Film and TV appearances

When you're visiting, the quaint streets, shops, historic homes, and parks around may look familiar.

The Municipality of Chester has been the location of many movies and TV shows. From holiday favourites, to made-for-TV movies, to rom-coms and dramatic feature films, to a long-running suspense-filled series, and more.

A sampling of some of these screen credits has been listed below.

The Good House - 2021

The Amblin Partners/Universal Pictures film stars Sigourney Weaver and Kevin Kline with multiple locations within the Village of Chester, throughout our Municipality, and along the South Shore too. The movie is based on Ann Leary’s best-selling novel of the same name.

Candles on Bay Street - 2006

Alicia Silverstone stars in this 2006 Hallmark Hall of Fame made-for-TV movie that was filmed in many spots along the south shore with the primary home in the Village of Chester, at the corner of Regent and Duke. Walking along Water Street - you'll see the deck and backyard that filled up with town folk carrying candles.

Christmas with Holly - 2012

In 2012, Hallmark Hall of Fame crews filmed this holiday movie along the South Shore from Peggy's Cove to Lunenburg. Chester's back harbour is featured shown lit up in the Christmas parade scene - which was doubling in that made-for-TV movie as Friday Harbor, Washington.

Delores Claiborne - 1995

Director Taylor Hackford used the old Jib House which once sat at the corner of Brunswick Street & Union Street as Vera Donnelly's house in this 1995 Stephen King thriller. Unfortunately, the home was deemed structurally unsound in the winter of 2018 and was demolished. Oscar winners Kathy Bates and Christopher Plummer star alongside Oscar-nominated actress Jennifer Jason Leigh in this dark and gripping drama.

Haven - 2010 - 2015

While the long-running Syfy/Showcase original series was filming along the South Shore of Nova Scotia, the Village of Chester was the home base for the fantasy thriller based on Stephen King's novella "The Colorado Kid". The series ran from 2010 to 2015 starring Emily Rose, Lucas Bryant, Eric Balfour, and Adam Copeland. It incorporated many of the homes, businesses, parks, and shorelines throughout the Village, which played the role of the town of Haven, Maine. The Elenor Pew Morris Memorial Arena (the local curling club) served as the production studio - where most of the interior shots were filmed. This walking tour from Sea and Be Scene TV shows some key locations around Chester that were used.

Sea Change - 2017

In this Lifetime TV movie, Chester played the role of a fictional island called Selkie said to be located just off the New England coast - the central location of the film based on Aimee Friedman's best-selling young adult novel of the same name. Freda's Beach was used for a pivotal scene, along with the Chester Yacht Club dock and the Tancook Island ferry launch.

The Curse of Oak Island - 2014 - present

Since 2014, Michigan-born brothers Rick and Marty Lagina have turned their life-long interest in the mystery of Oak Island into a hit series for the History Channel. The series follows the journey to unearth the legendary treasure with sophisticated machinery and an ever-evolving game plan. Located off the coast of Western Shore, Oak Island is believed by many to be hiding one of the greatest treasures in history.

The Healer

This romantic comedy is set and filmed in Nova Scotia and tells the story of Alec (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) who discovers he possesses the gift for healing people, which manifests itself when he arrives in the small town of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. His life turns upside down as he struggles to comprehend his new reality. The arrival of a teenage girl named Abigail (Kaitlyn Bernard) with terminal cancer, wise beyond her years, provides Alec with one last chance to consider his life’s purpose. Aspotogan was featured as well as the city of Halifax.

The Shipping News - 2001

This Lasse Hallström-directed film based on Annie Proulx’s best-selling book of the same name tells the story of an emotionally beaten man who moves with his young daughter to his ancestral home with the hopes of reclaiming his life. It stars Kevin Spacey, Judi Dench, Julianne Moore, Cate Blanchett, and Gordon Pinsent. Our own Fox Point and Blandford served as backdrops along with a number of locations throughout Newfoundland.

Two if by Sea - 1996

The Captain's House, previously an inn now an art gallery, in the Village of Chester has many TV and film credits. Most notably it served as the Rhode Island mansion Sandra Bullock and Denis Leary pretended to own in this romantic comedy about love and larceny.

Moonshine - 2021 - present 

This CBC drama starring Jennifer Finnigan is filmed in Hubbards and surrounding communities. The show follows a family fighting for control over their retiring parents' rundown summer resort in South Shore Nova Scotia.

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