City councillors got the picture and will provide a letter of intent to assist filmmakers in landing a feature film production for Powell River.
At the Thursday, August 6 Powell River City Council meeting, a motion was unanimously carried to show the city’s support for the film project.
The planned film is based on a novel called Cold Clear Morning and Powell River filmmaker Tony Papa holds the rights to the book.
Councillor CaroleAnn Leishman said the plan calls for a 22-day shoot in the Powell River region in approximately a year from now.
“They are looking for concessions and incentives to film in the Powell River region and make it comparable to filming in the Lower Mainland,” she said. “Once that door is opened and once we get one film here, it shows production crews around North America that it is very feasible to film in our area. We have some really unique locations.”
At council’s committee of the whole meeting, Tuesday, August 4, Mayor Dave Formosa said he had received a phone call from Papa to talk about a film in Powell River. When he received this email he connected with Leishman, who holds the arts and culture portfolio on council.
A meeting was held in the mayor’s office. The proposal is for a low-budget, $1 million feature film in the drama genre. The mayor said it would be a family film to be shot in Powell River.
“There are a whole bunch of wins for the community,” Formosa said. “They are looking at Australia, and parts of Europe maybe, to show this feature film where Powell River would be front and centre. It makes sense because we are doing such a great job–our economy is growing, our population is growing and the plans that councils past and present have laid out are working.
“This gets our faces out there.”
Formosa was asked by Papa to speak with local business people and request price reductions to help facilitate production. Formosa said he had done so and has arranged discounts from 30 to 50 per cent on key items for the production.
Another key item was to talk to council about costs associated with providing city services.
“They are not asking for a freebee but they are asking for a similar discount,” Formosa said.
The mayor has contacted Jack Barr, Powell River Chamber of Commerce president and a significant commercial property owner in the community; Tla’amin (Sliammon) First Nation; City Transfer and Pacific Coastal Airlines. What is required is a letter signed by Formosa indicating the level of support in the community. He said the film’s local proponents will then use the letter to help secure the money for the project. Others filmmakers are competing for production money.
Papa said once a film is shot in a location it demonstrates to other producers that the location is viable for film production.
“We are looking at the best effort a city can offer in letter form, showing it’s prepared to take it on and go forward,” Papa said. “Once that is in place they can say it makes sense to do it there.”
Councillor Maggie Hathaway suggested that the producers submit their whole list of wants to the city, then it can be determined how best Powell River could assist.
Papa said a number of the specifics in terms of locations are going to be better known once the film’s production manager breaks down the script and tries to identify potential locations. City involvement would likely come through access to buildings or traffic control. There may be requirement for a water truck to wet down a street before shooting, he added.
When asked by council, Papa said the film is a for-profit venture.
Marie Claxton, city clerk, said she thinks it is a wonderful idea for something like this to occur in the community and she would like to see something written from the producers making requests of council. The requests will require staff review. Claxton said she is sure there are a number of things that can be done with infrastructure, such as traffic control, and use of civic buildings would likely be easy to accommodate.
Papa said the letter of intent would not be binding upon the city.
