A small, but select crowd gathered at Northern Ontario Film Studios (NOFS) on Thursday evening for a reception hosted by William F. White International CEO Paul Bronfman.
William F. White is the country's oldest and largest supplier of motion picture and television equipment and is the main supplier for NOFS. Content creators from homegrown productions such as Letterkenny, Cardinal, and The Witch were on hand for the evening to celebrate the progress made in a rapidly growing industry.
"Sudbury has been the fastest-growing market in Canada for film and television over the last three years," said Bronfman. "The hope is to continue growing this industry here, and in order to do that we have to get producers locating to Sudbury so our local film producers and crews can continue to grow and learn."
Representatives from some of the area's best-known production companies such as New Metric Media, Hideaway Pictures and JoBro Productions were also in attendance, and Bronfman said the evening was an opportunity for him to show his appreciation for all that is being done in Sudbury and Northern Ontario.
"We want to keep this industry alive and there truly is top quality service being provided here in Sudbury," said Bronfman. "Tonight is about showing these people that we appreciate them, and that we don't take our clients for granted. Without people like Northern Ontario Film Studios, (William F.) White doesn't exist."
Whites Sudbury General Manager Josh Desormeaux said he's impressed with the rapid growth in the North's film sector.
"When we first started out here it was small, but over time the hits started coming in with shows like Letterkenny and the momentum has been building," said Desmoreaux. "People are starting to look more and more to the North as an option. We're building something together and going out to other centres like North Bay."
That momentum is hard to deny, and Bronfman says that things are still very much in the early stages for Sudbury and Northern Ontario.
"It's about building a market in Sudbury," he said. "Obviously this is not Toronto or Vancouver right now, but we're looking long-term and want this to be something that keeps growing year after year."
