Canadian crime comedy Who’s Yer Father? made a splash at the local box office in its Nov. 3 debut in Charlottetown, but the story behind the making of the film is one that may ripple through P.E.I.’s screen industry for years to come.

The cozy, Maritime-focused mystery production, produced by Jenna MacMillan of P.E.I.-based 63 Lights Entertainment, has grossed more than $30,000 on its East Coast tour, also included stops in Moncton, Saint John and Fredericton in New Brunswick, and Halifax in Nova Scotia. The release marks the biggest opening for a Canadian film in Charlottetown since 2003, according to levelFILM, earning $16,000 in its opening weekend.

Written and directed by 63 Lights partner Jeremy Larter (Just Passing Through), Who’s Yer Father? follows a bumbling P.E.I. private investigator, played by Chris Locke, who gets hired to look into shady black market lobster deals on the island. Toronto-based levelFILM is the distributor for the film, and has been working with Cineplex on the multi-city tour.

MacMillan has deep roots in P.E.I., and tells Playback Daily that she moved back to the province in 2021 after 10 years in Toronto, which was around the same time the government introduced the Prince Edward Island Film Production Fund (PEIFPF).

The incentive allows producers to recoup up to 35% of eligible production-related costs for work completed on the island, and is currently in effect until March 31, 2024. It replaced the previous Prince Edward Island Film Media Fund, which had a rebate of up to 25%. PEIFPF also includes incentives for locally-owned productions and the use of local crews.

Industry association FilmPEI had already commissioned a study in 2020 to identify key barriers to large-scale and service production in the province. “Obviously, infrastructure was one; lack of equipment and resources were another; and the third huge barrier was the lack of crew database — a lack of skilled technicians,” says MacMillan.

The solution was the creation of an eight-week course in film production that included classes in sound, camera, grip, lighting, locations, and script supervision, with MacMillan herself as one of its facilitators. The program, Film Industry Fundamentals, was developed with Holland College and offered by FilmPEI.

As a result, MacMillan ended up hiring 75% of graduates from the first two years of the program to work on Diggstown, then Who’s Yer Father? afterward. Among the positions were head of transport, script supervisor, and second and third assistant director. “I understood the limitations of the P.E.I. film industry, but also I understood that I really wanted to be part of the team to make a more sustainable industry,” she says.

MacMillan says she’s already seen the impact of the PEIFPF in the last two years. “Many of those crew [from series such as Emily of New Moon] are coming back to P.E.I. to work, and they’re some of the mentors that I’ve hired, both for the film training course and then on these subsequent productions,” she says. “We actually have a lot of crew that are returning home, which is great for the economy.”

“It’s really great for the mentees and the trainees to see what a career in film can look like. And some of these mentors are living proof of that,” she adds.

The support to the local economy is being paid forward now with its sold-out screenings. Who’s Yer Father? earned the No. 1 spot at the box office for its inaugural screening in Charlottetown.

The film’s press tour, funded by Telefilm Canada and levelFILM, will be moving on to Toronto, Summerside, P.E.I., Sydney, N.S., and St. John’s on Friday (Nov. 10), including a Q&A screening on Nov. 11 in Toronto at Cineplex Cinemas Yonge-Dundas and VIP. After that, the film is set to stream on Paramount+ in early 2024.

Image courtesy of levelFILM