Municipalities eye further ‘professionalizing’ regional film office

December 12, 2024

SUNDRE – Making the Mountain View region as “film friendly” as possible will go a long way towards enticing producers to shoot their next potentially big-title projects in the area, while spurring spinoff economic activity and additional tourism appeal.

Sundre, Didsbury and Mountain View County councils recently heard presentations from consultants with Nordicity who outlined steps to consider taking as part of a strategic plan to further professionalize the Mountain View Regional Film Office that already exists to promote the region to the film industry.

“We engaged their services because of the importance of film as a growth sector in Alberta and its ability to have a high impact on a small town like ours because of the fact it provides economic diversification, it provides indirect flows of capital, it supports tourism, it supports workforce development – it hits many checkmarks,” said Jon Allan, Sundre’s economic development officer.

Allan said told Sundre council recently that a grant from the provincial government has paved the way to help professionalize the Mountain View Regional Film Office’s virtual presence and could potentially take it to the next level by making it self-sufficient.

In response to follow-up questions, Allan told the Albertan, “The total cost of the project was $72,500, of which $50,000 was covered by the Northern and Regional Economic Development Program grant.”

The regional partners – Mountain View County and the towns of Didsbury and Sundre – each put in $7,500 in cash, he said.