this town is the star of Christmas TV movies

We know the story. A heroine passionate about her job in New York ends up falling under the spell of a childhood friend when she reluctantly returns to the small rural village where she grew up. But is it really Manhattan that we see on the screen? Not always. If American Christmas TV films no longer surprise us, their setting remains no less surprising, because the majority are filmed… in the same place.

One city, in particular, hosts around thirty American audiovisual productions each year. Among these, a dozen concern end-of-year holiday films, produced for specialized channels such as the incomparable Hallmark, which has already broadcast more than 300 fictions since 2009 and offers nearly 40 new ones each year. A third of creations of this type broadcast in North America and very often rebroadcast in France, are recorded in this territory, according to AFP.

“Historic buildings from the 19th century”

This is Ottawa, the capital of Canada. The fourth largest city in the country in terms of population, it is located in the province of Ontario, in the southeast, on the border with the French-speaking region of Quebec. Although it is not often seen as a must-visit tourist destination, saddled with the stereotype of being too serious due to the large number of embassies it is home to, it has a singular aptitude. That of recreating both the energy of a big city and the tranquility of small snowy towns.

«I love filming in Ottawa because the landscapes are as beautiful as they are varied.», confirm to Figaro Maxwell McGuire, American director used to filming in this region. In his TV movie Happy New Lovewe discover red brick buildings that look like Boston and skyscrapers that could be those of Seattle or Chicago. «In order to best reproduce the Christmas atmosphere, we rent real houses, cafes, shops»lists the 43-year-old producer. For this, his team often travels to Almonte, in the greater suburbs of Ottawa. “There are historic buildings from the 19th century with lots of charm» adds Maxwell McGuire, also mentioning the atmosphere of the Diner from the 1950s of the town.

The magic of Christmas…in summer

But one of the main assets of Canada’s capital remains its tax incentive. This covers 45% of labor-related expenses, or 10% more than in the country’s large metropolises, such as Toronto and Vancouver. “Here, filming costs, including locations, hotels, vehicle rentals, are often lower than those in large production centers.», recognizes Sandrine Pechels de Saint Sardos, commissioner of the Ottawa cinema office.

This is also explained by the fact that TV films are mainly filmed during the summer. “Temperatures can drop to minus 35 degrees in Canada. It’s not humanly possible to shoot in winter, so we use fake snow in summer», Reveals the commissioner, specifying that it is manufactured in an eco-responsible manner, thanks to the Ontario Green Screen program, aimed at reducing the ecological footprint of the audiovisual industry in the region.

An impact on tourism?

Even if it rarely embodies its own identity on screen, the city nevertheless knows how to attract fans of TV films. “We notice that many visitors come in winter in the hope of attending Christmas film shoots.», Notes Sarah Laturnus, manager at the Ottawa Tourism Office. To guide tourists, the cinema office has published an itinerary listing these places on the Google Maps application, made available free of charge on their site.

There we find the elegant Fairmont Château Laurier, seen in A Royal Christmas Crushor the baseball stadium spotted in Hot Frostyreleased on Netflix last month and already viewed more than 28 million times. It’s also an opportunity to discover Ottawa’s emblematic sites, from the kingdom-like Parliament Hill building to its UNESCO-listed Rideau Canal, which transforms into an ice rink. ‘winter. Enough to inspire the most idyllic – and most predictable – Christmas fiction…

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