List of TV and films shot in Winnipeg
There has been a wide range of films and TV series that have been shot in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Children's TV series
- 2030 CE – Canadian TV series (2002)
- The Adventures of Shirley Holmes (1996) – Canadian TV series
- Fred Penner's Place (1985-1997) – Canadian TV series
- Let's Go (1976-1987) – Canadian TV series
- My Life as a Dog (1996) – Canadian TV series
- Tipi Tales (2002) – Canadian TV series
- Wawatay Kids TV (2002) – Canadian TV series
Comedy TV series
- Cashing In (2008, 2009)
- Foodland (2010) - filmed on location
- For Angela (1993) – dramatization of Rhonda Gordon's response to racism on a Winnipeg city bus
- Heater (1999) - filmed on location
- Keyhole (2011)
- Leaving Metropolis (2002)
- Less Than Kind (2008, 2009) – filmed on location
- Mob Story (1990) – filmed on location
- Niagara Motel (2006)
- Night Mayor (2009) – filmed and set in Winnipeg
- The Outside Chance of Maximilian Glick (1988)
- Taken in Broad Daylight (2009) – filmed on location
- Ted Baryluk's Grocery (1982) – National Film Board of Canada documentary
- Twilight of the Ice Nymphs (1997) – filmed on location
- The Saddest Music in the World (2003) – filmed on location
- The Stone Angel (2007) – filmed on location
- Stryker (2005) - filmed on location
- Sunnyside (2014) – filmed on location
- We Were Children (2012) – partially shot in Winnipeg
- Zeyda and the Hitman (2004) – filmed on location
Documentary TV series
- Country Canada (1955)
- Magnificent Obsessions (2002-2003)
- My Winnipeg - Guy Maddin documentary
- The Sharing Circle (1991-2006)
Dramatic TV series
- 33 Brompton Place – TV miniseries
- Falcon Beach (2006) – Canadian TV series
- The Pinkertons (2014) – syndicated (Canada/USA) TV series
- Siberia – filmed just outside Winnipeg in Birds Hill Provincial Park
- Throwing Stones (2009) – Canadian TV series pilot
Game shows
- Reach for the Top (1966-1984) – location edition filmed in Winnipeg
Major studio films
- 49th Parallel (1941) filmed on location
- The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2006) – filmed on location
- Black Ice (1992) – filmed on location
- Blue State (2007) – filmed on location
- Capote (2005) – filmed on location
- Christmas Rush (also known as Breakaway) filmed in Winnipeg at Portage Place Mall and Chicago
- The Clown at Midnight (1998) – filmed on location
- The Constant Gardener (2005) – segments filmed in Winnipeg
- For Keeps? (1988) – segments filmed in Winnipeg
- Faces in the Crowd (2010) filmed on location
- Full of It (2007) – filmed on location
- The Good Life (2007) – filmed on location
- Goon (2011) – filmed on location
- The Haunting in Connecticut (2009) – filmed on location
- Heaven is for Real (2014) – filmed on location
- Horsemen (2009) – filmed on location
- K-19: The Widowmaker (2002) – segments filmed in Winnipeg
- The Lookout (2007) – filmed on location
- New in Town (2009) – filmed on location
- One Last Dance (2003) – filmed on location
- Shall We Dance (2004) – filmed on location
- Silence of the North (1981) – segments filmed in Winnipeg
- Tamara (2005) – filmed on location
- Whiteout (2009) – filmed on location
- Wild Cherry (2009) – filmed in Winnipeg, at Tec Voc High School
- Wishmaster 3: Beyond the Gates of Hell (2001) – filmed in Winnipeg at University of Manitoba
- Wishmaster 4: The Prophecy Fulfilled (2002) – filmed on location
- Woman Wanted (2000) – filmed on location
Independent films
- Aegri Somnia (2008) - writer / director James Rewucki
- Borealis (2015) – writer/producer Jonas Chernick, director Sean Garrity film
- Clown at Midnight (1998) - writer Kenneth J. Hall; director Jean Pellerin
- Cowards Bend the Knee (2003) – Guy Maddin film
- Hyena Road (2014) – Paul Grosse film, partly filmed in Winnipeg
- Perfect Sisters (2014) - director Stanley M. Brooks
- Wait Till Helen Comes (2014) – Valérie d'Auteuil and André Rouleau film
- You Kill Me (2007) – John Dahl film
News and variety shows
- 24Hours (1970-2000)
- APTN National News (1999)
- The Big Breakfast (1997-2005)
- Breakfast Television (2005-2009)
- Canadian Idol (2002-2007) – segments filmed in Winnipeg
- Hymn Sing (1965-1995)
Reality TV series
- It's a Living (1999 (ca.)
