Ontario Government injects more funding into North Bay’s film, TV industry

Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli says a though he had 20 years ago is a growing reality – a booming film industry right in our backyard continues to attract the biggest names in film today.

"Bryan Cranston, meeting him last week was pretty cool and Allison Janney,” said Fedeli.

“On this set we had Danica McKellar. She was absolutely thrilled."

Six-time Emmy Award winner Cranston along with Academy Award winner Janney have been in North Bay since April as part of filming ‘Everything’s Going to be Great.’

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Friday morning, the Ontario government announced it is providing yet more money for the film and TV industry. Two million dollars is being evenly divided amongst four local film productions. The funding is being provided by the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC).

"Another almost $8 million from the industry and $10 million injected into the City of North Bay in the last few weeks,” said Fedeli.

The funding is for the following projects filmed in and around the North Bay area:

• KM Romance Swing Productions Inc. to produce the feature film ‘Swing Into Romance’
• Carpe Dee Yum Productions Inc. to produce the film ‘Seeds’
• JoBro Productions Inc. to produce the film ‘Boy In The Woods’
• Drive Back Home Productions Inc. to produce the feature film ‘Drive Back Home’

“I’m up here doing my fifth film. It's called ‘Seeds’. We're going to camera June 5th,” said Carpe Dee Yum Productions' Inc. producer Jennifer Jonas.

“We love shooting up here. Everything Vic is doing is working in terms of keeping employment active up here.”

Jonas said there are so many benefits to shooting in northern Ontario. Not only just the sweeping landscapes and picturesque background beauty, but in terms of the proximity from each shooting location.

“When you’re producing, every minute costs money. The more money you can reserve for shooting time and actors, the better it is,” she said.

The announcement was made in Powassan, Ont. on the set of KM Romance Swing Productions Inc.'s next feature film, ‘Swing Into Romance’ expected to be out this fall, which just finished shooting Thursday. 

'Swing into Romance's' producer Kelly Martin said she sees further projects and rewards to come.

"What I see is opportunities for the rest of our local communities to take part in some way,” she said.

“Even if it isn’t directly involved in the show itself, they're still benefiting from what happens when films come to town."

There’s no way the province plans on slowing down this momentum, Fedeli said.

"I know of five films that are underway and we just approved through the heritage fund another half a dozen. They haven't been signed yet,” he said.

Since June 2018, the NOHFC has invested $99 million in 561 projects in North Bay, leveraging $440 million in investment and creating or sustaining 1,190 jobs.

"Our secret sauce? The ecosystem we've built. But we can't do it without the talent,” Fedeli said.