Jaggi Entertainment has confirmed production is nearly complete on Colin Budds’ The Painter & The Prince in Brisbane, with Melina Vidler and Tim Ross leading the cast of the Christmas romance.
Vidler plays Shelby Stevens, a self-taught artist who enters a televised holiday painting competition to save her family’s struggling art-tour business, only to clash with, and fall for, fellow contestant “Mark” (Ross), whose polished talent and charm win her over through festive adventures and late-night creative breakthroughs.
Their romance is put at risk when Shelby discovers Mark is actually Prince Henry of Serendovia, secretly escaping royal expectations to pursue art.
Steve Jaggi and Kyle Lema are producing the film, with Kylie Pascoe executive producing. The film will be released in Australian cinemas through Jaggi Entertainment Distribution’s Romance Society brand, with the studio’s LA office managing global sales.
Cameras began rolling on Monday, August 17 for the film, which forms part of a 2026/27 slate of seven feature films and two series for the Queensland studio.
Producer Steve Jaggi said Jaggi Entertainment’s previous titles showed romance had an enduring appeal on both the big screen and streaming platforms.
“Romance has genuine staying power as these aren’t films that disappear after their first week,” he said.
“Love Is In The Air and You, Always have now been watched more than 11 million times on Netflix between them, months and even years after they first released, and that tells us audiences keep coming back to these stories. The Painter & The Prince continues that tradition, and it’s exciting to be bringing it to life as part of our biggest slate yet, seven films and two series in 2026.”