Film Year Ends on High Note
Nova Scotia's film, television and new media industry continues to draw top name stars to the region and accolades for local productions -- contributing more than $100 million to provincial coffers last year as a result.
The Nova Scotia Film Development Corporation said today, May 19, that $67.8 million was invested by local productions in the 2004-05 fiscal year and $35.7 million resulted from productions based outside the region.
"With a new industry strategy in place, enhancements to the film industry tax credit, and increases in the equity programs of the film corporation, Nova Scotia's film industry is poised for yet more positive growth in the next few years," said Ernest Fage, Minister responsible for the Film Development Corporation. "We look forward to the film industry's continuing contribution to the provincial economy as well as to the national and international cultural landscape."
Local producers continue to put Nova Scotia on the entertainment industry map by creating award-winning, audience-generating programs and films. In 2004 there were 39 locally produced projects including the prequel to the film Trudeau, the fifth season of the Trailer Park Boys, and many variety, lifestyle, and documentary programs. One of the feature films shot this past year, Whole New Thing, was pre-selected for the Cannes International Film Festival.
Guest production brought Hollywood stars like Tom Selleck, Kathy Bates, Christina Applegate, and Mariska Hargitay to the province. Nova Scotia hosted six movies for television, including The Riverman, Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas, Plain Truth, Ambulance Girl, Stone Cold, and Just a Baby. In addition, segments for two television series were filmed in Nova Scotia -- the animated series Bromwell High and the popular Life Network series, Taking It Off.
In the past year, local producers brought 18 brass statuettes home from the 19th annual Gemini Awards, the result of an outstanding 40 nominations for Nova Scotia filmmakers.
"Nova Scotia's film industry has had another exceptional year," said Bonnie Kirby, chair of the film development corporation's board of directors. "Our homegrown productions continue to find audiences nationally and internationally, while Nova Scotia's reputation as an outstanding film location grows each year."
The industry and the film corporation released a strategy paper early in 2004 that will guide the growth of the film industry for the next five years. The document, called Nova Scotia Film, Television, and New Media Industry: Impact Analysis and Long-Term Strategy, has been embraced by all in the industry as an important step toward continued success.
On March 8, Premier John Hamm announced that the government is increasing both the Nova Scotia film industry tax credit and the film corporation's equity funds.
The tax credit helps local film companies bring valuable resources to the table to generate new business opportunities, and it positions the province as an attractive location for foreign film productions. The equity program provides key trigger funds for local film and television projects and helps Nova Scotia producers leverage funds from other sources.
"We have already seen benefits from both," said Ann MacKenzie, chief executive officer of the film development corporation. "We have seen an unprecedented sense of partnership among industry stakeholders around strategy initiatives. We have seen an increase in new business development leads as a result of the tax credit enhancements and with the increased equity funds, we have already seen local producers secure financing for 14 productions that will be filmed this year."
The Nova Scotia Film Development Corporation is a provincial Crown corporation reporting to the Minister of Economic Development. The corporation provides a wide range of programs and services to build the capacity and competitiveness of the province's film, television and new media industries.