The Future

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Image courtesy of Chicago Agent Magazine

Is it possible for Saskatchewan to have a thriving film industry again? After years without proper support it would be hard to reopen like nothing happened, but there is so much possibility. Mrs. Alberts explained the following from her perspective.

Saskatchewan has always been rich with talent and a can-do attitude. With a supportive government, there are no limits to what the industry could achieve. We still have a world-class sound stage (did you know you can fly a helicopter in there?!), and a film program at our University that helps develop the next generation of directors, and many of the industry people who moved would return to Saskatchewan if they could work here. Manitoba started with most of the same geographical challenges as Saskatchewan and they are now boasting over 200 million dollars in film production a year. It's important to understand that it would take more than a tax credit to get there, because it took more than a tax credit to build it the first time, but with political will, there is no reason Saskatchewan can not one day rival Manitoba once again.

This shows with more support from the government, the talented people of Saskatchewan could rebuild a strong film industry that provides economic gains for the province.

Film productions can do great things for the economy. To understand this let’s look at the popular Superhero film “Deadpool”. Deadpool’s budget falls into the mid-budget range. That is anywhere from a budget of 15 million dollars to 43 million dollars. One mid-budget movie generates approximately 44 million dollars for the economy and pays around 1 million dollars in taxes. Based on the current Saskatchewan budget of roughly $34 million dollars, taxes collected from mid-budget range film production could offset roughly 1/34th of our annual budget. And that's just on one film! Let’s take a look at the 2011/2012 year for Saskfilm. That year they worked on 23 different projects; five music videos, 11 documentaries, four mini series and three feature films. That would inject roughly 565 million dollars into the economy and would create roughly 28.5 million dollars in taxes for the province. That has the potential to offset 84% of our annual budget. Government support for the creation of a large film industry can infuse millions of dollars into the local economy.

I asked Mrs. Alberts if she thought the film industry could be beneficial for our economy.

While I'm passionate about the non-economic reasons to have a film industry, the real reason to have one truly is all about the money. Study after study around the world shows just how much money film production brings to a community. Saskatchewan's last study by the Chamber of Commerce showed that Saskatchewan's tax credit put $6 into the economy for every $1 invested by the Saskatchewan government. This is because the majority of funding for films comes from outside the province. So in other words, films bring money into the province that wasn't here before, and all that money gets spent on all the things that are needed to make a film. Hiring people to work on the film (which is usually a requirement of getting the Saskatchewan funding), supplies for sets/costumes/props, hotels for the actors, food for the crew, vehicle and location rentals, etc, etc, etc.... No one understands this better than the people of small town Saskatchewan who benefited from film production over the years. Rouleau (Corner Gas), Duck Lake (Rabbit Fall), Indian Head (Little Mosque on the Prairie), Dundurn (Rufus), Moose Jaw (13 Eerie), Kipling (Rust), Regina Beach (A.R.C.H.I.E), Lumsden (WolfCop) are just a few of the communities that saw millions of investment and spoke up against the tax credit cuts when they were announced.

A healthy economy is diversified and doesn't just rely on one industry. This is important so that when that one industry is struggling, the whole province doesn't struggle. Alberta’s oil industry dependance is an example of the boom and bust economy Saskatchewan should try to avoid. Mrs. Alberts agrees.

Building industries like film can help create an economy with a variety of sources of income so that when other industries like natural resources are struggling, the province has other industries to rely on for taxes and jobs. Films require electricians, carpenters, drivers, accountants - skills that exist in other industries that may be experiencing lower demand right now. The film industry could put those people to work. With new film funders out there like Netflix, there has never been as much money and opportunity available, and other Canadian provinces can not keep up with the demand. The Saskatchewan film industry could be contributing to the province's economic recovery in a real way right now.

Now that we have digital film industries such as Netflix, more and more films and television series are being made that perhaps would not have been made even just a few years ago. The industry is also more diverse and welcoming than ever before. As an example to this, the South Korean film “Parasite” just broke through the North American market to become the 2019 Best Picture Academy Award winner. Each production brings new jobs to the workforce which could be from anywhere in the world. Film industries create thousands of jobs and bring money to places that didn’t have it before and can be one of the biggest reasons that communities stay successful. An example of this is the town of Rouleau, Saskatchewan who still get tourists visiting the set of Corner Gas.

The Saskatchewan film industry has existed since the 1920s and over the years has grown to be a huge part of peoples’ lives. From its humble beginnings with “The Great Electrical Revolution” to smash hits like “Corner Gas”, the Saskatchewan Film Industry has been a great addition to our community here in Saskatchewan. With the immense potential of economic growth, a film industry can be vital for our province to prosper both now and in the future. Even though it seems to have reached its end, the Saskatchewan Film Industry can be revived and come back better than ever.