Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have a lot of success stories here in the Northwest Territories, and it’s important that we highlight those stories to show our residents, and especially our youth, what’s possible.
Mr. Speaker, if you travelled to Hay River, or Katl'odeeche, or Enterprise lately, you may have been wondering whether you took a wrong turn somewhere and accidentally wound up in Hollywood. That’s because for the past few weeks, Hay River has been serving as a filming location for the upcoming fulllength film Cold Road. The man behind this project is Hay River’s own Kelvin Redvers.
Filmmaking has always been Kelvin's passion and, beginning as a student at Diamond Jenness Secondary School, he spent countless hours writing, directing, producing, acting, and all the other things you need to do to make it in the TV and film industries. He's paid his dues, built a career, and has a number of successful projects under his belt. Now he's returned to Hay River to direct his first ever featurelength film and we're happy to have him back.
It's fitting that Cold Road is being filmed in the South Slave, as it was the long quiet highways of the region that inspired the film's story.
The original plan was to film the scenes in northern Alberta but it became clear, and only a couple months ago actually, that there were no suitable locations in Alberta and it just wouldn't work. With the end of winter approaching, the crew began to grapple with the reality that delaying the filming until next winter meant it was likely that funding would dry up, and the movie would never be made.
With only a few days before the fate of the film would be sealed, Kelvin began reaching out to the NWT Film Commission, the Department of Infrastructure, the Town of Hay River, and others, in the hopes of saving the production. Mr. Speaker, despite government's wellearned reputation of taking its sweet time, things moved quickly and within a matter of days the necessary elements were put in place to make filming in the NWT a reality.
I have to thank the film commission, the Minister of ITI, and the Town of Hay River for their support and their determination that was instrumental in bringing the production to the NWT.
Over the course of filming, roughly half a million dollars will be spent in the NWT. On and off, about 50 people will be brought up to work on the film – all staying in hotels, eating in restaurants, and contributing to the economy. The production is using local caterers, contractors, and other service providers, and is renting vehicles, facilities, and equipment to assist with the production. Dozens of local businesses have benefited, and four local businesses have been used as shooting locations. The crew has said that residents have made it easy for them to film in the NWT, and they would have no problem coming back to do it again. And Mr. Speaker, we'd love to have them back because they've proven to be a great group of people. I know the crew is grateful to many Hay River residents and businesses for the support and responsiveness, including Rick and Jane Groenewegen, Brent and Jackie Kruger, Ernie Pokiak, Shawn Buckley, Anne Peters, and the staff at the Ptarmigan. And Mr. Speaker, I have quite a list here but I see that my time has run out so I can't list everyone, they know who they are, and Mr. Speaker, I'll see you on the red carpet at the premiere of Cold Road. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Hay River north. Members' statements. Member for Nahendeh.
