Narrative Short / Studio Production / VFX

The Keepers

A Leo-nominated sci-fi short built inside the former Kelowna Film Studios stage and finished through a serious VFX workflow.

ProjectThe Keepers

KFS roleProducer, contributor, studio and production support

LocationKelowna Film Studios, Kelowna, British Columbia

Period2024-2026

Project note

Shot entirely at Kelowna Film Studios over two production days; directed by Milton Muller, shot by Harrison Mendel, with James Alton contributing producing, actor coordination, writing support and on-set logistics, and nominated at the 2026 Leo Awards for Visual Effects and Youth Performance.

Production relationship Gneiss Stuff / The Keepers

A masked character with glowing VFX eyes from the sci-fi short The Keepers

Watch on DUST

The Keepers

DUST's release of the finished short, directed by Milton Muller and photographed by Harrison Mendel.

Recognition

Festival and industry recognition.

Official Selection - Smodcastle Film Festival, New Jersey, 2025
Official Selection - Sydney Sci-Fi Film Festival, 2025
Official Selection - Another Hole in the Head, San Francisco, 2025
Official Selection - Calgary Underground Film Festival, 2025
Award of Excellence - Canada Shorts, 2025
Best Children's Film - Miami International Science Fiction Film Festival, 2026
Official Selection - Dust Sci-Fi Short Film Festival, 2026
Best Visual Effects - Okanagan Screen Awards, 2026
Best Costume - Okanagan Screen Awards, 2026
Best Youth Performance Nomination - BC Leo Film Awards, 2026
Best Visual Effects in a Short Drama Nomination - BC Leo Film Awards, 2026

Selection Official Selection — Smodcastle Film Festival, New Jersey, 2025
Selection Official Selection — Sydney Sci-Fi Film Festival, 2025
Selection Official Selection — Another Hole in the Head, San Francisco, 2025
Selection Official Selection — Calgary Underground Film Festival, 2025
Award Award of Excellence — Canada Shorts, 2025
Award Best Children's Film — Miami International Science Fiction Film Festival, 2026
Selection Official Selection — Dust Sci-Fi Short Film Festival, 2026
Award Best Visual Effects — Okanagan Screen Awards, 2026
Award Best Costume — Okanagan Screen Awards, 2026
Nomination Best Youth Performance Nomination — BC Leo Film Awards, 2026
Nomination Best Visual Effects in a Short Drama Nomination — BC Leo Film Awards, 2026

Watch and read

Films, press and people connected to the project.

DUST release DUST YouTube release Film website The Keepers Project profile The Keepers on FilmFreeway IMDb The Keepers Regional awards 2026 Okanagan Screen Awards winners News Okanagan sci-fi film premieres in Australia KFS field note The Keepers at the 2026 BC Leo Awards

The ask

What the project needed.

Turn a contained sci-fi chapter into a fully controlled studio production with performance, atmosphere, practical set pieces and a post path that could support substantial visual effects.

What mattered

What had to work.

The project needed a complete world inside one local stage: controlled darkness, haze, red and blue lighting, performance coverage, action texture, practical props, sound control, and enough discipline in the footage to survive a heavy rotoscope, paint and VFX finish.

What we did

How KFS handled it.

Milton Muller directed the film and led the VFX work through Gneiss Stuff, with Harrison Mendel as cinematographer. James Alton supported producing, actor coordination, writing and on-set execution, while KFS supplied the stage, equipment, crew support and day-to-day logistics.

The result

What came out of it.

The finished short premiered publicly and later earned 2026 Leo Award nominations for Visual Effects in a Short Drama and Youth Performance.

KFS services

Studio production
Producing support
Stage and equipment
Crew and logistics
VFX workflow support
Local production infrastructure

Key collaborators

Key production roles.

Director / Storyteller / Producer Milton Muller Executive Producer / production contributor James Alton Producer Norm Coyne Director of Photography Harrison Mendel Writers Milton Muller Lana Muller Graceon Muller Milla Muller

Composer Jeremy Breaks

Cast / Porter Evan-Riley Brown

Cast / Kai Findlay Hampton

Cast / ally Michael Hogan

Cast / adversary Graceon Muller

Behind the Scenes

From the production.

Finished frames and behind-the-scenes photographs from the shoot.

A masked character with glowing VFX eyes from The Keepers — The final short combines controlled studio lighting, performance and VFX-heavy finishing.

Young performer in costume from The Keepers — The film received a 2026 Leo Award nomination connected to Youth Performance.

Atmospheric sci-fi hallway frame built inside Kelowna Film Studios — The former KFS stage was shaped into a contained sci-fi environment with haze, hard light and practical texture.

Dark sci-fi hallway frame from The Keepers look development — Look development and controlled darkness helped the studio read as a larger world.

Dark guard character frame from The Keepers — Genre work depends on precise camera, lighting, art and post decisions holding together.

Behind the scenes on The Keepers set inside the old Kelowna Film Studios stage — A BTS frame from the old KFS stage during The Keepers production.

Camera and crew silhouetted in red light on The Keepers set — The old KFS stage gave the production a controlled black-box environment for hard colour, haze and genre lighting.

Dolly track and actors inside The Keepers studio set — The production used a practical stage footprint, track, props and controlled movement to build a larger sci-fi world.

Camera team working on a red-lit dolly shot for The Keepers — Camera movement, lighting and physical blocking were planned together so the VFX finish had a disciplined base.

Slate on The Keepers set with red production lighting — Slate, camera records and VFX-aware coverage kept the production organized for post.

Crew resetting camera on The Keepers studio floor — The former KFS stage brought crew, camera, props, lighting and local studio logistics together for the short.

Behind-the-scenes frame of The Keepers crew and camera setup — Crew, camera, props and lighting during the two-day studio shoot.

Wide iPhone BTS view of The Keepers stage build inside the former Kelowna Film Studios space — A wide view of the practical set pieces, lighting, grip and floor space used for the sci-fi build.

Camera monitor showing the red and blue lighting setup for The Keepers inside the former KFS stage — Monitor checks balanced the red-and-blue practical lighting with the film's planned VFX work.

Overhead table setup with actor, slate and camera during The Keepers production — The table setup shows how props, blocking, camera position and controlled overhead light were built together for the genre scene.

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