Tim Houston’s government wants to encourage the film industry to shoot outside Halifax so that rural areas of the province can benefit from the economic spinoffs.
To this end, the province will offer incentives to compensate for higher production costs
outside of Halifax, the province wrote in a statement released Tuesday.
Film crews who film their movie or series more than 100 kilometres from Halifax City Hall will receive a 7% subsidy on production costs in Nova Scotia. This bonus increases to 10% if the filming takes place more than 150 kilometres from the city hall.
These incentives are in addition to the 2% bonus that already exists and which applies if filming takes place more than 30 km from the capital.
To qualify for the funding, which will be retroactive to April 1, crews will have to spend at least half of their filming time outside of Halifax.
Pour Tim Houstonthese aids aim to boost tourism in rural areas. This means more hotel rooms will be booked, more restaurants will be filled, more local shops will be visited
.
A well-received announcement
Screen Nova Scotiathe association that represents the film industry in the province, believes these incentives will make a difference.
Now they will be able to decide to film in rural communities in Nova Scotia, something they would never have considered due to the additional costs.
supports Laura Mackenziegeneral director of the association.
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Towns on Nova Scotia’s South Shore are popular locations for Christmas movies. This image is from a scene from a Hallmark Christmas Movie Channel movie filmed in Lunenburg.
Photo: Courtesy of Corus Entertainment
She points out that during the filming of the movie The Lighthousewith Willem Dafoe et Robert Pattisonin Yarmouth in 2018, businesses had greatly benefited from the presence of the film crew.
Yarmouth was excited to have this shoot because it filled hotel rooms and restaurants during the tourist off-season. It generated about $300,000 in hotel rooms between February and April.
continues Laura Mackenzie.
According to figures from the Department of Communities, Culture, Heritage and Tourism, just over half of the productions filmed in the province over the past five years – 172 out of 333 – were eligible for the two per cent incentive. They received a total of $5.7 million for filming more than 30 kilometres from Halifax City Hall.
According to a report by Jean Laroche, CBC
