Chatham-Kent's new film liaison is on the job and she says her first order of business is to develop a solid business plan, including financial incentives to attract films to the area.
Ashley Renders told CK News Today she is trying to get a bigger slice of Ontario Government financial incentives and tax credits for smaller communities like Chatham-Kent, calling it a regional bonus to get film crews that would usually film in Toronto, Montreal, and the United States to film in Chatham-Kent. To do that, Renders said her priority is to form a coalition of small communities to lobby the province to change its budget.
"I think a lot of film offices start off with the assumption that, 'We're a small town, we have great locations, we have a cute downtown, we have beaches, we have churches and schools, and all of these locations that people can film in', which is amazing, but the thing that draws productions to a location is all about the money," said Renders.
Renders said getting the provincial tax credits extended to U.S. film crews will take a while, but it will be worth the effort.
"Those U.S. productions that want to take advantage of our dollar and our amazing tax credits, our amazing crews here make up 57 per cent of the dollars that are spent on films in Canada. So, it's the majority of films that are made here, but they don't qualify for that regional bonus. So, there's no incentive for these U.S. producers to film further away from Toronto," she said.
Renders expects some challenges along the way too, saying local talent must be addressed at some point to make filming locally attractive and sustainable. She said partnering with nearby film schools will be huge to make sure local talent is available.
"I have all of this expertise from international producing and I really know what producers are looking for and I can use this information to really help the municipality position itself correctly to actually attract films here," Renders noted.
She also said part of her role over the next year will be developing a clear blueprint for film crews around permits and bylaws.
Renders has plenty of experience coming into the job. She worked as a journalist for Vice Media, took a college course in the business of film and television, and worked as an associate producer for a busy film production company in Toronto.