White Owl Studios in Wahnapitae First Nation looking for inaugural film project

Film industry professionals in Sudbury are hoping that a new film studio in Wahnapitae First Nation will soon see some activity.

White Owl Studios is a 20,000 sq. ft. space, with a 65 foot high ceiling which resembles a huge white Quonset hut, surrounded by a large parking area and cleared area.

The project was instigated by Indigenous businessman Roy Roque in collaboration with Los Angeles-based company Volume Global.

A year-and-a-half ago, Roque and Volume Global said that once the space was complete, it would be busy with several different film projects. 

However, current White Owl spokesperson Axel Green said the collaboration with the California company has since fallen through.

"I don't want to get into too much detail, but they didn't really follow through on what they agreed to do," said Green.

He is optimistic the state-of-the-art soundstage will still be a boon to the area's film industry which he feels has plateaued in recent years.

"We hope to be able to foster local stories so local film makers can  cater to the existing industry," he said.

"Creating this large soundstage, we can now open up the industry in northern Ontario, building larger series that could move in more long-term, eight to 10 months at a time."

Green is also working on landing film projects for the studio and says he has some promising leads, although isn't ready to announce anything yet.

"I really think this is a turning point for the northern Ontario industry and in our growth and our ability to tell our own stories as well," he said.

While the building was finished about a year ago, the public was first invited inside Wednesday to celebrate National Canadian Film Day, with industry types taking in a couple of movies.

Janine Oloman, the owner of 46th Parallel Management talent agency, represents more than a hundred actors, mostly in northern Ontario.

She began her career as an assistant director and understands the magnitude of what could be achieved with White Owl Studios.

"Sets can be built, green screens can be put up, a volume wall could be put in here," said Oloman.

"You know, you could do a lot of car shots with a 2D wall in here where it looks like the cars travelling down the road. But it's not. The actors are inside there. Yeah, there's also a lot of area outside the studio where you could build back-lot type things like a western town."

As to whether the soundstage could attract big projects with deep pockets for her clients, Oloman hesitates slightly.

"Well, that's always the hope, I guess the hope is, right now, that our Canadian dollar will be low and that lots of films will come up here," she said.

Steve Schmidt from Chapleau and directed the 2014 crime thriller, The Road to Tophet.

He says he does a lot of film editing these days and sees great potential in White Owl Studios, admiring the audacity of its owners.

"There's something really special about taking a leap of faith and I felt that about this place," he said.

"I wish them all the best, and I think if you shoot for the stars, it'll take you to some extraordinary places."