All’s quiet on the set
No official start date given to Alberta’s film or TV industry
CALGARY — There is no firm start date as to when cameras may start rolling again in Alberta’s film and television industry, but Calgary’s film commissioner says he is confident the sector will rebound and play a role in the economic recovery of the province and country as safety protocols are put in place.
In other jurisdictions, including British Columbia and Manitoba, film and television production has officially been worked into different stages of economic reopening. Manitoba has identified June 1 as the official start of reopening the sector as part of phase 2 of its economic relaunch. British Columbia has lumped its film and TV production, which employs 70,000 and contributes almost $3 billion to its economy, into phase 3 of its four-phase restart plan, which is also expected to kick off in June if COVID-19 infection rates remain low in that province.
There has been no official start date given to Alberta’s film and television industry, although the province’s film office has remained active fielding calls from producers and discussing protocols with stakeholders in Alberta and across the country, says Luke Azevedo, commissioner of film, television and creative industries at Calgary Economic Development.
Azevedo says discussions are ongoing with the Alberta government to identify in what phase of the relaunch film and TV production would fit. Alberta has tabled a three-stage relaunch of the economy. Only the first stage, which began May 14, has been given a specific date. Meanwhile, stakeholders and film commissions across the country and continent continue to meet and form task forces to formulate a standard set of protocols.
“You have the protocols that are set by Canada, and then you have protocols set by Alberta and you have protocols set by the city and obviously there are protocols that are going to be set by studios and then, of course, our unions, guilds and associations,” said Azevedo. “First and foremost, it’s all about safety. It’s interesting these days. When we are speaking with studios and independents and people are inquiring about our opportunities and our timing, the questions used to be ‘what are your incentives, what is your crew base, what is your infrastructure.?’ Now the questions are ‘how safe is your area, what has happened there?’ ”
As in every jurisdiction, film and TV productions in Calgary shut down in midMarch. That included Season 4 of the supernatural western Wynonna Earp and Season 2 of the Netflix zombie series Black Summer. Outer Range, a big-budget Amazon series produced by Brad Pitt and starring Josh Brolin was set to begin filming on April 28 but pulled out of the province due to delays caused by the pandemic.
According to the Alberta Screen Industry Action Committee, the industry directly employed 1,850 people in 2017-18 and generated 5,350 spinoff jobs.
The film and television industry has specific issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic that complicates a quick restart. That includes the number of people employed on productions and the variety of jobs performed, from makeup to food services to set building, that will all need separate safety guidelines and perhaps even newly appointed COVID supervisors. There are also larger issues, including the ability of productions to get insurance and the impact of closed borders, which is a major complication for productions that hire American performers or crew members.