Northern Ontario Film studio celebrates 10 years

Northern Ontario Film Studios is celebrating a decade of film in the north.

Sudbury’s David Anselmo is the visionary behind the project. He said the idea came to him in 2012 after returning home from working abroad.

“When people ask you what you plan on doing and you say ‘I plan on creating a film industry in northern Ontario’ and they look at you sideways because that’s something that’s not usual for this region,” Anselmo said.

“Just getting the people to understand that there could be a career here for filmmakers, there could be an industry here for filmmakers.”

He saw an opportunity to increase the film and television industry in the north, but a part of the work was getting others to believe.

“I wanted to come back to do this because I love being close to home and being close to my family,” Anselmo said.

“I’m from northern Ontario. I love the northern Ontario lifestyle and I love making movies, so it was a perfect fit for coming home and putting this all together.”

Since its inception, Anselmo said Northern Ontario Film Studios has produced 150 film and television projects and provided the equivalent of 10,000 full-time jobs. He said it all amounts to about $200 million in economic development for Sudbury and northern Ontario.

“The film industry is not only a creative endeavour or an art endeavour, it is an industry,” he said.

“It is a very viable one for the north now and we’re proud to be a part of it.”

Devin Mahesh from Cultural Industries Ontario North (CION) said the film industry has grown in the past decade, in part to the Northern Ontario Film Studio.

“The Northern Ontario film studio has been such an intricate part of what happens up here for so many years,” Mahesh said.

“Celebrating a 10th anniversary, it really demonstrates the impact of what’s been able to be done.”

He said that Sudbury’s landscape is unique for filming.

“Sudbury is a particular gem in the world in that you have an Indigenous community, a French community, an English-speaking community that all mixes together and creates art,” Mahesh said.

The gala was being held at Sudbury’s Caruso Club on Friday night. It will toast the past, present and future of film in the north, and will give a peek at what the next 10 years might look like.