We have seen a lot of Canada in Canadian films. Films shot across Canada. Ontario and Quebec, the largest provinces in land size, produce more than their share of Canadian films. Plenty from British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Manitoba (mostly Winnipeg). A few from Prince Edward Island. There have been some beautiful films from Alberta and Saskatchewan.
New Brunswick is the one province where we see almost next to nothing in Canadian film.
We aren't talking about films, Canadian or otherwise, shot in Canada where you can't tell where you are. These are films where place is distinct. New Brunswick would be an ideal setting for Canadian films and other films, but is mostly invisible in terms of filmmaking. We don't hear about New Brunswick and film tax credits the way we hear about them in Nova Scotia and Alberta. The mostly rural province would be ideal for horror films yet is missing on this battlefront.
New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province in Canada. Other than a rare Franco-Ontarian film, almost all of the French language films in Canada come from Quebec. New Brunswick certainly has a huge need to create jobs in the province. This seems almost a match made in cinema yet we don't even hear the crickets in that province.
Beerocracy is a Canadian film that we know for sure is set in New Brunswick. The documentary is about getting craft beers into provincial government stores. All the Wrong Reasons seemed to be set in New Brunswick. The province did supply funding to the film. The film was shot in Fredericton, New Brunswick and Halifax, Nova Scotia. (Fredericton is the provincial capital.)
Quebexit explores the idea of crossing a border between Quebec and New Brunswick. The border setup isn't real and even if that was New Brunswick, the footage wouldn't even cover a kilometre into New Brunswick. Still Mine (2012) is set in rural St. Martins, New Brunswick.
Some of the discrepancy is that filmmakers tend to like to shoot in places where they know. Mina Shum usually shoots in Vancouver. Thom Fitzgerald loves to shoot in Nova Scotia. A New Brunswick filmmaker would want to make films in the home province.
New Brunswick films (NFB)
Maybe New Brunswick has some good films yet we don't know much about them. A lack of publicity is also a concern for the New Brunswick film industry.
Race Against The Tide is a CBC show shot in New Brunswick that does put the Bay of Fundy on display. A summertime reality show is a good start and a great showcase for the power of the Bay of Fundy.
Canadian film review: Quebexit
Canadian film review: Beerocracy
We've talked about the contrast in education and opportunity in New Brunswick versus even the other Atlantic Canada provinces. Yet Newfoundland and Labrador has many film and TV opportunities. New Brunswick would love to have a Republic of Doyle or even a Hudson & Rex.
Nova Scotia has lot of film work and even TV shows such as This Hour Has 22 Minutes.
Prince Edward Island doesn't have a huge output of Canadian film or television. The legacy of Anne of Green Gables helps plus Jeremy Larter films such as Pogey Beach and Who's Yer Father?. PEI shows this isn't easy in a rural setting yet this can work.
Jeremy Larter on Who's Yer Father? and filmmaking on PEI (Q on CBC Radio)
A proactive film and television tax credits plan could draw filmmakers, Canadian or otherwise, to a mostly rural province. New Brunswick has the Bay of Fundy. Saint John offers the potential for uphill chases downtown. Horror films would have plenty of rural territory for filming.
The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976), technically a Canada co-production, was set in Maine and shot in Quebec. Maine and New Brunswick are neighbours. There are possibilities for New Brunswick.
Canadian film review: Still Mine
Canadian film review: All the Wrong Reasons
If you lived in Toronto or Winnipeg and had never been east of Quebec, your first pick for travel would likely be Halifax or St. John's. We have seen them enough in films or TV that would draw people to those destinations. I personally went to the bar that on the outside is the bar for Republic of Doyle. The real bar has the best gravy I've tasted on this planet.
Your humble narrator has been to New Brunswick: Hopewell Rocks, Moncton, Fredericton, and Saint John. There are challenges to film in New Brunswick yet there are solutions to those challenges.
Everything's Gone Green was a wonderful showcase of Vancover. waydowntown showed us a side of Calgary most of us don't know. Rare Birds showed us rural Newfoundland. Fitzgerald knows Nova Scotia. Larter knows Prince Edward Island. Don McKellar knows Toronto. Jared Keeso knows Sudbury. A few filmmakers have shown off Winnipeg and rural Manitoba. Some many Quebec filmmakers are wonderful at showing Montréal, the Eastern Township, and more rural areas of the province.
Campobello Island is barely in New Brunswick. The island was made famous for having the summer home of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt.
You could have a hostage film on the ocean floor at Hopewell Rocks before the 40-foot tides come into the space.
New Brunswick, being the only official bilingual province, could even have a bilingual production in the era of subtitles. We would be curious to see what comes out of New Brunswick with a bit of effort. Maybe a film that incorporates the Acadian areas in northeastern New Brunswick. Perhaps a story where people from New Orleans go back to Acadia in Canada.
CanadianCrossing.com New Brunswick coverage
CanadianCrossing.com film reviews
CanadianCrossing.com film coverage
We know New Brunswick will not likely rise to this Canadian film and television challenge in English or French. We are just pointing out that there are missed potential opportunities to drive work and, yes, tourism to New Brunswick.
Let us know in the comments if we missed a Canadian film distinctly set in New Brunswick.
photo credit: Beerocracy
video credit: YouTube/Canada's Podcast
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