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Film Nova Scotia launched to promote province as film destination

Filmmakers in Nova Scotia have launched a new website to give film producers access to photos and information about the province.

Those behind the project called Film Nova Scotia say it’s all in an effort to promote Nova Scotia as a choice for film television and commercial production.

“There has been no pipeline for international or even national producers to find out information about Nova Scotia, our locations and what’s available,” said Shaun Clarke of Film Nova Scotia.

Clarke said a similar service was previously available before being cut in the last provincial budget, and since then, promotion for the industry has been lacking and they are hurting for productions.

“People are concerned they are not going to be able to make a living in the film business here, so we are hoping to turn that around,” said Clarke

The minister in charge of Nova Scotia Business Inc. – which manages the new film incentive funds – said the past few months have been challenging.

“We are still in a transition period, so there is always room for improvement and that’s what we are working towards,” said Mark Furey.

But Furey insists the film industry is still heavily subsidized – and disagrees that the province isn’t doing enough promotion or that productions are falling.

He said that since the new incentive funds were launched last month, there have been five new applications to film.

“Those numbers are consistent with industry’s work in the past and we anticipate with those applications we will continue to see a strong presence of the film industry in Nova Scotia,” said Furey.

Furey wouldn’t say if the government is working on a similar promotion as “Film Nova Scotia”.

Clarke said film makers had to take action themselves, and the service is vital to keeping the industry alive in the province.

“We just couldn’t wait any longer for them to get up and running and put that in place,” said Clarke.

Source: Global