MANITOBA IS THE ONE TO WATCH

New non-stop fights from LAX-YWG

Additional 187,000 sq ft of studio space

Best tax credit in North America— up to 65% on eligible labor or up to 38% on eligible expenditures

Toews visited the set during production and was “struck by how hard everybody is working”, impressed with the detail in the art direction, set decoration and building and the “brilliant, brilliant casting” — that includes McDormand, Claire Foy, Rooney Mara, Jesse Buckley and Ben Wishaw.

Scenes of the women debating were filmed at a studio set that replicated a barn’s hayloft. The farm acted “like a backlot for the film” where they were able to “lay down roads and then put buildings on them”, production designer Peter Cosco says.

The farmer who owns the land was very accommodating — to the point that he even changed his crop from corn to soy, which grows low. Cosco used the existing L- shaped barn but built additional structures, including a schoolhouse and a wash house. With its windmill and water tower, Cosco describes the wash house as “everybody’s favourite build” that features in a key scene with Ona (Mara) and August (Whishaw) sitting on its roof looking at the stars.

Attention to authenticity guided much of the production design work as Cosco’s crew portrayed details in the women’s domestic duties “from canning to sewing”. The set-up of the kitchens was important as these spacious rooms with big tables for large families were the focal point of family life.

The loft scenes presented challenges because they involved both the actual barn loft and the studio replica. That sense of an elevated place was reinforced in the studio by building the hayloft set 2.5 metres off the ground with loft ceilings that reached seven metres. The actors and crew all had to climb up to it daily, mirroring the real barn and the sense of being up in the roof.

Canada has been enjoying success on the small screen too. The Last of Us, a hit series for HBO — and the most expensive series ever made for that company at a reported $10m per episode — shot all over Alberta, focusing particularly on Calgary, the largest city in the western Canadian province.

Set 20 years after modern civilisation collapsed, The Last of Us is based on a 2013 video game. It’s set 20 years into a pandemic caused by a mass infection, which causes its hosts to transform into zombie-like creatures. The series follows Joel, a smuggler tasked with escorting immune teenager Ellie across a post-apocalyptic Unites States — played by Alberta.

“Calgary’s vibrant screen industries sector experienced exponential growth over the last 12 months,” Calgary film commissioner Luke Azzevedo says. “The Calgary Film Commission provided services to 144 film, television and digital media entertainment projects in 2022, including HBO’s The Last of Us, Disney’s Prey and Fargo, Fraggle Rock, Joe Pickett, Heartland and High School."

Alongside its facilities, infrastructure and overall filmfriendliness, what also attracts productions to Alberta is the Film and Television Tax Credit (FTTC) programme that offers support to medium and large-scale productions filming in the province. The FTTC offers a refundable Alberta tax credit certificate on eligible Alberta production and labour costs to corporations that produce films, TV series and other screenbased productions there. Applicants from outside of the province can apply for a 22% tax credit rate. Applications to the programme are accepted continuously.

Next door — to the east of Alberta — the government of Saskatchewan announced it was increasing investment into the province’s film and television industry. This includes the introduction in 2022 of the Feature Film & TV Grant Program of up to $5m. “This grant invests in television and featurelength film projects with commercial intent, that shoot in Saskatchewan or employ Saskatchewan-based crew for production and post-production,” Megan Jane, manager of marketing and communications Creative Saskatchewan, says. “We have had 17 film and TV productions that have begun filming in the province since the programme opened, with another 11 expected to have started filming in Q1 this year.”

Jane adds: “Some of the major productions that have already shot include TV comedy Our Big Punjabi Family, docuseries Guardians of the North and the movie Summer at Charlotte’s A female-led, South Asian comedy series, Our Big Punjabi Family has an estimated spend of over $1,867,000 on Saskatchewan labour, goods and services with a total economic output of $3.5m for Saskatchewan. Creative Saskatchewan has committed $746,818 via the Feature Film & Television Production Grant Program.

“A production of this calibre will inject more than $1,019,000 into local labour alone,” CEO of Creative Saskatchewan, Erin Dean says. “Never mind the countless opportunities for Saskatchewan’s hospitality and services sector,” worth over $278,000, according to production estimates. “Productions need accommodation, food and beverage services, costumes, props, skilled trades labour to build sets, legal and accounting support and so much more.” The economic impact of the project also includes 18 production days, with training initiatives and the hiring of at least 40 Saskatchewan crew. “We’re very excited to see the snowball efect of investment,” Dean adds.

Neighbouring province, Manitoba, claims “the best tax incentive in North America: up to 65% on eligible Manitoba labour or up to 38% on eligible Manitoba expenditures, including eligible Manitoba labour”, director, marketing & communications, Manitoba Film & Music, Janice Tober says.