Film and television productions continued to make Cambridge home in record numbers in 2021, despite pandemic restrictions that saw the industry's presence disappear between January and June.
The city's first film report is coming to council next week to highlight the last two years and celebrate the city’s progress in navigating an industry that brought in an estimated $1.26 million in business to local hotels, restaurants, and services last year.
The numbers, which are reported by the industry as part of the permitting process, are based on the anticipated local spend, excluding wages and transportation costs.
Since the city began tracking spin-off revenue from film production in 2015, it's estimated the economic impact to local businesses is north of $6.3 million.
The report says the city's economic development office will refine its application process this year to ask production crews to estimate the number of hotel stays as a way to further track the economic impact of the industry.
Other numbers in the report prove the city's scenic river views and unique downtown cores are still in demand as film production in 2021 bounced back in record form from a 2020 slow down.
Last year saw 75 days used for shooting in comparison to 61 days in 2019 and only 27 in 2020.
And although inquiries to the economic development office remained below the 2019 high of 75 inquiries, the 65 calls to the city by location scouts in 2021 was above 2020's 59 inquiries.
Production for television and streaming services made up the majority of local film productions in 2021 with 75 per cent of all projects filmed in Cambridge ending up on the small screen.
The city collected $23,717 in filming related fees in 2021, including permit fees, administration and parking.
The city says it charges its fees on a cost-recovery basis to encourage location budget spending within the community, with impacted businesses, instead of generating revenue for the city.
Since 2015, the city has seen a steady increase in inquiries, which have grown by 160 per cent over the last six years.
Before 2015, the city regularly welcomed film crews for returning favourites like Murdoch Mysteries, but it wasn't until projects such as Stephen King’s 11-22-63, which filmed in Hespeler, and The Handmaid’s Tale, which continues to film in Cambridge with each successive season, that interest in Cambridge spread throughout the industry.
The report says those projects are viewed by the city's economic development office as catalysts that proved "the community could efficiently and effectively facilitate (and tolerate) larger scale production."
At that point, the report says, staff began to actively market the unique projects that chose to make Cambridge their home, and began broadly promoting the community as a film friendly city while highlighting frequently filmed areas to residents and visitors in an effort to build community pride in place.
One of those efforts is a filming locations map, which can be viewed HERE.
The city stopped issuing film permits between January and June of last year during the provincial stay at home order.
The first project to film in 2021 was the Amazon Prime Video series Reacher, which closed down Black Bridge Road in Hespeler one Friday last June to film an explosive action scene. The series premiered on the streaming service Feb. 4.
In November, the upcoming Disney+ series Culprits became the first production to film in all three core areas.
Other film projects that returned to Cambridge over the last two years include The Handmaid’s Tale, Letters to Satan Claus, Hotel Paranormal, The Odd Squad, The Good Witch, Murdoch Mysteries, Killer Deal, My Fair Snowman, The Perfect Pairing, Fire Masters, Ruby and the Well, Locke & Key and Hardy Boys.
