Greensboro, NC - The Piedmont Triad Film Commission is pleased to announce it has recruited a new Hallmark Channel original movie to the region. The production company from Los Angeles has been in pre-production in the Piedmont since early October and began filming November 8. Filming is taking place in Greensboro, High Point, Winston-Salem and Lewisville as well as locations in Yadkin and Davie counties.

The film The Shunning (based on the Beverly Lewis novel) is directed by Michael Landon Jr. and will be featured on the Hallmark Channel in April 2011. The producers were considering other areas in the Southeast for their film. To recruit the production, the Piedmont Triad Film Commission submitted a wide variety of farmhouses and landscapes that matched the locations they were seeking in response to a lead from the NC Film Office. The PTFC also provided other crucial information regarding local infrastructure (including contact information for local crew technicians, city and county cooperation, local production companies, and other support services) that would support their production in the region. Many local crew professionals have been hired and significant funds are being spent in and around the Piedmont Triad (on rental cars, accommodations, renting of production office space, office equipment, equipment and supplies for the production, dry cleaners, restaurants, catering companies, etc).

Rebecca Clark, Executive Director of the Piedmont Triad Film Commission remarks "I'm thrilled to have ‘The Shunning' in the region. Michael Landon Jr.'s movies are very inspiring and uplifting. We're honored he chose the region for his film. This is such positive news for the area, particularly in light of the current economic climate. We have this production company in the region, providing jobs for many of our local crew technicians and spending money at various businesses, providing a general boost to our economy."

The cast includes Danielle Panabaker, Sherry Stringfield, Burgess Jenkins and Bill Oberst Jr. Panabaker plays Katie Lapp, an independent young woman facing immense conflict in her Amish community on the eve of her arranged wedding as she discovers her real birth mother. Michael Landon Jr.'s previous directing credits include the successful Love Comes Softly series. The production company will continue shooting through November 30 in Forsyth, Davie, Guilford and Yadkin Counties.

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