- KinK (2002-2006)
- Road Hockey Rumble (2007)
Special effects
- Across The Universe (2007) – special effects
- Alien Resurrection (1997) – special effects contributed to DVD release
- Avatar (2009) – special effects
- The Big Empty (2005) – special effects
- Catwoman (2004) – special effects
- The Chumscrubber (2005) – special effects
- The Core (2003) – special effects
- Cursed (2005) – special effects
- Dragonball: Evolution (2009) – special effects
- Duplicity (2009) – special effects
- Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) – special effects
- Firewall (2006) – special effects
- G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) – special effects
- Greatest Tank Battles (2011) – special effects & animation (S2 ep3, 7 & 8)
- Grindhouse (2007) – special effects
- Hangman's Curse (2003) – special effects
- The Italian Job (2003) – special effects
- Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008) – special effects
- The Last Stand (2013) – special effects
- Little Boy (2015) – special effects
- Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium (2007) – special effects
- Paycheck (2003) – special effects
- Poseidon (2006) – special effects
- Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) – special effects
- Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004) – special effects
- Silent Hill (2006) – special effects
- Silent Night (2012) – special effects
- Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004) – special effects
- Stay (2005) – special effects
- Superman Returns (2006) – special effects
- Swordfish (2001) – special effects
- Tooth Fairy (2010) – special effects
- The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008) – special effects
TV Movies of the week
- The Arrow (1997)
- Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Three's Company (2003)
- Category 6: Day of Destruction (2004)
- Category 7: The End of the World (2005)
- The Crooked E: The Unshredded Truth About Enron (2003)
- Escape from Mars (1999)
- Hell on Heels: The Battle of Mary Kay (2002)
- Home Alone: 5 The Holiday Heist (2012)
- Inside the Osmonds (2001)
- Keep Your Head Up, Kid: The Don Cherry Story (2010)
- A Marriage of Convenience (1998)
- Roswell: The Aliens Attack (1999)
- A Season on the Brink (2002)
- Secret Cutting (2000)
- We Were the Mulvaneys (2002)
Television shows famously not filmed in Winnipeg
- The Office (US)
Parts of the seventh episode "Business Trip" from the fifth season were set in Winnipeg. The NBC comedy is filmed in Los Angeles and due to their schedule/budget did not film scenes in Winnipeg. Though the series had shot scenes in New York City, they never left California for this episode. The episode did not call for any Winnipeg-specific locales. Los Angeles International Airport filled in for Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport. A downtown hotel and bar in the Financial District were the other two settings. Characters Michael Scott, Oscar Martinez and Andy Bernard visited Winnipeg in November. Michael was the only Dunder-Mifflin Regional Manager willing to visit Winnipeg in November. Andy was brought along mainly for being able to speak French, while Oscar is an accountant. They were there on a sales call to sell paper. While in Winnipeg, Oscar and Andy get drunk at a bar and become friends after limited interactions back at the office. Michael, with some help from Andy, hooks up with the hotel concierge at a bar. They go back to her room at the hotel. After having sex, Michael is kicked out of the room. The next day the three go to the sales meeting and secure the client for two years. However, Michael did not enjoy this stay in Winnipeg as it was not the “international” location he envisioned it to be and was still upset about his girlfriend being transferred in an earlier episode.
Destination Winnipeg sent the show Winnipeg items such as Old Dutch chips and Fort Garry Brewing Company beer bottles. The budget also limited the amount of fake snow used in the episode. Writer Brent Forrester explained in a CBC News interview that, "It seemed like Montreal was maybe too exotic and Vancouver also a little maybe too conventionally sexy, and Winnipeg seemed to strike the right balance between exotic and obscure." [1] Surprisingly, there was only one brief joke at the expense of Winnipeg, about traveling there in November. Canadian writer Anthony Farrell ensured the script was not filled with Canadian stereotypes. [2]
For the show’s sixteenth season, parts of the sixth episode, "Midnight Rx," took place in Winnipeg. The episode dealt with Homer Simpson and his dad traveling to Winnipeg to obtain cheap prescription drugs and smuggle them into the States. They become heroes back in Springfield, USA when they brought the cheap prescription drugs. Ned Flanders and Apu Nahasapeemapetilon later join the Simpson men on another trip to Winnipeg. Ned encounters a Winnipegger who talks and looks just like he does. Ned was upset to find out his Canadian counterpart was smoking medical marijuana, called a “reeferino.” The four then drive to the Manitoba/North Dakota border crossing where their drug smuggling is discovered.
Instead of “Welcome to Winnipeg: One Great City!” the Simpsons drove by “We Were Born Here, What's Your Excuse” on the welcome sign.
Hollywood films famously not filmed in Winnipeg
- Legends of the Fall (1994) – The film's producers wanted to use Winnipeg's Exchange District, renowned for its wealth of turn of the century-era warehouses and office buildings, for scenes taking place in Helena, Montana. This plan was scuttled when several residents, and later city government, objected to the film crew's desire to remove several dozen trees growing along the sidewalks. Although TriStar offered to replant and/or replace the trees after wrapping, they were rebuffed. [3]