Economic boon lauded as new production films in Windsor
There are darker things in Windsor than the roast at T.A.N. Coffee — whispers of ancient and nameless things stirring in shadowed places.
In recent weeks, the coffee shop has been twice transfigured into an alternate version of itself as a production company began brewing a touch of horror in the town. The rumour, which was not confirmed by anyone interviewed for this story, is that the long-anticipated Fox/Hulu adaptation of Clive Barker’s Books of Blood, is filming in town.
This isn’t the first time Jacob K. Tan, manager and partner at T.A.N. Coffee, has had his shop featured in a production. Pure, a crime drama that first aired on CBC in 2017, filmed at the shop. It’s also been featured in the Hallmark movies November Christmas (2010) and Christmas With Holly (2012).
“I always think it’s kind of a treat to see local locations in films,” says Tan. “We’ve had our location filmed for a few different movies and television shows in the past. And there’s obviously a direct monetary compensation for us.
But the bigger benefit is actually often in the pre-production work that they do here in town.”
FILMING IN THE VALLEY
In film and TV, locations play parts as often as actors do. Vineyards in the Annapolis Valley stand in for vineyards in California. The Fortress of Louisbourg becomes 18thcentury Manhattan in The Book of Negroes (2015). The business of finding the right location for the part is hugely complicated. Municipalities like the Town of Windsor try to simplify the process to attract production companies.
“We do what I call one-stop shopping,” says VanEssa Roberts, Windsor’s director of community development, tourism and recreation.
“When a location manager calls up, we actually have all of the different departments that are going to be affected sit down around the table. We all get to hear firsthand what the film is going to be, what the impact is going to be on our community.”
Melanie Solomon is the industry services and locations manager for Screen Nova Scotia, a film industry non-profit with 252 members, including producers, directors, crew unions and guilds in Nova Scotia. She believes the enthusiasm of local communities, such as Windsor, is a competitive advantage.
“Busy jurisdictions like New York, Vancouver are really overrun with the film industry, whereas in Nova Scotia, companies, businesses, homeowners, jurisdictions like the Town of Windsor, there’s an excitement there still — and that benefits the filmmaker.”
Screen Nova Scotia touts economic benefits for industries outside of film. Production companies are staffed by people who need food and lodging while in town. And, often, they need to hire local staff while they’re here.
DIVERSE SETTINGS IN N.S.
“I think the misconception is that the film industry benefits just the film industry, but a lot of other industries do benefit,” says Solomon.
“If you think about people who were doing production design, they’re shopping at local hardware stores and local fabric stores. Goods and services such as laundromats, restaurants and caterers are being used on a daily basis. If the crew has to be housed elsewhere, there’s local bed and breakfasts, hotels, that are benefitting.”
A Screen Nova Scotia-commissioned PricewaterhouseCoopers report published in 2014 put the overall economic benefit from filming in the province at $180 million in GDP. Solomon says Nova Scotia has a major asset in its diverse natural and human-built environments.
“There’s urban sophistication in places like Halifax and Dartmouth, where you can find various types of architecture and history from modern buildings to something like the Citadel Hill,” says Solomon.
“As soon as you leave the city, it’s everything from rolling hills and vistas and farmland to vineyards. Even our oceans and landscapes, we can get white sand beaches and turquoise waters to rocky terrain and really rough waters.”
Solomon recently attended the Cannes premiere of Robert Eggers’ The Lighthouse, starring Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson, which filmed primarily at Cape Forchu and Yarmouth, resulting in a thousand room-nights booked in the town during the off-season.
“I would have conversations with people who didn’t necessarily know where Nova Scotia was, when I say that the film The Lighthouse filmed here, it took no time at all for people to write that down,” says Solomon. “Because it showed the capacity of our crews to be able to really take on a highbudget project.”