Tax relief on local labour costs for productions shooting in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia has been increased from 35% to 50%, it was announced at the Atlantic Film Festival in Halifax.

Nova Scotia premier Rodney MacDonald announced the rise at the opening gala screening of Roger Spottiswoode's Shake Hands With The Devil, produced by Halifax Films.

The film, which is about the efforts by Canadian Lt-General Romeo Dallaire's to stop the Rwandan genocide, partly shot in Halifax and is produced by local outfit Halifax Films.

The film's producer Michael Donovan told ScreenDaily: 'This is excellent news for the province at a time when competition is tough in Canada. We had a great time shooting here and hope this encourages more film makers to shoot in Halifax.'

Under the new arrangement, producers who choose to shoot in Halifax will receive 50% of the tax spent on local labour in the city back after completion.

With films shooting in rural Nova Scotia getting an additional 10%. International producers will need a local co-production partner to access the credit, but there is no limit on the size of the production budget and no Canadian content requirements.

'We realize that a healthy and vibrant film industry contributes to our overall economic growth, and that the province needs to play its part to ensure that growth continues,' MacDonald said.


The move comes at a time when local filmmakers have been complaining about the difficulties of competing with the other provinces for international productions. Nova Scotia increased its tax credit from 30% to 35% in 2005, but several Canadian provinces have since surpassed that amount, including New Brunswick, British Columbia and Prince Edward Island.

Claire Mundell of Synchronicity Films, who is at the festival looking for financing and co-production partners for a new CBS-backed project, says: 'We made a film on Prince Edward Island last year and they offer 47%. So 50% is really impressive.'

Paul Moreau of the Winnipeg-based National Screen Institute in the province of Manitoba, adds: '[The province of Manitoba] has recently accommodated The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, starring Brad Pitt and there are rumours a new Tom Hanks film is coming here. But who knows maybe they'll now take an interest in Nova Scotia.'

Several leading producers from Canada, the US, UK and France, including 2929 Productions, Picturehouse, Alliance Atlantis, the BBC, and Telefilm Canada are in Halifax to look for production partners and financing for their forthcoming projects at the Strategic Partners Event, an initiative of the Atlantic Film Festival.

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