Communiqués

Film Studio Expansion Project Designed to Attract International Blockbusters

Montreal, July 16, 2021 – In order to reinforce its positioning on the blockbuster and foreign TV series market, TVA Group, with support from the Government of Quebec and the City of Montreal, is announcing the expansion of Canadian TV and movie industry leader MELS studios, with the construction de MELS 4. This project will allow MELS to attract even more major film shoots to its studios, generating considerable economic spinoffs for the city, the province and their cultural sector. Numerous environmental criteria will be included in the MELS 4 construction project, giving it a competitive edge on the global market and aligning it with the company’s commitment to environmentally-friendly production practices. The project is set to be completed in spring 2023.

This represents a $53M infrastructure project, accompanied by an additional $23M in equipment investments over a 10-year period. Construction will be done according to the most stringent industry standards, with completely air-conditioned and sound-proof facilities providing ideal filming conditions. With high ceilings offering 50 feet of vertical clearance, MELS 4 will cover a total of 160,000 square feet – 60,000 of which will be dedicated to the new film studio, which will be dividable into two smaller studios. The rest of the space will feature staging areas, workshops, production offices and auxiliary function offices. 

In order to stimulate competition, productivity and job creation in the province, the Government of Quebec, through Investissement Québec, will provide MELS with $25M to support the construction of MELS 4. The project will also receive backing from the City of Montreal, including in terms of obtaining LEED certification.

Upon completion of MELS 4, MELS will feature 21 studios totalling over 500,000 square feet of production space, including over 270,000 square feet for studios. Some of the major international productions filmed at MELS studios include Transformers, the new Home Alone, Midway, Bold Type, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, X-Men: Apocalypse, Quantico, Snow White, The Day After, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Life of Pi, Catch Me If You Can and many more.

Watch the MELS video to learn more.

Quotes

“Montreal needs to provide producers with leading-edge installations in order to take advantage of the growing demand for filming space in Quebec. The construction of MELS 4 studios will allow the company to meet this demand, as well as to develop local talent and attract major TV and movie shoots to Quebec,” explains Éric Girard, Quebec Minister of Finance and Minister of Economy and Innovation.

“The city of Montreal is proud to be a leading partner with MELS, by facilitating its studio expansion in the Bridge-Bonaventure sector. This investment will better position the city as it strives to stand out from the competition and attract new players, while continuing to promote local talent and productions,” adds Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante.

“The construction of a new, world-class studio like MELS 4 is essential to maintaining the vitality and competitiveness of both Montreal and Quebec on the worldwide audiovisual production market. By attracting even more filming projects to our studios, we’ll be able to draw financial and economic resources from abroad, to the benefit of Quebec’s economy, its cultural industry and its local artists and crews,” comments Pierre Karl Péladeau, President and CEO of Quebecor.

“MELS has already built a worldwide reputation for its installations, expertise and services. With MELS 4, we’re proud to present an even more attractive offering, through which we can meet the growing needs of the TV and movie mega-production industry. In tandem with the technological shift we undertook in 2020 – most notably with the launch of our new virtual production set – this project will allow us to stand out in a highly competitive market, both internationally and here in Canada,” concludes MELS President Martin Carrier.

Forward-looking Statements
Certain statements in this announcement are forward-looking statements based on current expectations. By their nature, forward-looking statements require us to make assumptions and are subject to important known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause our actual results in future periods to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.