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Hamilton Film and Television Office 2007 Annual Report

For the information of the Economic Development and Planning Committee, the following is the annual report for the Film and Cultural Industries for 2007.

There is a growing film and cultural scene in Hamilton and this trend continued in 2007. With over 100 productions shot in Hamilton throughout the year, the City was a beehive of activity. Increased film production brings more creative people which changes the social landscape of the City. More art studios are opening in the older sections of Hamilton, film studios are cropping up and the music industry continues to be strong.

For the fourth consecutive year, filming has directly injected over $10 million dollars into the local economy with spending on location shooting, hotels, restaurants, stores and other services. This financial injection is somewhat smaller than in 2006 which is a direct reflection of the Provincial statistics for the same time period. The number of productions in Ontario are stable but the total value to Ontario of these productions is slightly down.

Year ......# of Productions Prep......Shoot & Wrap Days ......Direct Impact
2002 .................58 ..............................834 ..................$5 million
2003 .................45 ..............................600 ..................$8 million
2004 .................48 ..............................740 ..................$10.5 million
2005 .................90 .............................1330 ..................$15.6 million
2006 .................94 .............................1280 ..................$15 million
2007 ................106..............................1318 ..................$12 million

These consistently strong numbers over the last six (6) years happened in the face of a number of major events and economic pressures from the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic, to 9/11, and more recently, strikes and a strong Canadian dollar.

Hamilton continues to be the location of choice for productions considering Ontario for their shows. Major motion pictures such as The Incredible Hulk, Flash of Genius, Traitor, Repossession Mambo and Splice to name a few, chose Hamilton for much of their location filming but, domestic (Canadian) production is responsible for the lion’s share of our numbers. These domestic productions keep Hamilton immune to the negative impacts of a strong Canadian dollar and union work stoppages across the border.

Domestic production chooses Hamilton for their location shooting because of our great locations and film-friendly attitude but also because of the Provincial Regional Bonus that they are eligible for. We must continue to encourage the Province to keep this regional bonus in order for Hamilton to maintain some leverage in this competitive market.

The City has also made some incredible gains in the cultural industries segment of the cluster. For example, the Art Bus came on strong in 2007 through the work of the owners of the Pearl Factory. As well, attention is turning to James Street North as an identifiable art district and ‘the place to go’ for arts and culture in the City. The Art Bus tour reaches out to many of the communities in Hamilton such as the Carnegie Gallery in Dundas and the Sunrise Gallery along the Beach Strip. These jewels have continued to grow throughout 2007, creating exhibit space for scores of Hamilton area artists.

The Imperial Cotton Centre for the Arts launched a relationship with another property owner to renovate additional artists’ space at the newly renovated “Cumberland Building” (468 Cumberland). This building is essentially fully occupied by artists from Hamilton and other communities such as the GTA.

2008 is starting off with a bang, with the opening of Steel Work Studios in April. We are anticipating another good year for film and culture in Hamilton.