Cambridge is becoming known as a filmmaker’s haven, with its historic venues, riverside locations and unique downtown.
Devon Hogue was the business development officer for Cambridge until recently, helping grow the city as a film making hot spot.
She now works in the same position for the City of Hamilton, which has 40 productions in the works.
Before Hogue left, Cambridge had five open inquiries and one production filming.
“The year before I started they only had two film inquiries so it was kind of a side of the desk thing, we did what we could to support it.
“By last year I think we had over 74 inquiries so we grew the portfolio leaps and bounds over those seven years.”
Cambridge has seen a wide range of film productions come through over the last decade, becoming home to a popular TV show.
“You can’t talk about filming in Cambridge without talking about The Handmaid's Tale.”
Hogue said every resident should watch the trailer for the upcoming season, which they are still in the process of filming.
“Cambridge is going to be featured prominently in Season 5 and I can’t wait to see it. It's going to be great.”
One of Hogue’s favourite moments was when Main Street bridge was once featured in a Superbowl halftime commercial.
“Another show I don’t think a lot of people saw, they only did one season of it, was called The October Faction. It was based on a comic book series. They used a lot of areas in Cambridge that weren’t typically used for filming.”
“They actually filmed in Di Pietro's - a local independent grocery store. That one had a lot of great drone footage and beautiful shots of Cambridge.”
The InvestCambridge team has been proactive in bringing film crews to the city in a way that is both positive for the crews and the surrounding community, said the communications team for the city in a statement.
“With three unique cores areas and natural landscapes, Cambridge has a lot to offer the creative industry, and that adds to our overall economic wellbeing. Thanks to all who have welcomed the film industry with open arms. We’re looking forward to a strong 2022.” Mayor Kathryn McGarry said in a March news release.
Previous productions filmed in Cambridge, as listed on the city’s website include:
- The Queen's Gambit
- The Hardy Boys
- The Good Witch
- The October Faction
- V-Wars
- The Handmaid's Tale
- American Gods
- Designated Survivor
- Flatliners
- Terrific Trucks Save Christmas
- 11/22/63 (Stephen King Miniseries)
- Murdoch Mysteries
Hogue helped coordinate with location planners to have the Food Network’s show Fire Masters locate on Eagle Street last year.
They set up a studio and filmed two seasons over six weeks.
The show didn’t contain shots of the city but it had a big impact on the local food bank. The show ended up donating close to 1,600 pounds of food when they wrapped up as well as an estimated economic impact of $250,000 to the local hospitality sector.
“I think the only thing people really noticed was the smell of BBQ hanging over Preston in that six week period.”
Last year was a record-breaking year for Cambridge with 65 total inquiries for productions and 75 total days of filming. This was even with a pause in film permit issuance from January to June of 2021 due to the pandemic and restrictions.
“Film projects bring investment into the city we may not see otherwise”, said director of economic development, James Goodram in the release.
“Industry professionals stay in our hotels, support our local businesses and promote our community to a global audience."
"Implementing a film strategy to capitalize on future growth and opportunity, will allow us to focus on building partnerships across a broad range of stakeholders, and ensure that Cambridge remains a destination of choice for this industry.”
Working with the geographical information system department, the economical development team created storyboards for filming and walking tours of film locations in the city.
Currently the city has a #CaptureCambridge crowd source project, to try and find hidden filming gems with the public's help.
“It’s the historic architecture, it’s the location next to a river, we're known as the pretty town and I think that’s something residents need to take a look at. That’s why the film industry comes here because Cambridge is gorgeous.”
While Hogue worked with the city, they were able to track people coming to Cambridge from as far away as Australia, just to go look at the Handmaid’s wall or walk across the Main Street bridge.
“Film tourism is a big deal especially when you have something that has a cult following like the Handmaid’s Tale, people are more likely to travel from wherever just to be in those same spaces,” Hogue added.
“I would love to see our tourism people just run with that."
“I know it is a bit of a focus in Hamilton, they do track it and follow-up. I would love to see them do that here in Cambridge because I think you would see that film attracts a lot of people that you would never expect.”
A listing is currently online, as the city looks to find the next business development officer.
