More Funding for Film, Television Productions in Rural Nova Scotia

Film productions outside the Halifax region will benefit from additional funding through the Nova Scotia Film & Television Production Incentive Fund.

“The new incentive will encourage more film production in rural areas of Nova Scotia,” said Premier Tim Houston. “It means more hotel rooms being booked, more restaurants being filled, more local stores being visited.”

The Distant Location Incentive was developed to address higher production costs incurred outside of the Halifax region and to encourage film producers to expand their projects into rural areas.

While Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) often serves as a hub for film productions in Nova Scotia, the potential of rural areas such as Cape Breton or Yarmouth County remains largely untapped. The logistical challenges associated with filming in rural areas present significant cost burdens for production companies, primarily because of the need to transport and accommodate cast and crew, and other related expenses.

Under the new two-tiered incentive:

• productions filmed more than 100 kilometres from Halifax City Hall will receive up to a seven per cent incentive on total eligible Nova Scotia costs
• productions filmed more than 150 kilometres from Halifax City Hall will receive up to a 10 per cent incentive on total eligible Nova Scotia costs.

These incentives are on top of the current two per cent location bonus for filming beyond 30 kilometres from Halifax City Hall.

The Distant Location Incentive is allocated according to the number of days spent filming outside of HRM and the total filming days of the production.

Quotes:

“The expansion of the Nova Scotia Film & Television Incentive Fund will allow productions to make the decision to film in rural communities where the perfect location exists. It puts all of Nova Scotia on offer, creating jobs, tourism opportunities and injecting production dollars directly into the locally owned businesses of all rural communities.” — Laura Mackenzie, Executive Director, Screen Nova Scotia

Quick Facts:

• the Nova Scotia Film & Television Production Incentive Fund is application-based and was created in 2015 to support film and television production activity in the province
• 83 projects, with a total investment of $39 million, were approved in the 2023-24 fiscal year
• 172 out of 333 productions approved between April 1, 2019, and March 31, 2024, were eligible for the two per cent location incentive bonus under the Nova Scotia Film & Television Production Incentive Fund
• recipients of the location incentive bonus make nearly 52 per cent of the total approved productions
• about $5.7 million was paid from the fund for productions that were eligible for the two per cent location incentive bonus between from April 1, 2019, and March 31, 2024
• these projects resulted in more than $140.7 million in direct spending, including for accommodations, food and gasoline

Additional Resources:

Nova Scotia Film & Television Production Incentive Fund: https://cch.novascotia.ca/film-and-television-production-incentive-fund