In early June, you’ll perhaps recall, a local team of filmmakers walked off with the top prize in a national contest sponsored by CineCoup. Over 100 teams from across Canada entered, and through a process of fan voting and judging by industry professionals, the list of entrants was gradually whittled down until only one project was left standing — WolfCop, which is based on the idea of a rogue cop who exacts justice as a werewolf.
At stake was $1 million in funding to translate the initial trailer into a full-length movie, and a guaranteed distribution deal with Cineplex Theatres once the film was made. At the time of WolfCop’s victory, concern was expressed that because part of the $1 million funding package was predicated on the ability of the filmmakers to access film employment tax credits in their home province, it wouldn’t make financial sense for WolfCop to be filmed in Saskatchewan as we are now one of the few jurisdictions in Canada/North America without a FETC.
The other day Austin Davis of the Times Herald caught up with one of the filmmakers who was scouting locations in Moose Jaw. I guess the plan/hope is to still film in Saskatchewan, and the sponsoring organization CineCoup is in negotiations with the provincial government to see if some sort of financial arrangement can be made to compensate the WolfCop team for the hit they would take if they filmed in Saskatchewan without being able to access a FETC.
Read more here.