SUDBURY – The Ontario government is providing more than $3.4 million through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) towards three film and television production projects in Sudbury. This investment will create local jobs and help raise the profile of the production industry in Northern Ontario.

 

“Our government continues to elevate Northern Ontario’s world-class film and television industry with targeted investments through the NOHFC that drive the local economy and create new jobs in the North,” said Greg Rickford, Minister of Northern Development. “We are proud to support today’s film and TV projects in Sudbury, an important production hub in the region.”

 

Film and television productions funded through the NOHFC include:

 

• $2,650,000 combined for Spinner Productions Inc. to produce Season 2 ($1,250,000) and Season 3 ($1,400,000) of the Canadian comedy television series, “Shoresy,” a spin-off of the series, “Letterkenny,” which focuses on Letterkenny’s most beloved hockey player, Shoresy, and follows the Sudbury Bulldogs of the Northern Ontario Senior Hockey Organization on a quest to never lose again
• $816,617 for ZT Productions Inc. to produce the film “Zombie Town,” a film adaptation of the eponymous novel written by R.L. Stine, author of the “Goosebumps” series of children’s horror fiction novels.

 

“Good things are filmed in Ontario,” said Neil Lumsden, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport. “This investment through the NOHFC reaffirms our government’s continued efforts to expand Northern Ontario’s thriving film and television industry. I am proud that audiences around the world will see more Ontario-made content, illustrating why our province is a choice destination for film production industry.”

 

The NOHFC promotes economic prosperity across Northern Ontario by providing financial assistance to projects—big and small, rural and urban—that stimulate growth, job creation and skills development. Since June 2018, the NOHFC has invested more than $759 million in 6,233 projects in Northern Ontario, leveraging more than $2.3 billion in investment and creating or sustaining over 9,595 jobs.

 

Quick Facts

 

• • The Ontario government launched new and improved NOHFC programs that support more projects in rural northern communities and make it easier for more people and businesses to apply. The programs target existing and emerging markets, provide more work opportunities for Indigenous people and address the skilled labour shortage in the North.

 

• • The NOHFC’s Cultural Supports Program showcases Northern Ontario culture, geography and talent through event partnerships and support for the production of films and TV series.

 

 

Additional Resources

 

• The NOHFC, Northern Development Offices
  and Small Business Enterprise Centres are available to support northern communities, businesses and other stakeholders in identifying economic development opportunities and assist in accessing government funding programs.

 

Quotes

“The unwavering support we’ve received from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund has played a pivotal role in fueling our production on Seasons 2 and 3 for our latest series, ‘Shoresy’. We express our deep gratitude for the province’s ongoing investments, which have facilitated the creation of numerous jobs locally for our talented cast and crew, and we are proud of the substantial economic impact New Metric Media’s productions continues to have in Northern Ontario.” – Mark Montefiore, Founder and CEO, New Metric Media.

 

“We thank the NOHFC and the Ontario government for their investments, which have helped us deliver a fantastic film, ‘Zombie Town’, and also develop community partnerships post production like the Northern Ontario Railroad Museum and Heritage Centre for the Zombie Train, which we hope will become an annual tourism event. The community partners that worked with us both during and after this project showed us the true spirit of Northern Ontario. We look forward to bringing more projects to film in the North.” – John Gillespie, Micheline Blais, Mark Holdom, Producers, ZT Productions Inc.

 

Media Contacts

 

Curtis Lindsay, Minister’s Office 437-240-7317 curtis.lindsay@ontario.ca

 

Media Desk, Communications Branch mediadesk.ndm@ontario.ca