Camera, lighting and sound crew filming a production scene

About Kelowna Film Studios

A production company based in the Okanagan.

KFS supports film, television, commercial, documentary, broadcast and branded projects with producer-level planning and practical local execution.

Producer-led

Lead producers stay close to the work.

Owner, founder & award-winning director / producer

James Alton

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James Alton is a Canadian director, producer, and cinematographer based in British Columbia, and the owner and founder of Kelowna Film Studios. His work spans narrative film, documentary, commercials, and broadcast content, with credits across Netflix, Disney/ABC, Amazon Studios, CTV/Bell Media, Global News, and major digital platforms.

James produced The Keepers, and his producing/directing work includes Mabel, Blood Brothers, and Because She's Adopted, with related projects screening internationally and earning multiple jury and festival awards. His projects range from intimate character-driven shorts to feature-length documentaries and national commercial campaigns.

Through Kelowna Film Studios, James has led productions from lean three-person documentary crews to 80+ person narrative sets, collaborating with union crews including IATSE 891 and ICG 669, international VFX teams, broadcast partners, agencies and local production departments. His approach is practical, story-first and execution-driven, with a focus on keeping schedules tight, budgets disciplined and the final image strong.

James is also actively involved in developing and packaging new scripted projects while making the Okanagan easier for real productions to use.

Strategic partner & Canadian producer

Michael Porter

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Michael Porter is a Canadian producer and strategic partner to Kelowna Film Studios through MP Film Production Inc. His producing credits include Remember, The Journey Home, Pete's Christmas and Skating to New York.

Michael brings feature-producing, packaging and financing experience into the KFS orbit, with a focus on turning strong concepts into material that producers, investors and distributors can evaluate clearly.

He works closely with James and Marie on development conversations, pitch materials, budget assumptions, schedule thinking, investor readiness and the practical path between a promising script and a production plan.

Michael brings calm commercial judgment to cast assumptions, locations, tax-credit context, distribution conversations and the kind of planning that lets creative ambition meet real numbers.

Strategic partner, writer / actor & producer

Marie Ashwood

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Marie Ashwood is a writer, director, actor and producer working across film, television and digital media. As a strategic partner to Kelowna Film Studios, she brings story, performance and producing instincts into the development process.

Marie has collaborated closely with James Alton and KFS on commercial work, the narrative short The Letter, and current scripted projects moving through writing, packaging and production conversations.

Her background as a working actor gives her clear judgment around character, casting, tone, dialogue and the practical needs of performers on set. Her writing keeps projects grounded in story before they become production plans.

Marie is especially strong at finding character-driven material, sharpening pitch language and helping build focused teams around emerging projects.

Company links

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Netflix EPK press-day setup with crew, cameras, location, and production support

What KFS Is

Production planning, crew, gear and delivery.

Kelowna Film Studios is a producer-led film, television, commercial, documentary, broadcast and branded-content company based in the Okanagan. KFS brings together the planning, people, equipment, vendors, locations, logistics, communication and delivery discipline that productions need before the day gets expensive.

The company works best when the project is real and the practical path needs structure: local execution, regional intelligence, crew and vendor coordination, equipment access, field production and accountable production support from prep through delivery.

Work with KFS

Send the production question early.

Contact KFS