Cochrane's fledgling film industry has begun work on its first production.
DC (District of Cochrane) Loggers, a 13-episode TV show, will focus on Genier Bros. Trucking Ltd., a family-run business in Cochrane. The family consists of Lise Genier and her four sons – J.P., Joel, Marc, and Richard – and daughter Sylvie Janson.
The premise of the series is the company's diversification into new wood products and showcasing its expertise in cold weather forestry research.
The company started log hauling 48 years ago, and has diversified into trucking, road construction, chipping, grinding, and new product development.
“As part of our diversification strategy, you've seen other logging TV shows, and we had a lot of comments that we were a similar operation, so we decided to give it a shot,” Joel Genier said in a press release.
The show will also feature how the family handles 'jackpots,' a colloquial term used to describe a predicament.
“A jackpot in Las Vegas is good, a jackpot in Cochrane is not good. It's not exactly bad, but it's not good," Joel said.
Through the DC Film Office in the town, the series will be shot in DC Nouveau, a new production technique developed specifically in the District of Cochrane which is set to revolutionize the new media industry.
Genier Bros. is structured into operating divisions, which employ 60 people. On the research and development side, the company is heading into a new direction by developing new products in the biomass, energy and technology fields.
“Being Northerners, we have technology that has been in our family for over 100 years. Now we are realizing the world needs these technologies,” he said.
Viewers can expect to watch the series on a major network yet to be announced.
Cochrane's town council recently passed a resolution to open the District of Cochrane (DC) Film Office to attract reality-based productions, motion pictures and television pilots. A film consultant from Hollywood was hired to bring productions to the area.
“There is a film-based production boom in Alaska that has seen an exponential positive economic impact develop. Why not tap into that here in the District of Cochrane?” said Mayor Peter Politis. “We have similar assets to what Alaska has – an ice road, the largest gold mine in Canada (currently under construction), we have loggers, extreme sports and working conditions, dangerous occupations, and some of the best film and video tax credits in Canada.”
So far, the mayor said more than $14 million in TV series production budgets have been booked in recent months. The goal is to reach $100 million in film and TV production in the office's first year of production.
Seven interns from the post-graduate advanced film-making program at Fanshawe College in London will be working in the film office to assist with productions.
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