NL Stained-Glass Windows Go Hollywood

Some of NL’s finest historic stained-glass windows are going to be starring in a big-time movie!

The movie, which has to remain nameless for now, tapped into St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church (also known as “The Kirk”) in St. John’s for one of its scenes.

Along with a major-award-winning actor (also incognito for now), the scene highlights the Church’s magnificent collection of 12 pictorial Scottish-Ballantine stained-glass windows. The priceless collection is the largest of its kind in North America. The historic windows were made in Edinburgh, Scotland by Ballantine and Son, and installed from 1896 to 1924.

Ballantine and Son was considered one of Scotland’s finest stained-glass studios. They helped reintroduce the medieval style of stained-glass-making in Scotland and England in the 1800s, and are known for their polychromatic colours that appear in multiple hues like a rainbow.

The impressive stained-glass art was captured in all of its glory. The NL film company went through great lengths, using cranes to set up a multitude of lights outside the Church to flood the interior with a mosaic of authentic, historic stained-glass colours.

“NL’s collections of stained-glass windows are not only impressive masterpieces of art, they are important assets for economic and tourism development,” says Heather MacLellan, Chair of NL Historic Stained Glass. “The fact that this film-maker chose to shoot a scene displaying our stained-glass windows so prominently demonstrates how we can be better using these historic assets to attract more opportunities."

MacLellan says the Scottish glazier artists would have been proud to see their work displayed so beautifully – soon to be shared with audiences internationally once the movie makes its debut.

The movie-makers also chose St. Andrew’s for its stunning “Scottish-Gothic High Victorian” architecture. It is the only church of its kind in NL. In 2008, St. Andrew’s was designated a national historic site of Canada within the St. John’s Ecclesiastical District National Historic Site of Canada. The designation recognizes the Church’s role in the development of both St. John’s and NL.

Stay tuned for more info when the movie is released!