Like virtually every line of work, those in the North Bay's usually-booming film industry were affected suddenly and with deep impact due to the COVID19 situation, says Joshua Bainbridge.
The 30-year-old local man is an actor, teaches film acting at Canadore College, and serves as the local union representative for ACTRA (the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists). He's appeared in Hard Rock Medical, the drama Bad Blood, and the sitcom Letterkenny.
"There is absolutely local impact. Before all of this started, there were three or four productions that were active or just starting up," he says.
"Now everything is on hold indefinitely."
Each of those productions had its own team, says Bainbridge, adding "Every one of those productions had a full crew working on it. While we do attract some people from down south there are many locals. From a local perspective, hundreds of people in North Bay and area are without jobs. It could be up to 300 people."
And, he says the impact goes beyond that. "A lot of people who have other jobs will pick up paid work as background extras, and those numbers can not be counted," he explains. He also points to far-reaching impact in the community for hotels, caterers, and other service providers.
Bainbridge is hopeful though, that work can return to North Bay. "What we're doing now, being so diligent (with complete shutdowns) opens up the possibility of a return, our diligence now protects our ability in the future," he says.
When asked what gives him hope, Bainbridge pauses to gather his thoughts before answering.
"It takes so many, working tirelessly behind the scenes to create that little moment of movie magic, when "Action" is called is when the set becomes still. Sounds counter-intuitive, I know, but that is when everything stops. Right now we wait. Keeping our space. Paying attention. Staying diligent. And because we did, eventually someone will call "Cut" and we can get back to work."
