WINNIPEG -- Manitoba is continuing to cement itself as a hub for the entertainment industry.

On Tuesday, it was announced that Big Sky Studios, a new motion picture production centre, is being built in Winnipeg.

This new centre will be located inside a 137,000-square-foot facility, purchased by a Vancouver-based partnership group. The building is currently being retrofitted to include a soundstage, production offices, meeting rooms, workshops, on-site equipment rental, and specialty areas for different film departments.

“The facility, as it is right now, consists of 137,000 square feet of developed space, of which about 45,000 of it is developed office space,” said Ian Dimerman, president of Inferno Pictures,

He said the plan is to then build two more soundstages, which will add more than 30,000 square feet of filming space.

“The vision is to really integrate cutting-edge technology into this facility,” he said.

The production centre is expected to open in two phases starting this fall.

“This project is going to happen pretty quickly,” Dimerman said.

“I can tell you sincerely the demand for content globally is growing exponentially as we all sit at home patiently watching everything we can watch on Netflix, Amazon (and) Apple.”

HOW IT WILL HELP MANITOBA

Dimerman said this production centre is something people in the industry have wanted for many years.

“We’ve got some of the best crews in the world,” he said.

“Anyone who’s come to shoot here has raved about the amazingly talented crews that we have here, but one thing that we’ve been lacking is infrastructure.”

He said this new facility helps to position Manitoba for a tremendous amount of growth that the province will be able to enjoy.

“I think it’s going to actually be a bright light for job growth,” Dimerman said. “For people that may have been displaced through this pandemic, I think there are great opportunities for people to come work in the film and television production industry.

Dimerman added that having a motion picture production centre in the province will also help Manitoba in its economic recovery from the pandemic.

“This is hopefully going to drive a lot of growth for you, for me, for all of us in this community, with many productions and many crews to come to our fine city,” he said.

- With files from CTV’s Jon Hendricks.