Attracting film productions to Belleville has become part of efforts to boost the local economy.
During Thursday’s Economic Development Committee meeting, the positive economic impact of attracting out of town filmmakers to shoot in Belleville was highlighted, along with steps to be taken to attract more productions.
A recent example of the positive economic impact these film productions have had was a production by Crave TV, called Drag Brunch Saved My Life. Filming downtown at Bistro 116, the production involved 34 crew who stayed for four nights and generated a combined estimated $30,000 in economic activity between hotels, food, and other spending.
Executive Director of the Bay of Quinte Regional Marketing Board, Dug Stevenson, mentioned during a report to the committee that they are working to bring more film production to the area.
“We’ve got multiple photographers who are working across this region right now to photograph dozens of locations so that we can upload them to a provincial database,” said Stevenson. “So when film and television professionals are looking for locations, they can find them.”
Other plans are also in place to attract filmmakers, including establishing official filming policies and by-laws to allow the municipality to provide needed support for filmmakers, and charge for those services.
