With a successful 2025 in the books, the city\u2019s film commissioner has several priorities in mind that she feels will increase the economic impact of the city\u2019s screen industry, including the potential for a soundstage, a project that has been discussed since 2018.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sandrine Pechels de Saint Sardos told OBJ last week that 2025 was a \u201crecord year.\u201d The industry brought in $62 million in local economic activity in live-action productions, with 30 feature-length, made-for-television films and seven live-action television series filmed in the nation\u2019s capital.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Plus, the city is getting noticed on the global stage. Earlier this month, the Ottawa Film Office was shortlisted for \u201cfilm commission of the year\u201d for a city or region at the Global Production Awards, set to take place during the Cannes Film Festival in May.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are extremely proud of our filmmakers, producers, crew and cast actors for the hard work they put in towards this success,\u201d Pechels de Saint Sardos told OBJ.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The shortlist nod is an indication of how hard the local screen industry works and Pechels de Saint Sardos said it helps put Ottawa on the map for future projects.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are the capital city of Canada. We need to have a space in those film festivals, which I think is so important for exposure and to achieve more attraction and discoverability,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ottawa is a city with enormous potential, she said. \u201cBefore I used to have to pitch (intellectual properties) and now I\u2019m pitching a city. We are bilingual. We offer amazing, versatile locations. (We have) great tax incentives with a 10 per cent bonus on top of the 35 per cent against labour expenses. And it\u2019s easy to get around Ottawa. You can get from downtown to a farm in 20 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Against such a backdrop, Pechels de Saint Sardos said she\u2019s ready to bring Ottawa\u2019s screen industry to the next level. Here are the four things that are top of mind for her as she looks forward to a new season.<\/p>\n
Reviving Ottawa\u2019s animation industry<\/p>\n
Around the time of the pandemic, Ottawa\u2019s animation industry boomed as people stayed home and watched movies and TV. Production continued, even as stay-at-home mandates kept workplaces shuttered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Pechels de Saint Sardos said the local industry realized $60 million in revenue during that time. But demand slowed in the post-pandemic years, with revenue reaching $15 million in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In 2025, Ottawa\u2019s animation industry improved, generating $28 million in revenue. However, Pechels de Saint Sardos said the industry still faces headwinds such as the growing popularity of short-form content apps and declining support from post-secondary institutions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a big decline in kids watching TV. YouTube is taking that momentum (away). Kids are watching content that is not tailored to (their age groups) \u2026 Atomic Cartoons closed in Ottawa last December. This is a huge disaster for the community. Some institutions like Algonquin College and La Cit\u00e9 Coll\u00e9giale got rid of some of their (animation and film industry) classes. That\u2019s a crisis,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Now, Pechels de Saint Sardos said she\u2019s pushing to bring animation back. \u201cI really want to support our animation studios more than ever. For the first time at the Cannes Film Festival, there is a whole animation angle to the festival. It\u2019s not just (anime), it\u2019s feature films in animation, which seems to be a format that everybody wants. I\u2019m going to meet with producers there and see if I can bring some projects to the studios in Ottawa.\u201d<\/p>\n
Diversifying the production lineup in Ottawa<\/p>\n
Ottawa is possibly best known as the place where horror and holiday movies such as Netflix\u2019s\u00a0 Hot Frosty are made. But while the city will always welcome those productions, Pechels de Saint Sardos said she is striving to attract a wider variety of productions to Ottawa.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s great to have Christmas movies, rom-coms and horror movies, but I want more independent feature films like Et maintenant and It Comes In Waves,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With many global embassies in the capital, Pechels de Saint Sardos said she has advocated for the next season of Netflix\u2019s The Diplomat to take place in Ottawa.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are home to 130 embassies. It\u2019s the perfect playground for a social-political TV series. And those embassies are super-open to be filmed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, she said that the film office doesn\u2019t \u201cwant to put (itself) in a box,\u201d and continues to search for diverse productions to take place in Ottawa. But to truly diversify the kinds of productions that are brought to life, the city needs to be open for business longer than a few months a year, Pechels de Saint Sardos said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Progress on a new soundstage<\/p>\n
In 2018, the film office announced its proposal to build a $40-million soundstage and creative hub on the site of the former Greenbelt Research Farm on Woodroffe Avenue across from the Nepean Sportsplex. The land has been leased from the National Capital Commission.<\/p>\n
In March 2024, the film office announced that it would start accepting expressions of interest for its soundstage project<\/a> and Pechels de Saint Sardos told OBJ in late 2024 that such a facility would generate between $40 million and $100 million in annual economic spinoffs<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n There have been few updates since then. Last week, Pechels de Saint Sardos said work is slowly progressing.<\/p>\n She added that the film office board completed a business plan last December that is now with the city\u2019s economic development team before being presented to council.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI understand that it\u2019s an election year, so I am not sure if something will happen this year, but my hopes are high,\u201d she said of the soundstage project. \u201cI\u2019m the locomotive behind that soundstage. We don\u2019t need a big one, just a few stages.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom December to March, we are losing those essential months because it\u2019s too cold or there is too much snow to go and film outside. Christmas movies are usually filmed from April and into the summer because there is less rain and it\u2019s easier to work with props. During those four months, our producers are either working in creative development or trying to get more gigs going. I want to give them more security,\u201d she told OBJ last week.\u00a0<\/p>\n Meanwhile, she said her team has been scoping out other vacant spaces in the city with the hopes of retrofitting them, but haven\u2019t found a good match yet.<\/p>\n \u201cEither the ceilings are too low or there are columns in the way. If it\u2019s with the private sector, it becomes very expensive. If it\u2019s with the NCC, it\u2019s better, but from what I\u2019ve seen, it\u2019s not adequate for the dimensions we need to have.\u201d<\/p>\n The film and TV industry\u2019s impact on the local economy<\/p>\n Pechels de Saint Sardos said the film office\u2019s 2025 numbers give her confidence that Ottawa has potential as a production city. \u201cWe are very much a part of the economic development (of the city) \u2026 That\u2019s why it\u2019s essential that we have a soundstage, because it will create even more positions.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, many notable productions have taken place in the city over the past year, including an episode of CBC\u2019s Murdoch Mysteries and independent film Love Is Not The Answer, directed by Micheal Cera and starring Pamela Anderson, Steve Coogan and Jamie Dornan.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ottawa is even starting to become its own \u201ccharacter\u201d in some productions, Pechels de Saint Sardos added.\u00a0<\/p>\n