A new Netflix series is potentially poised to find a home in Sundre.
Earlier today (Tuesday, July 7), an independent production crew spearheaded by Edmonton-based filmmaker Raoul Bhatt, who's worked on Daytime Emmys as well as Universal Studio’s Jurassic World, came to town for a public press conference slash casting call for extras.
More than 400 people, including visitors who drove in from out of town, attended the event hosted at the Greenwood Campground's community gazebo.
My better half and I were among those who lined up to have our photos taken for consideration. Would be fun even if only to see the back of our heads as we walk around in the background of some scene!
Can't help but to be reminded of The Tragically Hip's old song, Blow at High Dough, which famously starts with the lyrics, "They shot a movie once, in my hometown...everybody was in it, for miles around!"
But I digress.
The pilot episode is being shot later in August, with post production and submission to the streaming giant expected before the end of the year.
If Pipe Nation meets Netflix's standards, Bhatt will receive the funding he needs to forge ahead with a larger team of his choosing — he as much as possible aims to hire Alberta-based talent. He hopes to start filming the next nine episodes of his original show in the spring of 2021.
Describing his story as a gritty but truthful tale about the lives of Alberta's oilpatch workers in rural communities who have struggled to adapt with the impacts of a global transition that has sent seismic and potentially irreparable shock waves through a once-thriving energy sector, Bhatt likened his creation to a unique combination of Sons of Anarchy, Breaking Bad and Ozark.
Adding to the drama, drugs and sex-fuelled energy sector saga is the dynamic of featuring as the lead a single mother who is also the boss of a pipeline crew, in a heavily male-dominated industry, trying to survive economic trials and tribulations while juggling in family life.
Having scouted iconic locations like Banff and Jasper, as well as other towns like Edson and Hinton, Bhatt in part settled on Sundre because of the local foothills' breathtaking backdrop that boasts vast vistas of the beautiful Rocky Mountains.
Sealing the deal further was the energetic effort of Jon Allan, the town's economic development officer, who Bhatt hailed as instrumental in facilitating the process.
As many as about 200 jobs could be created if everything comes together. And if the show goes on to become a hit, Sundre will be on the map like never before.
I also spoke with Brock Skretting, head of advocacy with the non-profit Keep Alberta Rolling, who is among those who say the film industry in Alberta has untapped potential and that there's a major opportunity for the government to do more to incentivize investment in the sector, which has a long list of beneficial economic ripple effects for communities that open their doors to productions.
Skretting asserts that art — whether in the form of film, music or any other genre — can now reach global audiences with ease, and that demand for new digital content is unprecedented.
Our province could, if it wanted to, provide a platform not just for global multi-billion-dollar production companies like Netflix, Disney, Amazon, and Apple, but also homegrown talent like Bhatt.
While I couldn't agree more with Skretting's assessment, our current government completely lacks any and all semblance of forward-thinking vision, and I sure won't be holding my breath for things to change any time soon.
Digging its heels deep in the 20th century, the UCP seems largely focused exclusively on propping up the province's faltering oil and gas industry at the expense of pretty well everything else.
Education and health care are reeling from cuts, so it's doubtful the film industry, even if there's a show about the energy sector, is about to get any attention.
Under the current provincial leadership, creators like Bhatt will succeed in spite of woefully inadequate government policy, not because of it.
Without government action, major producers will instead invest in British Columbia, Ontario, Manitoba, or Quebec, while Alberta loses out on the opportunity to generate billions of dollars in economic activity.