Nova Scotia continues to lead the Atlantic provinces in annual production volume, noting a $16-million increase in 2005, but infrastructure change is afoot in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador to better attract the attention of service shoots and bolster local work.

According to Ann MacKenzie, CEO of the Nova Scotia Film Development Corporation, production spending in Nova Scotia totaled more than $120 million for its fiscal ending March 31, up from $104 million the year prior. And there are no signs of business slowing down, she says, with a number of projects going to camera in and around Halifax and local crews being spread thin.

‘We’re at the point now where we have to stagger productions,’ says MacKenzie. ‘[Crews have] been tight.’

Local prodco Standing 8 Productions’ new feature Poor Boy’s Game, starring Danny Glover and directed by Clement Virgo, is currently in production in Halifax (see story, p. 1), and in August the prodco will head into prepro on Pushing Up Daisies, produced and directed by Chaz Thorne and scheduled for a Nova Scotia shoot. The Halifax Film Company, Barna-Alper Productions and director Roger Spottiswoode will also shoot a portion of the Roméo Dallaire biopic Shake Hands with the Devil in the province. And Camelia Frieberg’s directorial debut, A Stone’s Throw, and the Kate Beckinsale-starring U.S. indie film Snow Angels both wrapped earlier this year.

Halifax’s animation scene is healthy, too, says MacKenzie, with Decode Entertainment’s Delilah & Julius, HFC’s Poko and Bo on the Go!, and other toons in various stages of production.

On the MOW front, the province recently saw wraps of Relative Chaos for ABC Family and The Wedding March for A&E. The next installment of CBS’ Tom Selleck-starring Jesse Stone MOW franchise, Sea of Change, is set to shoot over the summer.

MacKenzie believes the production growth is due to the province’s tax credit increase of March 2005, which saw it rise to 45% from 35%, including a frequent-filming bonus.

Jon Downey, manager at New Brunswick Film, says that after its $22-million production year in 2005, New Brunswick is facing a ‘typical’ summer production season, highlighted by the MOW Sticks and Stones by Montreal’s Cirrus Productions and Moncton’s Dream Street Productions for CTV, and the $4.5-million, 11 x 30 miniseries Belle Baie by Moncton-based Phare-est Productions and Cirrus for Radio-Canada. Two possible international copro features are being discussed. Meanwhile, the serial killer feature Black Eyed Dog, from local prodco Grana Productions, shot late last year and is being submitted for festival consideration.

In an effort to stimulate business, New Brunswick will cut the ribbon on Tracadie-Sheila-based Studio Cojak in September. The small facility will provide 5,000 square feet in production space and 3,000 square feet of admin area, as well as high-quality camera, sound and lighting gear. According to Downey, the municipality of Saint John is also trying to drum up investor interest in a private production studio. He says more details will come in the following weeks.

Downey says that the province’s 40% tax credit will come under review in September, and while there likely won’t be any boost, there may be training incentives.

‘The main thing we are concentrating on is a recognized skills gap in the industry, and I think this is the case for a lot of provinces,’ says Downey. ‘We have a well-established base of producers, but not a lot of young people coming into the industry, and that is in part due to the fact that it isn’t a recognized target sector.’

According to Nancy Roberts, who oversees the film and television programs for Technology PEI, Canada’s smallest province is also on track for a production year consistent with 2005’s $9 million in spending, though she anticipates summer being quiet, filled mostly by various pilots.

P.E.I. is in the midst of a one-year pilot project called the Innovation in Development Tax Credit, which offers a rebate of 52.5% on any P.E.I. resident’s salary directly attributable to a P.E.I. production, with the exception of producer fees, which are capped at $40,000 per production.

‘We agreed to run it for this calendar year, with an evaluation between government and industry at the end of that period to analyze what is working well and what kind of return the province is getting,’ says Roberts.

Newfoundland and Labrador, meanwhile, is experiencing a down year after $26 million in production spending in 2005, according to Chris Bonnell, executive director of the Newfoundland and Labrador Film Development Corporation. There is about $1.4 million worth of documentary production currently underway but little else, due in part to the recent shift by CBC – a regular buyer of comedies from The Rock, such as Codco and Hatching, Matching & Dispatching – toward more reality-based programming. Bonnell says local producers are now looking at different copro opportunities and service arrangements.

‘You have to ride the cycle sometimes and see what happens,’ says Bonnell. ‘There are a lot of projects in development, and a lot of possibilities, but it appears this summer will be a little drier than we experienced last year.’

While Bonnell admits an island 700 miles into the Atlantic is a tough sell for some foreign producers, the NLFDC is taking steps to make Newfoundland and Labrador, which offers a 40% tax credit, a more attractive service destination. With an increased annual budget of $2 million (up from $1 million) due to last year’s production volume, the NLFDC has removed the assets category from its credit eligibility requirements. It made companies with assets of $25 million or more ineligible, rendering them unattractive copro partners.

The NLFDC has also taken steps to encourage hands-on training for key positions by waiving residency requirements for outside crew members willing to come to the province to train someone during a shoot, also making 75% of the trainer’s salary eligible for the tax credit.