Where was Remarkably Bright Creatures filmed? Sowell Bay, Washington, and all the locations
Posted by Ra Moon
Set in the fictional town of Sowell Bay, Washington, Remarkably Bright Creatures was filmed entirely in and around Vancouver, British Columbia.
Inspired by the 2022 bestselling novel by Shelby Van Pelt, the movie stars Sally Field, Lewis Pullman, and a remarkably clever octopus living in a small local Pacific Coast aquarium.
Welcome to Sowell Bay and our spoiler-free guide to all the filming locations of Remarkably Bright Creatures. You'll find the locations in order of first appearance.
Inspired by the 2022 bestselling novel by Shelby Van Pelt, the movie stars Sally Field, Lewis Pullman, and a remarkably clever octopus living in a small local Pacific Coast aquarium.
Welcome to Sowell Bay and our spoiler-free guide to all the filming locations of Remarkably Bright Creatures. You'll find the locations in order of first appearance.
Remarkably Bright Creatures locations
The Sowell Bay Aquarium exterior is the Deep Cove Yacht Club in North Vancouver, overlooking the southern tip of Indian Arm fjord (center image).
But as you can see in the image below, the facade was digitally modified using colors and design elements from the Lookout Coffee Shop, a scenic spot in Horseshoe Bay, perched above Sewell's Marina with panoramic views of Howe Sound.
(You can open all the locations on Google Maps by clicking on the links below in the captions ↴)
Image courtesy of Netflix and Google Maps - Maps: Deep Cove / Horseshoe Bay
Image courtesy of Netflix and Google Maps - Maps: Deep Cove / Horseshoe Bay
Many interior shots of the aquarium, including some jellyfish tanks, were filmed at the Vancouver Aquarium in Stanley Park.
Opened in 1956, Canada's largest public aquarium houses around 65,000 marine animals across 120 exhibits.
As you can imagine, you won't find Marcellus itself there, but Agnetha, a resident giant Pacific octopus that the filmmakers recorded for footage in the movie.
Image courtesy of Netflix - Map
The dock with Tova's bench, featured several times in the movie, is the Deep Cove Government Dock, located near the boating club used as the aquarium.
However, if you visit the area, you won’t be able to sit there like her, since the bench and the streetlight were film props.
Image courtesy of Netflix - Map
Sowell Bay, Washington
In the movie, Sowell Bay is located somewhere in Snohomish County in the U.S. state of Washington.
Gallant Avenue, the main street in Deep Cove running through the village center toward the Indian Arm fjord, served as the central street of Sowell Bay.
Although it doesn’t have an open-ocean coastline, Snohomish County does border Puget Sound, a large inland saltwater estuary connected to the Pacific Ocean.
Image courtesy of Netflix - Map
Olympus Realty was filmed in a vacant store on Gallant Avenue, and Rita's Hair Design is a real beauty salon located across the street.
Image courtesy of Netflix and Google Maps
Next door to the vacant shop is Sorry Coffee, which appears as Avery’s Wild Tide paddleboard store.
Image courtesy of Netflix and Google Maps
Remarkably Bright Creatures house
Tova’s beautiful home is also located in North Vancouver’s Deep Cove, with its private dock and waterfront garden featured at the end of the movie.
The house was rebuilt in the 1970s/1980s around an early 1920s log cabin.
This four-bedroom, four-fireplace property was listed recently for more than five million CAD (around 3.7 million USD).
Image courtesy of Netflix - Map
After the failed trip to the also fictional town of Elsbeth, Tova and Cameron stop to breathe some fresh air at Whytecliff Beach, part of a scenic oceanfront park near Horseshoe Bay along Howe Sound.
Image courtesy of Netflix - Map
In the background of the paddleboard scene is the Deep Cove Kayak Centre, situated at a popular spot for water sports in the area.
Image courtesy of Netflix - Map
The restaurant scene with Tova's friends was filmed at the Blue Canoe Waterfront Restaurant, a well-known seafood eatery in Steveston Village, Richmond, just south of Vancouver.
Image courtesy of Netflix - Map
The scene with Simon was filmed at the Bufala River District, a stylish modern Italian restaurant located in a large riverside neighborhood in southeast Vancouver along the Fraser River.
