Feature story
If you’re like us, every time a holiday romance pops onto your TV screen you look in the background for landmarks of your hometown. Many festive films are shot right here, but don’t typecast Ottawa as a one-channel, one-season town.
Most, though not all, productions work with the Ottawa Film Office to secure local talent, locations and services. By mid-December this year, the film office supported dozens of film and television productions which helped generate the following numbers:
- $42 million spent in Ottawa on labour and services in 2023 including crew, actors, hotels, equipment rentals, filming locations, vehicle rentals, catering, and more
- 688 filming days
- 30 feature-length films
- 10 TV series
These impressive numbers are actually down from 2022, due in large part to two industry strikes in the US that you may have heard about. All signs point to numbers climbing again in 2024.
They also don’t include animation.
Learn more by visiting the Ottawa Film Office website where you can find a Google map of Christmas movie filming locations. You’ll notice a few City facilities were used this year, such as City Hall and the Fred Barrett Arena.
Learn more about Filming in Ottawa.
Hey, do you want to be in the movies as an extra? Does your home or business want to be featured as a location? Is it okay if you make a few bucks doing it? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, reach out to the Ottawa Film Office to find out how easy it is.
For more information on City programs and services, visit ottawa.ca, call 3-1-1 (TTY: 613-580-2401) or 613-580-2400 to contact the City using Canada Video Relay Service. You can also connect with us through Facebook, X and Instagram.