With multiple strikes and negotiation breakdowns pausing productions, the filming industry in Cambridge was nearly non-existent in 2023.
Now the city turns to the new year and how they can welcome back some major film and television productions.
In what was expected to be a year full of productions and filming, just having come off of two years of pandemic pauses, 2023 turned into a disappointing filming year with only 12 days of filming.
The city projected more than $1 million in economic impact on city businesses and services as a result of filming last year.
The reality will likely be far less than that once final numbers are tallied.
"I would definitely say that the negotiations that took place between the Writers Guild of America as well as the organizations of sag AFTRA , definitely did put a little bit of a downturn on some of the days overall filmed," said Matthew Walker, Cambridge's economic development officer for film and marketing.
"Due to the heavy negotiations taking place, there was certainly a slowdown in the overall number of days filmed."
Over the past decade Cambridge has become a place of notoriety in the film industry bringing in some of the biggest shows and names to the small picturesque town by the river.
Form the heritage buildings to the small town Americana vibe that the downtown cores give off, the City of Cambridge wants to lean on this and remind the tv and movie industry that Cambridge is still a viable option only a short drive from other Canadian filming hot spots like Toronto and Hamilton.
"We're definitely excited to go back to offering our one on one concierge film service as well as being able to take advantage of the picturesque community that we have," Walker said.
The city had projected 40 filming days for 2023, but due to the strikes dozens of productions were forced to delay shooting.
Cambridge usually gets a visit from the cast and crew of The Handmaid's Tale, which has been coming here since 2016 but were a no show in 2023.
The production was slated to film in downtown Galt and the surrounding area in August, but the battle between writers, actors and the production companies postponed shooting until this year.
While Walker won't confirm or deny if The Handmaid's Tale's long-awaited sixth season is already scheduled to film in Cambridge this summer, he says filming inquiries are already up for 2024 compared to the same time last year.
The city's draft 2024 operating budget projects a modest 40 days of filming this year and spin-off revenues of $900,000 as it hopes to see the return of blockbuster movies and award-winning series being filmed throughout the three downtown cores.
"I just like to add that Cambridge is welcoming to films of all different types and sizes, and we're excited to be welcoming crews back into our community after the negotiations put a bit of a slowdown to things last year and we're excited to be getting back to work on the film side of things," said Walker