Image courtesy of Netflix - Map
Can you help to improve this article about the filming locations of Remarkably Bright Creatures? To complete and correct this report, any feedback, info, or images that you may have are more than welcome, thank you!
NOTICE: If you’re using this information on your website, please credit and link to this page as a source.
*****
NOTICE: If you’re using this information on your website, please credit and link to this page as a source.
*****
8 comments:
1- Anonymous - May 9, 2026, 10:38 PM
Thank you for the info. As a longtime resident of the PNW, it's always a challenge to guess the location.
2- Anonymous - May 10, 2026, 9:13 AM
Great locations, well selected, for a very interesting film. Thanks!
3- Anonymous - May 10, 2026, 10:53 AM
Very good information! Now my husband and I are looking to visit there!
4- Anonymous - May 10, 2026, 9:57 PM
The above article mentions Snohomish County, over 100 miles south of Vancouver, BC, so it was a bit confusing to me. It seems most of the filming was done in British Columbia, not Washington state. Enjoyed the film as well as the book. Thank you.
5- Don & Diane - May 16, 2026, 10:32 PM
We very much enjoyed this movie and guessed very accurately that the entire movie was filmed around Vancouver, Lions Bay, and Deep Cove in the Burrard Inlet.
6- Anonymous - May 28, 2026, 9:43 PM
California boy here who has visited Horseshoe Bay and North Van several times a year for the past 53 years. Immediately felt at home watching the film and even more so with the star, Marcellus, who could also be in the series "Resident Alien". Gallant Ave looks very much like Main Street, Ladysmith, Vancouver Island, where that series was filmed during the same period. Sally was an excellent pick for the lead role. This is one of those "feel-good" movies, and the timing for release was perfect.
7- Anonymous - May 29, 2026, 11:50 PM
Thank you for the detailed description of this beautiful film. As West Coast residents, it all felt very familiar! Lovely.
8- Anonymous - Jun 4, 2026, 8:58 PM
There were a couple of scenes filmed in the San Francisco Bay. I recognized the silhouette of Mount Tamalpais, with the western end of Angel Island showing in the background. I grew up in Marin County, so I know the area well.
1- Anonymous - May 9, 2026, 10:38 PM
Thank you for the info. As a longtime resident of the PNW, it's always a challenge to guess the location.
2- Anonymous - May 10, 2026, 9:13 AM
Great locations, well selected, for a very interesting film. Thanks!
3- Anonymous - May 10, 2026, 10:53 AM
Very good information! Now my husband and I are looking to visit there!
4- Anonymous - May 10, 2026, 9:57 PM
The above article mentions Snohomish County, over 100 miles south of Vancouver, BC, so it was a bit confusing to me. It seems most of the filming was done in British Columbia, not Washington state. Enjoyed the film as well as the book. Thank you.
5- Don & Diane - May 16, 2026, 10:32 PM
We very much enjoyed this movie and guessed very accurately that the entire movie was filmed around Vancouver, Lions Bay, and Deep Cove in the Burrard Inlet.
6- Anonymous - May 28, 2026, 9:43 PM
California boy here who has visited Horseshoe Bay and North Van several times a year for the past 53 years. Immediately felt at home watching the film and even more so with the star, Marcellus, who could also be in the series "Resident Alien". Gallant Ave looks very much like Main Street, Ladysmith, Vancouver Island, where that series was filmed during the same period. Sally was an excellent pick for the lead role. This is one of those "feel-good" movies, and the timing for release was perfect.
7- Anonymous - May 29, 2026, 11:50 PM
Thank you for the detailed description of this beautiful film. As West Coast residents, it all felt very familiar! Lovely.
8- Anonymous - Jun 4, 2026, 8:58 PM
There were a couple of scenes filmed in the San Francisco Bay. I recognized the silhouette of Mount Tamalpais, with the western end of Angel Island showing in the background. I grew up in Marin County, so I know the area well.
Ra Moon
Atlas of Wonders is looking for wonderful Filming Locations all around the world. We are constantly updating and improving our posts with new details and images. Follow us here:
All comments are reviewed prior to publication