On November 7, Alberta’s screen industry gathered in Calgary for the 52nd annual Rosie Awards. This year, 569 submissions were narrowed to 292 finalists across more than 50 categories, recognizing everything from directing and writing to costume design and visual effects.
Among the nominees was Eyes in the Woods, an OUTtv series filmed in Sundre and Mountain View County, which was nominated in eight categories. It’s one more sign of something the region has been building toward for years: work made here is standing alongside the best in the province.
A track record that keeps growing
The Mountain View region has hosted some of the most-watched productions to film in Alberta, including Fargo, Under the Banner of Heaven, Wynonna Earp, The Order and Die My Love. Those productions brought international audiences to the streets, ranchland and small towns of Didsbury, Sundre and Mountain View County.
Independent productions have found a home here too, and they keep coming back. One Alberta production company has now filmed in Sundre and Mountain View County three separate times: first an independent series for online streaming, then season 3 of the award-winning series Abracadavers, and most recently Eyes in the Woods for OUTtv. Each return visit built on the locations and local relationships from the last.
Why productions choose the region
Variety in one place. Open prairie, foothills with mountain views, authentic small-town streetscapes, vast ranchland and working industrial sites are all within easy reach of each other. Productions can capture several looks without moving the whole operation.
Close to Calgary. The region is the closest rural area to Calgary that qualifies for Alberta’s rural tax credit top-up. Productions that complete at least 75 percent of principal photography in a qualifying rural region may be eligible for an additional 8 percent on top of the province’s base 22 percent film and television tax credit. The Alberta Film Commission is the best source for eligibility details.
Infrastructure you won’t find in most rural areas. The region is home to one of Alberta’s only 20-foot green screens and sound stages outside Calgary or Edmonton at West of 22 Productions Inc., so productions that need controlled shooting can stay local instead of heading back to the city.
Locations with character. The Sundre and District Museum’s pioneer village has stood in for the Old West, giving productions authentic historic buildings for close, detailed shots without the cost of a purpose-built backlot.
Support that scales to the production
The Mountain View Regional Film Office works with productions of every size, from multi-million-dollar series to projects with budgets around $40,000. The support stays the same and scales to what each production needs: location scouting, help with permitting, and connections to local property owners, businesses and services.
Those productions matter to the communities, too. One small independent shoot put roughly $45,000 directly into Sundre’s economy in about a week.
Part of Alberta’s bigger story
Most productions don’t film in just one place. A project might need the badlands near Drumheller, mountain backdrops to the west and a small-town main street, all in the same shoot. The Mountain View region sits at the centre of that map, and works alongside neighbouring communities to help productions get what they need while keeping their work in Alberta. When Alberta’s screen industry grows, everyone shares in it.
Congratulations, and the door is open
Congratulations to all of this year’s Rosie Award nominees and winners, and thank you to AMPIA for another year of celebrating the province’s screen industry.
If you’re a producer, director or location scout planning your next project, we’d love to help you find your spot in the Mountain View region.
Thinking about your next production? Email us at info@mountainviewfilm.ca to start the conversation.
