ANTIGONISH: Town council offered funding to a former resident looking to bring the town to the big screen.
During a regular meeting on January 20, Antigonish Town Council voted to offer $19,000 to Shelly Thompson to help stage the filming of her screenplay Dave, Her Dad, And the Tractor.
Back in August, Antigonish Mayor Laurie Boucher spoke about a conversation she had with Thompson, writer-director-actor and former Antigonish resident. Thompson is looking film the movie in Antigonish, possibly this summer.
“They’re going to coordinate with the Highland Games, they want to use the Highland Games parade within the film,” said Boucher, who called the project exciting. “It’s something completely different. We’ve never sponsored anything like this before.”
Boucher said the money will stay in the town as it is going towards lodging and meals for the cast and crew.
“Hopefully it’s going to stimulate our economy,” she said. “It is something different but I’m glad it went through.”
The movie centres on a person returning to a small town after transitioning genders. Council for the Municipality of the County of Antigonish previously offered a similar amount of money.