Mark Furey speaks with conviction about the bright future of movie-making in Nova Scotia. “The film and television incentive fund is here to stay,” says the provincial business minister. And you’ve gotta believe he believes it. Last April, after the Liberal budget killed the film funding program that had been luring major productions to the […]
Nova Scotia Film Industry Tax Credit
Posted inArts + Music
How dead is Nova Scotia’s film biz?
Last April’s budget announcement kicked off a tumultuous time for Nova Scotia’s film industry. The Liberal government slashed the film tax credit, the foundation of the film industry in many other provinces. After much backlash and a very successful PR campaign headed by Screen Nova Scotia, the previous uncapped tax credit, estimated to be worth […]
Posted inArts + Music
Can you tell which Atlantic Film Festival premier is which?
Film festivals love premieres—showing a movie for the first time. But in Canada, they also tend to love premiers, the politicians whose provincial government pays some of the fest’s bills. The Atlantic Film Festival is no exception on the premier front, and Nova Scotia’s top dog always gets their face on a welcome letter in […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Monday’s 9 things you need to know
1 Don’t rain on our parade, weather. The weekend’s damp conditions cancelled Halifax Pride’s show-stopping Dykes vs. Divas softball game. It also caused the cancellation of the first ever heritage Gathering on Gottingen Street—a sponsor-free event designed to connect Pride a bit more with the community and its roots. Both events have been cancelled outright […]
Posted inArts + Music
Film funding talks take three
The first time they met, finance minister Diana Whalen refused to own up to her role in the potential destruction of the local film industry. After the two-hour meeting last Tuesday, she told reporters “they have a problem with this, we do not. It works for government.” .@dianawhalenNS says @Screen_NS told her #NSFilmTaxCredit doesn't work […]
Posted inArts + Music
A timeline of film production in Nova Scotia
Filmmakers have a long history of working in Nova Scotia—Evangeline, shot here over 100 years ago, was one of the first movies made in Canada. But in recent years, the province’s natural beauty and historic charms that might appeal to cinematographers were augmented by the film tax credit, which appeals to the producers who are […]
Posted inArts + Music
Keeping the cameras rolling
If there’s one thing the film industry knows how to do, it’s put on a good show. Yesterday, thousands of supporters surrounded Province House, while film industry types, from local celebs to costume designers took the stage to talk about the shrunken tax credit. In a matter of days, Screen Nova Scotia put together a […]
Posted inArts + Music
The end?
Last week, a new provincial budget was announced that could put thousands of jobs in Nova Scotia’s film industry in jeopardy. Counter-arguments have been made, logic and reason have been championed, meetings have been had and demonstrations have been staged. Still, our Liberal government has even more bad news: they don’t care what anyone thinks […]
Posted inArts + Music
The film industry by the numbers
Finance minister Diana Whalen may know a thing or two about numbers, but she apparently doesn’t understand Nova Scotia’s movie business very much. Her budget plan to gut the film industry tax incentive has local producers worried that Whalen is going to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. How much metaphorical egg-gold are […]
Posted inArts + Music
Film tax credits across Canada
Before the budget dropped, Nova Scotia and Manitoba had the best film tax credit incentives—highest amount of money that could be given back to productions for local spending—in Canada. Now that Nova Scotia has backed out of the race, it’s “Hooray for Winniwood!” And given PEI’s efforts, even an Anne of Green Gables reboot would […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Political calculus and the film tax credit cut
Dear Nova Scotia Liberal Party, My name is Ryan Campbell. I’m a young (28) professional, my field is software development, and I’m a proud Nova Scotian and will remain so until the end of my days. I’m writing you a letter—an open letter, which I freely admit is written with the intent of embarrassing you, […]
Posted inArts + Music
NS film tax credit lives on?
It seems Diana Whalen finally figured out what everyone else already knew—the budget sucks. Whalen and various members of her cabinet met this morning with a delegation of nine Nova Scotia film industry professionals in an effort to quell the shitstorm that has been brewing since the budget was announced. Members of the film industry […]