Digital Media & Entertainment

Winnipeg’s creative sector is boosted by a supportive community, including industry partners and Manitoba Film and Music, our film commission office and the administrator of the Manitoba Film and Video Production Tax Credit.

We’re proud of our history in film – which continues to only burn brighter. Homegrown talent like Guy Maddin, whose latest film Rumours (2024; co-produced by Buffalo Gal Pictures) starred Cate Blanchett and premiered at Cannes to a six-minute ovation, and Mathew Rankin, whose Winnipeg-based absurdist comedy Universal Language (2004) has found universal acclaim from critics across the globe, have been continually championed and supported by Manitoba Film and Music, On Screen Manitoba and New Media Manitoba.

Every year we welcome Hallmark and Lifetime to the city’s streets, particularly the Exchange District where fake snow will set the stage for romances in locations like “New York” or “Small town Vermont.” These productions hire talented locals both in front and behind the cameras, while LA-based Cartel Pictures – a feature film, television production and management company has found a second home here in Winnipeg, producing numerous Hallmark films while continuing to represent top-tier show runners, show creators, writers, directors, producers, talent and production companies in film, TV and new media.

Our talent infrastructure gets better every year too, notably in video gaming, animation and VFX.

Winnipeg is home to StudioLab xR, the only Unreal Authorized Training Centre in the Canadian Prairies. Big Sky Studios, the newest 187,000-square foot film and television production facility. AAA video game studios have also set roots in Winnipeg, including homegrown Complex Games, which was acquired by UK video game giant Frontier Developments.

Winnipeg has numerous top-notch film companies and animation studios ready to tell your brand’s story or work on your next feature film or television show.

Notable production companies include Frank Digital, Buffalo Gal Productions, Eagle Vision, Trip Wire Media, CoPilot Co., Handcraft Creative, and Frantic Films.

Winnipeg’s creative talent pipeline is one of the best in North America – and it starts as early as high school.

Sisler High School’s CREATE program offers students three main streams: Graphic Design, Interactive Digital Media and Motion Picture Arts, with graduates already having found acclaim and won awards for their work. By combining technical training from vocational educators and internship opportunities that create invaluable industry contacts, the CREATE program prepares students for successful careers in the creative industries.

It works closely too with RRC Polytech’s Schroeder Institute of Entertainment and Media Arts, which provides a steady pipeline of talent for all our local creative industries. Both programs are well endowed from the Schroder Family, including $15-million for RRC and $2-million for Sisler, ensuring our creative future is on steady footing.

Winnipeg is also home to StudioLab xR, the only Unreal Authorized Training Center in the Canadian Prairies. This cutting-edge facility is dedicated to equipping companies and students with the essential skills for entering the world of virtual production, with a location right underneath Portage and Main.

With a steady stream of films and television series being shot here, along with an embarrassment of riches when it comes to developing theatrical talent at Manitoba Theatre for Young People, Rainbow Stage, Prairie Theatre Exchange and Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, Winnipeg remains an incubator for on-screen talent too.