The Steve Jaggi Company is keeping cameras rolling in Queensland, commencing production on new romance Love in Bloom.
Shooting at a range of locations in and around Brisbane, the scripted feature is the directorial debut of Rogue Rubin and stars US actor Susie Abromeit (Jessica Jones) as Chicago florist Amelia Hart, who returns to the small Australian town of Primrose River to help plan her sister’s wedding.
When her soon-to-be-married little sister (Melina Vidler) and fiancé become marooned at a mountain retreat days before their wedding, Amelia and the best man, Grayson Tanner (Julian Haig), are tasked with stepping in to save the wedding.
Supporting cast include Monette Lee, Steven Tandy, Joey Vieira, and Jason Wilder.
The film is written by Georgia Harrison (Rip Tide, This Little Love Of Mine) and is being produced by Steve Jaggi and Spencer McLaren, with Kylie Pascoe and Kelly Son Hing co-producing.
Pivot Pictures has been lined up for distribution in Australia, with US-based Nicely Entertainment handling international sales.
It’s the fourth feature film in the romance genre for The Steve Jaggi Company following Romance On The Menu, This Little Love Of Mine, and the forthcoming Christmas romance Sit. Stay. Love (formerly The Dog Days of Christmas).
Jaggi told IF that romance films had always been underserved in Australia.
“In these COVID times, people want to watch entertainment that is uplifting and has kind of a soul to it,” he said.
“Australian audiences have always had to turn to the US or UK for this kind of content. We started making romance films a couple of years ago and found there was a really big audience for them, both domestically and internationally.
“With COVID, that has gone into overdrive.”
The company has made a habit of showcasing different parts of Queensland, having shot the Network 10 and Netflix series Dive Club in Port Douglas towards the end of last year.
The teen mystery, which was supported by Screen Australia and Screen Queensland, had its premiere at last month’s Gold Coast Film Festival.
While Screen Queensland is not making a financial contribution to Love in Bloom, Jaggi said it continued to provide an “environment that is open for business”.
“The attitude in some other states can be very hands-on in wanting to be involved in the creative [process] and investing in particular projects,” he said.
“Wherein in Queensland, I’ve found the attitude to be much more holistic in creating a business from the environment.”