Vancouver Screen Scene: Russell Peters, Kate Winslet, Martin Wallström, Alan Thicke, and more

We’re fast approaching year-end holiday celebrations but that there are still a number of notable productions shooting on the streets of Vancouver.

Among them, there also are some notable names that you might be able to catch sight of while you’re sightseeing or doing your Christmas shopping around town.

First up, there’s Public Schooled, which began shooting on November 22, announced that Canadian funnyman Russell Peters has joined the cast.

Directed by Kyle Rideout (Eadweard), the Canadian comedy feature film stars newcomer Daniel Doheny as the socially awkward Liam, who abandons his mother’s home-schooling for public school when he falls for a popular one-legged girl.

Judy Greer (Jurassic World) plays his smothering mother while Vancouver’s Grace Park (Hawaii Five-0) plays her best friend.

Adding to the laughs will be the ever-amusing Russell in a supporting role.

Elsewhere in the city, two of Britain’s leading talents will be gracing our city with their presence.

The Mountain Between Usstarts shooting on Wednesday (December 1).

The story is a screen adaptation of Charles Martin’s novel about a woman and a man who fall in love when they are forced to depend on one another after a plane crash in the Colorado wilderness.

The romantic-drama, directed by Hany Abu-Assad (Paradise Now) stars the U.K’s Kate Winslet and Idris Elba.

Winslet plays an injured writer who was about to be married while Elba will portray a doctor and climbing enthusiast who is separated from his wife.

The production continues shooting until February 17.

If you want to catch sight of Swedish star Martin Wallström (Mr. Robot) and Georgia King (Kill Your Friends), you only have a week left to do so.

The sci-fi indie flick Parallel, directed by Isaac Ezban, wraps up next week on December 5.

When four app developers discover that a mirror in an attic is actually a time-warping passageway to alternate realities, they use it to their advantage by bringing futuristic technology back to the present day.

The cast also includes Alyssa Diaz, Aml Ameen, Mark O’Brien, Carrie Genzel, Cassidy Darling, and Shannon Chan-Kent.

As we mentioned last week, a number of TV productions went on a week-long hiatus. They’re all back into action this week starting today (November 28), including Arrow, Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce, Supernatural, Lucifer, and Mech X-4.

But if running around our city streets while trying to catch a glimpse of a star isn’t quite your thing, there is another way to gain easier access to the glitterrati—if you want to take a trip trip up to the mountains.

The Whistler Film Festival kicks off on Wednesday (November 30) and runs until Sunday (December 4).

Guests will include appearances by actor and TV host Alan Thicke, for the Canadian premiere of It’s Not My Fault and I Don’t Care Anyway; Oscar-nominated Canadian filmmaker Deepa Mehta, whose docudrama Anatomy of Violence will screen at the festival; British filmmaker John Madden, for the Canadian premiere of Miss Sloane; and more.

Full details can be found at the WFF website.

That’s it for this week but, as always, there’s more in store, even as we head into holiday season.