldn’t need accommodation. So, in this case, a production team of around 50 people was cut back to 38.
“We have a back catalogue of more than 100,000 photographs so the makers can see all the sorts of places on the Island where they might want to film.”
Dave King, of the Holistic Emporium, said: “Our shop was transformed into a spellbinding set for some scenes, which helped bring the magical world of Small Town Witches to life.
“This thrilling project is being produced, written, and directed by the incredibly talented Melissa Graves, founder of The Last Place You Look. Melissa’s extensive experience, creative vision, and passion for story-telling, have been the driving forces behind this magical project.”
Isle of Wight Observer