The largest spotlight crane in the city is pitched over an institution of higher learning in downtown Toronto. A gust of wind threatens to upturn the tarpaulin, the tents. This is the most excitement we are going to get in one day. For the past four months, we have been in lockdown.
The big white trucks, movie trailers, pylons and port-o-potties are oddly a welcome sight. A remnant of “The Real Normal”, receding from memory. The only difference is that the film crew are wearing masks. There is a mini tent where they conduct lateral flow tests for COVID-19. It is windchill minus 22 degrees and the dedicated nurse has been sitting in this teeny tiny tent, thrashed by gale-force winds. The film crew, young men and women in their 20s, line up patiently to take their pregnancy-style test. Face masks hide their worry. Once they get the green light, they are quick out of the gates, pushing trolleys, unloading/loading delivery trucks and upping the ante on the lighting. Everyone is on the move.
This is how Toronto is supposed to feel, right? A place infused with so much life, palpable especially every September when the paparazzi make their presence known at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Not only do we welcome the films, but we also make the films. We deliver the pizza; we knead the dough from scratch. We knead this money.
In 2019, Ontario raked in $2.16 billion from the film industry, putting food on the table for 44,540 employees. Overall, the film industry comprised nearly a third of Canada’s overall production revenue.
What is 2020 going to look like once the numbers are all crunched?
The original projection for March-June 2020 was a loss of $2.5 billion. Expected growth from 2018-2023 is humbly (timidly) set at 0.5%.
It is incredibly hard to fathom that the film industry in Toronto is in dire straits.
There are currently 22 movies/TV shows being filmed, according to the City of Toronto website. Clearly, COVID-19 did not sink the Toronto film industry to the bottom of Lake Ontario. It just wasn’t a big enough iceberg.
The COVID-19 pandemic is not letting up. Loose cannon variants bully us into submission. We continue to wait for a vaccine to land on planet Canada. All the while, we cradle the
popcorn and turn our undivided attention to the television screen.
Food and Film. That is what is getting us through this pandemic.
Mom and Pop shops close down. Yonge Street is empty.
The largest spotlight crane in the city has its headlights on high beams. The show must go on.
There is no business like show business.
