PICTURE THIS: A single mother who makes simply sufficient at her native restaurant gig to supply a half-decent Christmas for her and her son. There’s her engaging next-door neighbour with impossibly white tooth who additionally occurs to be a little bit of a grinch. He not solely offers her son a tough time when he performs outdoors their constructing, however calls for their rental board take away the Christmas tree out entrance for being an “obnoxious” hazard. Evidently, as the vacations draw close to and the 2 repeatedly stumble upon one another, they uncover they’re soulmates. Naturally. And so they do all of it towards a snowy, suburban backdrop, that includes every little thing from a sprawling and romantic skating rink to a preferred native diner. All that’s lacking is a gazebo.
If any of these narrative parts sound acquainted, you then’ve in all probability watched one, if not ten Hallmark vacation motion pictures. However maybe what’s most acquainted isn’t the near-identical characters or well-worn enemies-to-lovers plot, however the filming places, which most of the time are flurry-friendly small Canadian cities. In addition they are usually directed, produced, written by, and starring Canadians. As an illustration, that plot above, in regards to the single mother and the grinchy neighbour? That’s the story of Noel Subsequent Door, the film main Hallmark’s annual slate of vacation motion pictures. It’s directed by Maxwell McGuire, who shot the film in his hometown of Ottawa. This yr alone, 16 Christmas motion pictures had been shot in Ottawa (the place the tourism workplace has a map of Hallmark locations), marking an area document. In different phrases, one of the vital profitable networks on tv at present could also be promoting American household values, however it wouldn’t be what it’s with out its quintessentially Canadian settings, crews, and creatives.
In 2022, seventy-three unique Hallmark movies had been shot in Canada (about half of them Christmas-themed), in addition to two new unique collection, Trip and The Manner Residence, and the returning collection When Calls the Coronary heart. As well as, over 95 p.c of the corporate’s secure of administrators are Canadian. Simply over half of vacation productions are shot in Canada, and go-to taking pictures places vary from Kelowna, British Columbia, to Selkirk, Manitoba. Paradoxically, the Hallmark community isn’t accessible in Canada, however Countdown to Christmas (its annual vacation film franchise) is picked up by specialty channel W Community annually, lest we miss out on the corny festivities.
Jesse Prupas, senior vice-president of scripted content material on the Montreal-based manufacturing firm Muse Leisure, is producing two motion pictures for Hallmark this yr, typically taking him and his crew to Victoria and Ottawa.
There are various benefits, he says, together with reasonably priced taking pictures places and a proximity to good transport networks with worldwide hyperlinks. In different phrases, “we will fly somebody from Ottawa to Toronto after which on to Los Angeles comparatively simply.’” And, he provides, a number of of those Canadian settings have a tendency to supply an “ultimate romantic” backdrop. Emilia King, assistant professor at Ontario Tech College and co-founder of Pink Moon Studio, says the nation’s “numerous landscapes,” a few of which characteristic delicate climate, make it a shoo-in for Hallmark’s particular model of tales. “Overseas productions right here can get city cityscapes, rolling prairies, forests, mountains, charming small cities,” she says. “You title the vibe and we’ve got it.”
