MIDDLETOWN — Filming for an upcoming Lifetime movie took place in Cromwell and Middletown this past week, with many local people and places playing a big part.
The movie, “Secrets by the Shore,” will air on Lifetime in the spring, according to Producer David Gere. It’s a thriller produced by MarVista Entertainment about the disappearance of a young woman from a Connecticut shoreline community.
The movie mainly takes place in Old Saybrook, but several integral scenes were shot in Cromwell and Middletown, including on Wednesday evening, when filming took place in Cromwell’s Town Hall and riverfront area.
“It’s something not every community gets to participate in,” Cromwell Town Manager Anthony J. Salvatore said.
Filming has proved to be an economic win for the town, Salvatore said. The crew is being housed a Cromwell hotel, and several locations were used for filming, including the retirement community at Covenant Living of Cromwell. Even the catering for the crew came from Cromwell Pizza and Pasta.
“Economically, it’s good for the town, and I think having the opportunity to see that side of movies is absolutely great,” Salvatore said.
On Thursday, production crews took over Brew Bakers cafe on Main Street in Middletown. Owners Josef Aigner and Eloise Tencher were thrilled by the opportunity. “Right away, we said yes, of course,” Aigner said.
Tencher said she felt honored to be chosen out of all the other restaurants on Main Street. “I feel really important,” she said. “It feels really special to be involved.”
Tencher and Aigner’s son, Billy Gillen, as well as several Brew Bakers employees were given roles in the movie.
Some members of the film crew are locally based as well, including Greg Bereski, who was born and raised in Middletown. He is the production designer for this movie. “It scratches my creative itch,” Bereski said.
He said that this area has proved to be a great place to film, and he hopes to be able to work on more projects in the area.
Director Jacob Cooney agreed, saying this area of Connecticut has turned out to be great to work in for multiple reasons.
“The community is really open to helping,” Cooney said. “The extras have been great and the locations have proven to be the perfect setting for the film.”
The primary reason that this upcoming movie has such strong ties to the area is Gere, who is responsible for handling the star talent. Gere was born and raised in Cromwell, and was once owner of the popular nightclub The Shadow Room in Middletown before he closed that business in 2013 to open a film production company.
Shadow | Vale Productions is based in Cromwell.
It is through these strong ties to Cromwell and Middletown that Gere was able to utilize existing relationships to set up several of the scenes. Gere has known Salvatore since he was a child, and remembered Tencher and Aigner from when he owned that nightclub once near Brew Bakers.
“We couldn’t make movies in Middletown or Cromwell without these relationships,” Gere said. He expressed his gratitude for the Mayor of Cromwell and other town officials, and the Middletown and Cromwell police departments for their assistance.
Including local talent, as well as his business partner Chelsea Vale is very important to him. Vale is originally from Hollywood, Calif., and was able to recognize some major differences between filming in Tinseltown and Connecticut.
“I think the most different part is how, around here, the whole community is excited about it,” Vale said. “We want to give back to the community because they’ve given so much to us.”
Actor Jason London, known for roles such as Randall “Pink” Floyd in the film “Dazed and Confused,” is one of the stars. He shares Vale’s and Gere’s ambition to bring more movie sets to the area.
“I just absolutely love it here,” London said. “It continues to show that this is a great place to film and hopefully we can bring more projects here.”
The film also stars Christina DeRosa, Alec Nevin, David Chokachi, Laura Poe and D.C. Douglas.
Filming for the movie will continue into the weekend, with a car crash scene set to take place on the streets of Cromwell Friday night.
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