ENTERPRISE — Wallowa County is going to be a star. At least, several locations in Enterprise and Joseph will be in the upcoming independent film “New Life,” which capitalizes on the county’s resemblance to Canada.

“Today we are filming in downtown Enterprise,” Hannah Cumming, associate producer and production coordinator for the film, said on Thursday, March 17. “We’re shooting on the sidewalk along Main Street, by the courthouse and near the city park.”

She said the previous day the crew shot at a ranch near Joseph.

“It was beautiful there,” Cumming said.

She said the film is about Jess Murdoch, who gets infected with a virus that is “causing serious side effects and she’s being pursued by an official, Elsa, who is trying to figure out why the side effects are not affecting her the way they’re affecting everyone else.”

Murdoch is portrayed by Hayley Erin, of Los Angeles, while Elsa Gray is portrayed by Sonya Walger, of the United Kingdom.

Enterprise is doubling as a town in Alberta, Canada, near the U.S. border.

“We were trying to find a place in Oregon that looked like Canada,” Cumming said. “The Wallowas definitely look like the Canadian border area.”

While “New Life” is not your typical film about the “undead” — they emphasized that “We don’t use the ‘Z’ word,” Erin said — it tries to get into the genre with a more realistic approach, Cumming said.

Occasionally, there is some of the “undead”-like appearance to characters.

“There was some freaky makeup in that one,” Cumming said of the scenes shot near Joseph.

The only local Cumming mentioned using during production was Michael Ferrell, owner of the Michael’s on Main Street salon.

“One of the extras wasn’t here and they were filming a scene where they were walking in front of the Humane Society that they put in because of the kitties,” Ferrell said. “So I got to be in the movie as a walker with a girl at my side.”

Kevin Brown, another associate producer, said he’s still unsure when the film will be released.

“It’s an independent film and we don’t have a distributor yet,” he said. “We make it as best as we can and then try to sell it to a company that’s going to distribute it, whether that’s a streamer online or a traditional theatrical (release).”

Cumming said production should wrap up by April 2 and it should take six months to a year after that before the release date.

“It would be great if we could get it in theaters,” she said.

The Portland-based cast and crew of about 25 spent the entire week in Enterprise and Joseph.

“The New Life cast and crew is really grateful to have the cooperation of Enterprise and Joseph and we’re really happy to be here,” Cumming said.