Manitoba-born actor wants to bring film studio to province

WINNIPEG -- Manitoba native Aleks Paunovic has appeared all over the film and television industry, starring in shows like ‘Van Helsing’ ‘iZombie’ and ‘War for the Planet of the Apes’ to name a few.

On top of all of his on-screen work, he is also working on bringing a four-stage studio to Manitoba, similar to one in Vancouver.

The project is known as Wonderlight Studios, and Paunovic said this could not only change the film industry in Manitoba but across the country.

“This has been in the works for about a year,” said Paunovic. “Not only are we looking to bring bigger projects in and having a focal point where they can shoot at -- at the tax credit that’s the best in North America -- but we also want to get generations of Manitobans involved in the studio.”

Paunovic added this would be a great way to create more jobs in the province, and not only in the film industry. He believes it would have a ripple effect on other industries, and it could also create and develop local talent.

He thinks having a studio built in the province could bring in bigger film and television projects. With the state of streaming services around the world right now, Paunovic feels there is a chance a show from Netflix, Amazon or Apple + could come to the province and be here for three to five years.

“There is a plethora of projects out there that can all shoot in the studio or they can shoot partly in the environment and then in the studio,” said Paunovic. “There is millions and millions of dollars spent on episodic television right now, which is insane, so we really feel like we can pull in those type of shows. Something like See on Apple TV+ and Game of Thrones, those type of ideas, I think that would be our dream.”

Paunovic thinks this project could also inspire other projects across the country as provinces see what Manitoba is doing, leading to more development in the Canadian film industry.

Paunovic said the federal and provincial governments have been extremely supportive of what he is trying to do and considers it a gift to have them on his side.