A band of voyeurs who rove the rooftops of Montreal peering through windows is the basis for Peepers. The comedy is the latest creative endeavor by Automatic Vaudeville, a local comedy troupe. It’s also the first-time feature effort by producer Andi State, who has worked primarily in talent management with her company Encore Entertainment, handling such actors as Jessica Paré and Tim Post.

‘I had been looking to get into producing for a long time,’ says State. ‘But the right script hadn’t come along. I had seen a number of Automatic Vaudeville’s shows and I was a huge fan. Then we started talking, and they told me about this idea for a comedy. I thought it was really inspired.’

Directed by Seth Owen, Peepers was written by Owen, Mark Slutsky and Daniel Perlmutter. The plot has the voyeurs’ lives interrupted when an academic asks to follow them during their peeping Tom sessions so she can study them as part of her research. It started shooting last month, due to wrap Dec. 10.

‘The spirit of Montreal really comes through in this production,’ says State. ‘Everyone has seemed to want to get involved. We really want to build on a lot of the great momentum that’s been happening here with films like Who is K.K. Downey?. That was a really funny movie.’

Peepers, explains State, is a similarly off-kilter comedy. ‘We are working in a very collaborative way. It’s very exciting to me. The script really made me laugh ­- but it also gave me the creeps. I ran out and bought curtains for my front window after reading it. As much as it is a comedy, there’s also a bit of Rear Window in it, too.’

Peepers is budgeted at under $1 million and is slated for a late 2009 release. The cast includes Joe Cobden (I’m Not There), Paul Spence (Fubar), Janine Theriault (MVP), Ricky Mabe (Zack and Miri Make a Porno), Matt Holland (Surviving My Mother) and Paré (Lives of the Saints).

Produced by State through Encore Entertainment, it is executive produced by Joe Smith, John Hamilton of Seville Pictures and Marc Coté of Fake Studios. Telefilm Canada provided partial backing and E1 Films Canada will be distributing in Canada.