Lights, camera… NDP vows support for local film industry

By: Larry Kusch Posted: 12:56 PM CDT Friday, Apr. 1, 2016

NDP Leader Greg Selinger is promising more support for Manitoba’s film industry.

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NDP Leader Greg Selinger is promising more support for Manitoba’s film industry.

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This article was published 01/04/2016 (3484 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NDP Leader Greg Selinger is promising more support for Manitoba’s film industry.

Selinger said Friday he would make the province’s film and video production tax credit — now renewed at three-year intervals — permanent. He promised the NDP would pour $5 million into upgrades and renovations at the Manitoba Production Centre.

“The film tax credit, one of the best in North America, will be made permanent,” he told a news conference in front of a mansion on Ruskin Row, the site of a feature film shoot.

WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS files
The NDP vows to do more to attract film production, such as the movie A Dog’s Purpose, shot here in 2015. — WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS files The NDP vows to do more to attract film production, such as the movie A Dog’s Purpose, shot here in 2015.

“That will allow the industry to do (long-term) planning and be able to reach out and seek partners for investment.”

The industry supports about 1,300 jobs and contributes some $71 million annually to the provincial economy, Selinger said.

“We have the people, we have the talent, we have the supportive infrastructure, and we’ve got a tax environment which makes it very attractive for films to be done in Manitoba.”

Selinger said Manitoba would extend fuel tax rebates to jet fuel purchased in Manitoba to encourage airlines to create direct flights between Winnipeg and Los Angeles and Winnipeg and New York.

This would aid the film industry, he said.

“We did this last spring for direct flights to England, and it worked out very well,” he said.

Selinger said an NDP government would work with the film industry to market Manitoba film production and tourism in California.

On Screen Manitoba, which represents the film industry, welcomed the promise of support.

For nearly three decades, a succession of governments has ensured Winnipeg has remained a competitive player in the media production industry, it said.

“This announcement represents a significant commitment to work in partnership with the media production industry to ensure stability and long-term growth,” the organization said.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca