HALATION
HALATION poster: the cast above the Salmar Classic marquee, lit by a projector beam

A short film · Salmon Arm, British Columbia

Halation: a ghost story filmed at the Salmar Classic, Salmon Arm

Bound by love.Lost in time.One final show.

A projectionist, a ghost and a 1949 movie house on its final night. Filmed inside the Salmar Classic before it closed for good.

Next screening

Vancouver

Late October 2026 · Venue and date announced soon

The story

A theatre. A memory.
A final show.

Ben, an aging projectionist, has an annual movie date with the ghost of his long-dead lover. As the seventy-five-year-old cinema prepares to go dark forever, two curious young theatre employees interrupt their reunion and set the theatre’s final show in motion.

Filmed inside the historic Salmar Classic during its final days before closing, HALATION was brought to life by a volunteer cast and crew, including people who worked at the theatre.

Runtime
18 min
Rated
PG
Shot
Salmar Classic, June 2025
Genre
Supernatural love story
“I am the theatre and you are the light upon the screen.”
Freya & Young Ben · Emma Soothill and Liam Stewart-Kanigan

Screenings

Now showing

Upcoming

  • DateTBALate October 2026

    Vancouver, BC

    Vancouver Screening

    • Venue and date announced soon
    • Get an email the moment it’s announced

    Follow to hear first when the date drops

Past

  • Sep252026

    Salmon Arm, BC

    World Premiere

    Salmar Grand100 Hudson Ave NW, Salmon Arm, BC V1E 4N5

    • Doors 9:00 pm · Screening 9:30 pm
    • Behind-the-scenes talk and Q&A with cast and crew
    • Afterparty at the Night Café

    A packed house at the Salmar Grand

    Premiere night reel

Stills

From the reel

  • Ben reaches into the projector beam
  • Ben and Freya side by side in the theatre seats
  • Freya and Ben in the fog-filled auditorium
  • Ben waits in the red lobby of the Salmar Classic
  • Two young theatre employees on the back stairs under violet light
  • A theatre employee at the Salmar Classic doors
  • Ben and Freya before the glowing screen
  • Ben on the rooftop above Salmon Arm at night
  • Freya and Young Ben in the lobby
  • The projection booth in black and white
  • Two theatre employees in the projection booth
  • Ben and Freya reunited
  • A theatre employee alone on the violet-lit back stairs
  • Threading the projector in the booth
  • Ben on a call on the rooftop at night
  • The HALATION slate on set, in black and white
The Salmar Classic marquee lit up at night during filming

The Salmar Classic · 1949–2025

Filmed in its final days

The Salmar opened in May 1949, built by the community of Salmon Arm to help pay for a memorial arena. For seventy-five years it was the town’s single-screen movie house. HALATION was shot inside it from 9 to 15 June 2025, in the theatre’s final days.

“I hope the irony of filming a homage to a once precious theatre that’s closing, while knowing that theatre will never screen its own movie, is not lost on the audience.”
Shawn McLaughlin, director

Key art

The posters

On Instagram

@halation.movie

Behind the scenes, premiere night and the road to Vancouver. Follow to hear first when the date drops.

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Credits

Cast & crew

  • Oliver Becker

    Ben

  • Emma Soothill

    Freya

  • Liam Stewart-Kanigan

    Young Ben

  • Cian Boyd

    Sophie

  • Trent Furber

    Tyler

  • Jody Jones

    Sarah

  • Camryn Jones

    Katie

Directed by
Shawn McLaughlin
Written by
Shawn McLaughlin · Michael Mityok
Director of Photography
Cory Baker
Producers
John Ainslie · Cory Baker · Jaye Gazeley
Executive Producers
Rob Neilson · Jody Jones · Vicky Zhao
Casting
Brian Markinson
Music
Michael Neilson
Poster Art
Brendan Greek

With thanks to our crew: Jason MacIntyre · Alex Idzan · Brendan Greek · Sascha Ginter · Mike Martell · James Lidstone · Marcus Smith · Joanne Greek · Shawn T. Greek · Vern Bisson

Marauder Pictures & Glacier Bay Entertainment