A multi-million dollar private investment will see a little touch of Hollywood brought to a small southern Manitoba town.
The studio village, which will be dubbed Jette Studios, will “leverage the latest technology and include 18,581 sq.-ft. of studio space,” according to Volume Global and Julijette Inc., the two companies that will develop the project.
Dyck said there were several reasons Niverville was chosen for the project, including its location, because he said some filmmakers and crews want to avoid the much busier streets in Winnipeg if they can.
He also credited the province’s Manitoba Film and Video Production Tax Credit that was introduced in 2017, and the extra 5% rural tax credit currently offered to projects developed outside of Winnipeg.
“If a community seems attractive to work in, and then you factor in that extra rural tax credit, that can really be the deciding factor,” Dyck said.
According to the province, in the last year 122 film projects have benefitted from the tax credit program, and it has supported $525 million in production in Manitoba over a 30-month period.
On Thursday, Sport, Culture and Heritage Minister Obby Khan was in Niverville, and spoke about moves the province has been making in recent years to bring more film and TV projects to Manitoba.
“Manitoba’s film industry is thriving, in the last year generating $365 million,” Khan said. “Whether it’s the Manitoba Film and Video Production Tax Credit, our new direct flights between Winnipeg and Los Angeles, or infrastructure improvements that propel growth, we are taking concrete steps to support Manitoba jobs and grow the economy.” Khan said.
“What we’ve seen with the last three census periods has been basically 6% growth every year, so that’s 30% every five years. We are one of the fastest growing communities in the province, and this will push that further we believe.
“It will be a significant economic driver for the community as a whole.”
Construction on Jette Studios in Niverville is expected to begin this summer, and those developing the project say they plan to first erect a 20,000 square foot pop-up soundstage that could be operational as early as this fall, and then work to build the permanent studio village facility.
— Dave Baxter is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the Winnipeg Sun. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
