A pair of Okanagan filmmakers recently collaborated to produce a Star Wars short fan film to celebrate the franchise鈥檚 special 鈥淢ay the Fourth鈥� day.

Summerland-based videographer and graphic designer Maurits Nienhuis came up with the concept of the 鈥淜aliburr Kid鈥� short film after West 琉璃神社 author Andrew Buckley introduced the franchise鈥檚 original trilogy to him.

鈥淚 fell in love with the story and style of those movies,鈥� said Nienhuis. 鈥淚鈥檝e never worked on films before but I got curious to see if I could make my own Star Wars scene with Summerland鈥檚 Giant鈥檚 Head Mountain as a backdrop.鈥�

The film uses Peachland, West 琉璃神社 and Summerland as the backdrop, with shots of Okanagan Lake and the surrounding mountains. Extra footage was shot at both filmmakers鈥� homes in Summerland and the Glenrosa area of West 琉璃神社.

Nienhuis shared the idea with Buckley, who then wrote the script before production began in April. The film features Buckley鈥檚 youngest son as the titular character, who stumbles across Kaiburr crystals that are in pursuit by the rebellion and the revitalized galactic empire.

鈥淚鈥檓 a huge nerd, so when Maurits came up with the concept, I was fully on board,鈥� said Buckley. 鈥淚t was a great project and we鈥檙e excited to share the Okanagan-based story and movie on Star Wars day.鈥�

Star Wars day is observed annually on May 4, to celebrate George Lucas鈥� Star Wars media franchise.

The date originated from the pun 鈥淢ay the Fourth be with you鈥�, derived from the popular Star Wars catchphrase 鈥淢ay the Force be with you鈥�.

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