In November 1980, Calgary set up a film development office. Alberta wouldn’t have a film development corporation until months later, and the proof is in print.
The October 1981 issue of Cinema Canada, archived by Athabasca University, reports that the Calgary Film Development Office was established in November 1980, with Malcolm Harvey as manager.
Alberta film in 1981
A lot was happening, and quickly. The same item says William Marsden had officially moved into the Alberta Film Industry Office director’s job on January 1, 1981, and that the Calgary office was set up to work in cooperation with the provincial one, focusing on Calgary-area activity.
It also reports that Bill 24, in June 1981, created a motion picture development corporation, a result it credits to Minister Hugh Planche, input from AMPIA representatives and Marsden. The stated principle was that government would match money raised in the private sector.
Calgary’s private sector was busy too. Cinema Canada describes Tri-Media Studios, a multi-million dollar complex planned west of Calgary, with a projected completion of January 1983 and $30 million in financing from 32 local shareholders.
It also mentions Thunder Road Studios, a sound recording, film mix and lab facility that opened in spring 1981 in northeast Calgary. We could not confirm from these pages how either project turned out, so treat Tri-Media as a plan.
The Alberta Motion Picture Development Corporation
The Athabasca University film funding page describes the Alberta Motion Picture Development Corporation, or AMPDC, as founded in 1981 and as the first English-Canadian provincial film agency. At first it offered financing and consulting for research and development only. In 1987 its mandate grew to cover creating and marketing film and television productions.
A Take One article, also hosted by Athabasca University, adds context from the interview with Garry Toth, the former AMPDC chief executive. It notes that Quebec established its agency in 1975, so Alberta was early in English Canada but not first overall.
It credits AMPDC support with bringing the CBC series North of 60 to Alberta, and says the last year before the closure saw roughly $30 million in productions, with $18 million spent directly in Alberta. Those are Toth’s figures as reported there.
The same article names filmmakers who worked in that system, including director Anne Wheeler, known for Loyalties and Bye Bye Blues, and Francis Damberger, known for Solitaire and Road to Saddle River. It also records Toth saying Calgary was having one of the best years ever for foreign film production at the time of the interview, and mentions the series Jake and the Kid still in production.
That detail about local filmmakers matters for a province often described as a place other people film in.
When it closed
The Athabasca page says the province closed the AMPDC in 1996 and reports that industry funding dropped from approximately $160 million to $12 million by 1998. Treat those totals as that page’s summary rather than an audited ledger. The direction is clear enough, though. After the agency closed, the money followed it out.
The Athabasca page also lists later sources of money. The Shaw Rocket Fund was established in 1998 and invested $35 million in youth and family programming, and the Canwest Alberta Legacy Fund invested over $3 million across 57 television projects before closing in March 2012.
Who funds Alberta screen projects now
Today the province runs the Alberta Media Fund, and its Alberta Made Screen Industries Program lists three grants. The production grant tops out at $125,000 and covers 25% of eligible Alberta costs. The post-production, visual effects and digital animation grant goes to $200,000. Development grants reach $55,000 per project.
Productions spending $500,000 or more in the province can look at the separate film tax credit, which the Calgary Film Commission describes as a 22% to 30% refundable return.
Alberta works best when public money matches private ambition and someone local is paid to answer the phone. Calgary figured that out in November 1980, a few months before the province made it law. The October 1981 Cinema Canada issue has the original report.
More to read: From film censors to film ratings, how far Alberta has come, AMPIA and the Rosies have earned their swagger and The Provincial Archives of Alberta Is a Film Library Too.
Related reading from us: How Calgary Film Permits and the Calgary Film Commission Work and The Plaza Theatre Calgary Opened in 1935 With Will Rogers.
Quick answers
The Calgary Film Development Office was established in November 1980, with Malcolm Harvey as manager, according to the October 1981 issue of Cinema Canada. Bill 24 created the provincial motion picture development corporation in June 1981, a few months later.
The Athabasca University film funding page describes the AMPDC as founded in 1981 and as the first English Canadian provincial film agency. Quebec established its agency in 1975. The province closed the AMPDC in 1996, and Athabasca reports funding dropped from about $160 million to $12 million by 1998.
The Alberta Made Screen Industries Program lists three grants. The production grant tops out at $125,000 and covers 25% of eligible Alberta costs. The post production, visual effects and digital animation grant goes to $200,000, and development grants reach $55,000 per project.
