Summer movie season keeping film crews busy in London

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Just call London, Hollywood North.

One film is being shot in the city and two more are on tap to get cameras rolling in August, said Andrew Dodd, director of Film London, the city agency charged with expanding the film industry here.

The film schedule may grow even busier as Film London also received support from city hall staff, with a report going to city politicians this week saying that in its brief  three-year history the agency has landed more than 30 film and television projects that have generated more than $1 million in spinoff income to the city and created 300 jobs.

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In the report going to the strategic priorities and policy committee on Thursday, city staff recommend making funding for Film London permanent. The office of the London Economic Development Corp. receives about $300,000 a year.

“There is no secret sauce. We have smart people, doing smart work and the support of the city in creating a film office with a budget means we can be serious,” Dodd said.

The city and region also have natural advantages that play into the conversation, with London being just two hours from Toronto and offering unique locations to filmmakers.

“They are tired of locations in cities where they shoot a lot of films,” Dodd said. “They are looking at more than Toronto because the industry has grown. We are getting there, we are just starting to become a production hub and we are seeing momentum picking up.”

London infrastructure to support the film sector is growing, with more crews hired here since one business CDN Talent Agency opened. Production businesses such as Broad Films that hires crews for productions, and Set Ready, offering film equipment to lease to production companies, have also sprung up.

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Fanshawe College created a new screen and stage acting program.

At Centennial Hall on Friday, a film crew largely from Toronto was shooting a film directed by Londoner Ethan Hickey called Falsehood, a sci-fi drama. Over the five weeks of its production here more than 40-member crews likely injected more than $100,000 into the local economy, said Amy Wynne, publicist.

 “Our team has really felt embraced by the community here,” said Colin Pember, production manager. 

“Everywhere we have gone from Western, Fanshwe, restaurants and homes, people have been so friendly, willing to help us out and the locations for the shoots have been fantastic,” he said.

Film London was founded in 2021, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and in 2023 the film industry struggled through two major strikes among writers and actors that shut down a lot of production. The Writers Guild of America was off the job from early May to the end of September and from July to November, SAG-AFTRA, the actors’ union, was on strike.

 “It was a rough year for the industry but this year we are seeing it come back and not just in London, but across the province,” Dodd said.

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Film London now boasts a database of local assets, including 200 locations, 170 performers, and 130 crew.

Some of the popular productions that London has hosted include The Changeling for Apple TV+, Blackberry for CBC and XYZ Films, Mr. Monk’s Last Case for NBC Universal, Pradeeps of Pittsburgh for Sony Pictures Television, You Gotta Believe for Well Go USA Entertainment, and most recently, Motorheads for Amazon Prime. The Amazing Race Canada, Salvage Kings and Ghost Hunters of the Grand River were also filmed here. 

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