Cameras will soon be rolling again on Central Whidbey.
On Tuesday, the Coupeville Town Council unanimously passed a motion to approve street closures from 7-11 a.m. Sept. 8-10, allowing Van Allen Cooper, writer and director, and Dale Schomer, executive producer, to shoot their feature-length film, “Mistakhan.” Front Street will be closed from North Main Street to Alexander Street, as will Alexander Street from Front Street to Coveland Street.
Additional filming not requiring road closures is planned for Sept. 10 at the Town Green outside the Coupeville Library, where overflow parking for cast and crew will also be provided.
The Whidbey Island-based filmmakers describe their film as a social thriller.
Per their synopsis, “Mistakhan” tells “the story of a small island town confronted with a dilemma at the yearly art fair” wherein “a Middle Eastern man, Khan, recognizes a blonde, blue-eyed woman as a suicide bomber and tackles her to the ground to save his family, yelling, ‘It’s a bomb, it’s a bomb…run, run.’ Agent Cross, from Homeland Security, is convinced Khan is the bomber and plans to neutralize him. A young field news reporter, who carefully examines recorded scene images, believes in Khan’s innocence. It is up to the reporter to convince the town mayor and police chief. Together, they move to prevent a miscarriage of justice by putting themselves in harm’s way.”
According to Mayor Molly Hughes, the filmmakers originally inquired about street closures lasting up to two weeks about a year ago. When they approached the council more recently, Deputy Clerk Chris Jolly said, they did so through the Coupeville Chamber of Commerce and the Coupeville Historic Waterfront Association, asking for three days of filming limited to early mornings instead.
Jolly added that the request gave the council the opportunity to use their new film permit application, introduced just this year.
At a chamber meeting Tuesday morning, Cooper and Schomer gave a presentation about their project which made clear their intentions to support the local economy, Hughes said. Cast and crew are encouraged to dine and shop locally during their stay, and will reside at the Coupeville Inn and other nearby accommodations. Front Street Grill is set to cater at least one meal.
“(The filmmakers) understand that they need to support the community when they’re providing a little bit of disruption,” Hughes said.
In an effort to mitigate the effects of the closures, the mayor’s office sent a letter to businesses and residents in the area informing them of the forthcoming disruptions so they may plan accordingly. Hughes pointed out most businesses affected by the street closures do not open until 11 a.m., however.
A Touch of Dutch, Kingfisher Bookstore, Whidbey Natural Pet and Crabby Coffee are a few of the businesses in the vicinity that typically open earlier than 11 a.m. on the days of the scheduled street closures, per their respective websites and Facebook pages.
On the final day of filming, Hughes added that the filmmakers are planning a crowd shot “they’re going to hire local extras for.” Cooper and Schomer plan to put out a call for extras in late August, and the procedure will be an in-person meeting. More information is to come.
Coupeville is no stranger to hosting film crews. Parts of “ECCO” (2019) and “Midday Black, Midnight Blue” (2022) were filmed in town as well as, of course, “Practical Magic” (1998).
