The northern film industry is igniting, and the provincial government is adding fuel to the fire. On October 4, Vic Fedeli, MPP for Nipissing, announced the province—through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation—is investing $6 million to six television and film projects produced in the region.
“Our government is proud to support the film and television industry in Nipissing,” Fedeli said, “which continues to create good jobs and develop local talent.” The funding also helps “solidify the North’s reputation as a first-rate production centre in North America and the world.”
Fedeli broke down the disbursement of the $6 million NOHFC funds. $2 million went to First Generation media for their production of a five-part limited series called “Essex County,” which was shot in and around North Bay.
Another $2 million went to Sinking Ships Productions Inc. for their new family television series, “Beyond Black Beauty,” also shot in North Bay. Hideaway Pictures received $500,000 to help fund two Christmas movies filmed in North Bay, and another $500,000 was doled out to Bloody Hell Productions to film a horror movie called “Bloody Hell.” Filming will take in North Bay.
The final $500,000 went to CastNorth Productions Inc. to produce the made for television film called “Winter Palace,” also shot in North Bay.
Blair Powers, the executive producer of “Beyond Black Beauty,” and Christina Piovesan, the executive producer of “Essex County,” are both based in Toronto, but felt North Bay was a perfect fit for their most recent productions.
Piovesan noted that picking the ideal landscape was paramount for Essex County, as “the landscape is a character in the story, and North Bay provided a variety of beautiful rural vistas and small-town charm” for the exterior shots.
For interiors, most of the scenes were filmed in Mukwa Studio, a brand-new facility located behind the soon-to-be-opened Golden Harvest Cannabis Co. store in Nipissing First Nation. Natalie Payette-Chevrier with her husband, Doug Chevrier, opened the studio this past June. “We’re more than honoured to work together,” with producers, Payette-Chevrier said. The bookings to rent the studio are already coming in.
“The industry brings more opportunity too for business development,” Chevrier added, a point mentioned by Fedeli as well, when he noted that all the material used to build the many sets were all purchased locally.
The hotels were filled as well when the crews were filming, and the economic spin-off from the industry is one Fedeli plans to keep going, a feeling shared by Neil Lumsden, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, who also attended yesterday’s announcement.
“Ontario has a booming film and television industry across the province and in the North,” Lumsden said. “With this investment, our government is attracting more projects that showcase the stunning northern landscapes, create jobs, and boost our provincial and local economies.”
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
