Kat Harlton
Photos: Courtesy Of Precious Metal Productions
Canadian actress-producer Ann Pirvu and producer Christopher Giroux recently launched joint company Precious Metal Productions.
The new company, which focuses on television movies and feature films with its activities spanning original content creation and full-service production, recently had its TV movie romance Bee My Love premiere on Great American Family (US) and Super Channel (Canada).
Pirvu stars as a private chef competing for her dream job with a celebrity restaurateur, who finds inspiration in her mother’s recipes, the sweetness of honey, and a struggling beekeeper who teaches her to believe that life, and love, are sweetest when shared.
The cast also includes Robin Dunne, known for his recurring role in the Ainsley McGregor Mysteries series as well as Emily Alatalo (Crossroad Springs), Romaine Waite (Jingle All The Way), Neil Whitely (When Hope Calls), and Brigitte Kingsley (The Art of Christmas).
I had the opportunity to chat with Ann about her role in “Bee My Love”, celebrating the launch of Precious Metal Productions, and what’s next.
Kat: “Bee My Love” has such a unique and charming premise, what first inspired the idea of a romance between a private chef and a beekeeper?
Ann: I so appreciate your kind feedback ☺. With this film set to be our first Precious Metal Production, the intention, very early on, was to explore territory genuinely fresh within the romance space. We wanted to make a spring movie, started thinking about springtime themes and quickly landed on… bees! And the importance of honey, elements of which we thought so naturally lend themselves to the romance world! After a bit of research we were surprised to realize beekeeping hadn’t been explored in this genre before, and that felt like an exciting creative opening.
It’s no secret that bees are essential to life in such a profound way, and the more we learned about them, the more we saw how naturally their world connects to themes of love, care, and community. There’s something incredibly romantic about the way bees work in harmony, nurture growth, and contribute to something much bigger than themselves. Pairing that with a private chef—someone who also creates, nurtures, and brings people together through food—felt like a beautiful and organic match.
At its core, the film is about connection: to each other, to where we come from, and to the small, meaningful things that make life sweet. Just like our bee friends, our hardworking team crafted a love story we hope will resonate with audiences on many levels, in the most meaningful ways.
Kat: You wore multiple hats on this project as writer, co-producer, and lead actor how did balancing those roles shape your experience on set?
Ann: Wearing multiple hats was incredibly invigorating for my creative soul. Being so immersed in every stage of the process gave me a deeper connection to the story, my character, and the entire team. It created this sense of creative continuity that felt really special on set and made hard decisions became clear to make, faster… the answers more accessible when you are so vividly present.
Though definitely challenging at times, you develop such a strong feeling of fulfillment, being part of crafting a film from the ground up.
Kat: What was it like collaborating creatively with your husband, Christopher Giroux, on both the script and production?
Ann: I always joke that making a movie should be an Olympic sport. There’s so many pieces of the puzzle that have to fit together for it all to work —and having a strong team, alongside the right tools, becomes very important when you want to accomplish something meaningful. Getting to make this film with my incredible partner felt like having a superpower. Christopher is an incredible director, a true collaborator, as well as a heart-and-soul producer invested in every aspect of the process. There’s no one I trust more to be on my team, and being able to make movies with my best friend has always been a dream of mine. Our incredible producing partners are also a married couple. Our production designer also works with her incredible fiancé. Like what happens in a real beehive, the making of “Bee My Love” was an immersive experience and a depth of teamwork I hope to continue nurturing.
Kat: Your character, Hannah Jones, is a private chef, did you do any special preparation or training for the role?
Ann: We always knew beekeeping would be the world we’d explore on a deeper level because of how unique it is— so that actually became a very important catalyst for how the story plays out, and for my prep.
We wanted Hannah to meld her cooking expertise with learning about bees and the process of making honey— and lucky me on that front. My husband and I are obsessed with Gordon Ramsay cooking shows, so that depth of knowledge gave me some confidence. I was determined to feel comfortable, and believable, in Hannah’s world so I also watched a bunch of YouTube videos on how to chop like a pro (to get some technique on screen) knowing we were going to play around with veggies, herbs and spices. It was a lot of fun!
Kat: Beekeeping plays a central role in the story, did you learn anything surprising about bees or that world during filming?
Ann: I absolutely love bees! They are always on the go, curious, hard-working pollinators. It was fascinating to learn how intelligent they are, how meticulously they structure their life‘s work, and how they always work together to accomplish incredible things.
