MONTREAL — Québec Premier Pauline Marois visited visual effects house Cinesite on Monday, January 20, for the official announcement that the studio is opening up in Montréal. The London studio is greatly expanding its capacity and international presence with the announcement. The first project to be completed at the new location will be the Guy Ritchie/Warner Bros. film The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Cinesite’s new facility at 250 St-Antoine West cover 26,000 square feet and has capacity for 250 artists. The facility will operate under a unified pipeline between London and Montréal, with connectivity provided by Sohonet.
“Over the past few months, Cinesite has been looking at several opportunities for international expansion,” explains managing director Antony Hunt. “Montréal has a thriving gaming, software and technology community, which has been making a natural extension into visual effects. This burgeoning creative hub, combined with the investment support offered by the government of Québec, makes it the ideal location for us. Cinesite’s growth within the region will also attract local and global creative and technical talent.”
“I am glad to see that another London studio has chosen Québec as its key partner in North America,” adds Pauline Marois, Premier of Québec. “With past productions such as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and Prince of Persia, Cinesite proved that they are among the top studios in the world. In fact, with Cinesite, Montréal is now home to three of the world’s premier visual effects studios. This will further consolidate the cluster and broaden the synergy between industry stakeholders.”
Several films that Cinesite has worked on are releasing in 2014, including 300: Rise of an Empire, Robocop, Edge of Tomorrow, Into The Storm, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and The Monuments Men.
Cinesite is recruiting for the new Montréal studio at: www.cinesite.com.