TORONTO, Oct. 31, 2018 /CNW/ - Today at Queen's Park, FilmOntario and MPA-Canada held an informative Breakfast event to discuss the economic impact of the film and television industry in Ontario. Ministers, MPPs, and political staff, joined representatives from unions, production companies and studios to highlight the success of both the foreign and domestic production footprint in the province.

Guests at the breakfast had the chance to see some of what goes on behind-the-scenes, getting up close with costumes from productions filmed in Ontario, including "The Master" from FX's The Strain, designed by the award-winning Luis Sequeira and "Jigsaw" from the successful SAW movie franchise, which has grossed nearly $1 billion worldwide. Film and television production in Ontario has a ripple effect on communities across the province, bringing jobs, revenue and related infrastructure development, which provides an immediate boost to the local economy.

"Over the past twenty-five years, Ontario has grown to be one of the leading jurisdictions for screen-based content creation in North America, thanks to our diverse on- and off-screen talent, fabulous locations, and provincial incentives," said Sue Milling, Executive Director of ACTRA Toronto and FilmOntario Board Co-Chair. Jennifer Jonas, President of New Real Films and FilmOntario Board Co-Chair added "as an industry, we contribute billions of dollars to the economy and create thousands of jobs all across the province, and we look forward to working with our government partners to ensure that growth continues for many years to come."

"The film and television industry is a key economic driver in our great province. We promised Ontario would be open for business. Our government for the people will continue to work with the film and television industry to create a competitive business environment that allows the sector to flourish and continue to help grow our economy," said the Hon. Sylvia Jones, Minister of Tourism Culture and Sport.

"We were thrilled to meet with Ministers and MPPs this morning to showcase the economic impact our industry has on the province of Ontario," said Wendy Noss, President, Motion Picture Association-Canada. "Film and television production is a job creator in the province with close to 35,000 people employed in 2017 and over $1.6 billion invested on productions in the province. Foreign producers alone spent over $820 million in Ontario, and our MPA studios supported over 4,040 businesses across the province. We look forward to working with MPPs to ensure the province remains a leading production destination."

About FilmOntario

FilmOntario is an industry funded, non-partisan consortium representing approximately 35,000 individuals from Ontario-based production companies, unions, studios, equipment makers and other organizations in the province's screen-based industry. Our emphasis is on marketing the province as a screen-based content creation and production jurisdiction, and working with all levels of government to ensure that policies and programs maintain Ontario's international competitiveness.

About MPA-Canada:

The Motion Picture Association – Canada (MPA-Canada) serves as the voice and advocate of the major international producers and distributors of movies, home entertainment and television programming in Canada and is an affiliate of the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA). The motion picture studios we serve are: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures; Paramount Pictures Corporation; Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.; Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation; Universal City Studios LLC; and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

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SOURCE Motion Picture Association - Canada

For further information: Cynthia Lynch, Managing Director and Counsel, FilmOntario, 416-642-6704, [email protected]

Related Links

http://mpa-canada.org

