How Ontario Aims to Lead the World in Sustainable Filmmaking

Ontario, a major production hub for studios and streamers, has set its sights on new climate control technologies to electrify, decarbonize and reduce waste on local film sets.

And accelerating that industrywide push for real change to reduce Hollywood’s local carbon footprint as it shoots across the province is the job of Ontario Film Commissioner Justin Cutler. As part of Ontario Creates, he and his team market the province to American and other foreign producers as part of a growing global locations business.

That’s no easy feat, since coming to grips with environmental destruction is overwhelming and anxiety-inducing for most people and reducing climate impacts on film sets, where time is money, calls for balancing expectations with reality.

“We’re trying to build a greater level of comfort for new technology,” Cutler explains. “It’s a scary project to make that change, because it’s new technology. But…