Local Film Industry Says Thank You

Members of the Nova Scotia film, television and commercial industry have joined together to say thank you to fellow Nova Scotians for their continued support.

The Thank You HRM, Thank You Nova Scotia campaign acknowledges the support and patience of individual property owners and businesses, neighbourhoods and communities who have hosted film crews in Halifax and across the province. It features advertisements in metro and provincial newspapers.

Throughout the year, individual production companies make donations to causes in honour of many of the neighbourhoods in which they film.

As a special token of its appreciation, and as part of the Thank You campaign, the industry is also making a $1,000 contribution to Phoenix Youth Programs, a community-based organization providing arranged services for homeless and at-risk youth in Halifax. The donation recognizes the public's assistance in making Nova Scotia Canada's fourth largest film production centre.

"The film industry is unlike any other -- for it to succeed we need the support of local community partners," says Leslie Adamson, chair of the Film Advisory Committee. "Every time a neighbourhood is supportive of location filming it says that Nova Scotia is film friendly. That encourages production which, in turn, means Nova Scotians will continue to be employed in this industry."

The Film Advisory Committee, which launched the appreciation campaign, includes representatives of provincial and municipal governments, labour unions and other industry organizations.

Industry partners of the Thank You HRM, Thank You Nova Scotia campaign include the Nova Scotia Film Development Corporation, the Halifax Regional Municipality Film Office, the Director's Guild of Canada - Atlantic Council, Motion Picture Technicians - IATSE Local 849, ACTRA Maritimes, and International Cinematographers Guild - IATSE Local 667. Several industry sponsors, including Production Services Atlantic, the ComWeb Group (including William F. White and Entertainment Partners Canada), Electropolis Film Production Studio, and the Lord Nelson Hotel, also support the campaign.

Nova Scotia's film industry contributed $120 million to the province's economy this past year and employed more than 2,000 Nova Scotians. The industry includes representatives of such diverse fields as construction, acting, wardrobe, accounting and much more.