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Toronto, ON - City Council today moved to ensure the continued success of
Toronto's film industry by approving a loan to the Toronto
Economic Development Corporation for the purchase of an interest
in Filmport.
"This investment is critical not only to support Filmport, but
to secure the future of the city's screen-based industry as a
whole," Mayor David Miller said. "We know we have a world-class
facility in Filmport and it stands to serve as the cornerstone
of a healthy industry that employs close to 40,000 people
directly and indirectly."
The City of Toronto has a 30-year history of supporting the film
industry which pumps more than $1 billion into the local
economy.
In August, 2008, the existing shareholders and management
exceeded the requirements under their lease with TEDCO and
opened 250,000 square feet of first class, high tech film
production and studio space which includes the Megastage. The
existing shareholders and Filmport President Ken Ferguson have
worked tirelessly to create this state-of-the-art facility and
steer it through challenging times. Although demand for film
production facilities fell sharply in 2008, there are now signs
of improvement. A City mission to Los Angeles in January
generated significant interest in Filmport and other
screen-based industry facilities and services in Toronto.
In order to ensure that these film production facilities
continue to be used as a key, integral part of Toronto's film
industry, TEDCO has been negotiating with the existing owners
and prospective partners in order to reach an agreement that
will provide for a sustainable financial structure for the
venture.
Filmport is integral to attracting major feature film
productions to Toronto and when it is operating at full
capacity, is expected to generate 1,000 to 1,400 jobs and add
$50 to $70 million to Toronto's GDP.
Filmport was built following recommendations contained in a 1999
Ontario Film Development Corporation study that determined
Toronto's ability to attract larger film productions was being
hindered as a result of a lack of appropriate facilities.
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