They have the ability to recognize human faces… yup, isn’t that just incredible? So we kind of introduced ourselves to the bees before filming so they would recognize that we are not there to interfere with their work, but merely bee…around them :). Though they’d occasionally land on us, nobody got stung and there was this beautiful dance we were all a part of.
There is a bee dance, also, by the way! It actually plays an important part in how they communicate. It was genuinely so inspiring to get to have such a positive, up-close, remarkable experience with them. What’s not to love about bees?!🐝
Kat: As the flagship feature of your new production company, what does “Bee My Love” represent for you personally and professionally?
Ann: What a beautiful question :). It’s honestly… a little window into the future. Into what’s possible. And what pouring my heart and soul into the creative process, with no limits, can look like.
As an actor, the romance genre has always been one of my favourite to work in because, at the heart of it, the intention is to create with love—which is why audiences tend to connect with it universally. I’ve always felt very strongly that love is a universal basic need, and having a trusted source to guide you toward that stream of energy is valuable to us as human beings :) and always will be.
As a filmmaker, I’m looking forward to being more deliberate with the choices of stories we tell, and share. I’m also looking forward to exploring a variety of other genres with that same type of love and commitment to the craft. And I think, as long as I continue challenging myself, and growing as a performer… as a filmmaker…building something we can all be proud of with people I love, admire and respect… I would look back with a tremendous sense of fulfilment on a career like that.
Kat: Can you share a memorable behind-the-scenes moment or funny anecdote from filming?
Ann: Oh, Robin Dunne is the funny one! He kept us all in stitches between takes, I’m sure even the bees were entertained. There is a scene that immediately comes to mind where my character Hannah has… a bit of difficulty handling a smoker. Smoke is supposed to calm the bees when beekeepers harvest honey, or approach the hive in any way, but our little bee friends were… quite lively —despite my best efforts to smoke up the surroundings. They would occasionally land on us smack dab in the middle of a take, and we would try to ignore them and keep going, but it was unbelievably hard for Robin not to ad lib with them mid-conversation. “Come on, Frank, we’re trying to fall in love over here. Come on, we talked about this.” He’d go on, and on, in the funniest ways when it was becoming obvious the bees had distracted us from the goal of the scene, we have quite the blooper reel with funny bee conversations. It was amazing!
Kat: Romantic films often hinge on chemistry, what helped you and your co-star build that authentic connection on screen?
Ann: Working with Robin was fantastic, he’s just the best. Such a knowledgeable performer, an incredible storyteller, and just a warm and funny human being. We met a few years back on another project my husband was producing, so we had a pre-existing sense of what to expect from each other and a comfortability I trusted would lend itself well to the work.
He has such a strong sensibility for the genre and really understands what works and what doesn’t in a scene. It really was easy and fun, and wonderful getting to play with him every day, and I’m so grateful to see it’s resonating with audiences.
Kat: With the film premiering in both the U.S. and Canada, how does it feel bringing this story to audiences at home for the Canadian release?
Ann: It’s such a gift, to be collaborating with the most incredible broadcasting partners in such proximity. We had our US release on the Great American Family Channel around Easter— which paired beautifully with the light Easter touch in the film. The initial reviews have been so lovely and overwhelmingly positive, my heart almost grew out of my chest!
We just had the Canadian Premiere on Super Chanel, Friday, May 15th– just ahead of World Bee Day! Couldn’t have asked for more perfect timing ☺.
It’s absolutely amazing to have such supportive broadcasting and distributing partners, who immediately understood the essence of the story and took such care to work with us and elevate the audience experience in the most meaningful ways. It’s an absolute joy to be a part of.
Kat: What do you hope viewers take away from “Bee My Love” both in terms of romance and its deeper themes?
Ann: I hope viewers walk away feeling uplifted, hopeful, and reminded that love often grows in the most unexpected places. Bee My Love is a romance, but it’s also about rediscovering yourself, reconnecting with your roots, and realizing that the sweetest parts of life are often found when we slow down, listen to our hearts, and let ourselves…bee surprised ;)
And I sure hope we’ve put a memorable spotlight on our hard-working, valuable, little bee friends. Their way of life is so inspiring– to the best of how we could show up for one another: with love, with teamwork, with open-hearted focus… and a fun bee dance, once in a while.
Connect with Ann on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annpirvu