Toronto plans to fix film woes

Big things are brewing for Toronto’s film industry — or at least that’s the point the city is trying to make.

The Toronto Film Board says it will, on Tuesday, unveil its new ‘strategic plan’ for the city’s screen-based industries. Mayor David Miller is expected to participate, along with acting film commissioner Peter Finestone.

The presentation at City Hall is expected to assess the state of the city’s film business, but just what that state is seems to be up for debate, even within the city’s government offices. A press release for the announcement states the ‘local screen-based industry is in crisis,’ though Finestone says things are fine.

‘We’re hot,’ he tells Playback Daily. ‘Everyone that comes to work here tells us it’s a great place to work. We have great talent, great crews, great locations.’

Despite some frightening numbers, including a drop of nearly 50% in Toronto-based productions since 2000, Finestone believes the city has the power to turn the tide for good. He points to the continuing work on the Filmport mega-studio, set to open next spring.

While Finestone wouldn’t get into details about Tuesday’s announcement, he did point to the city’s struggles with global competition, competitive jurisdictions and incentive packages. He stepped into the film commissioner spot following the departure of Karen Thorne-Stone, now head of the OMDC, during the summer.