Love Hurts, shot in Manitoba, named most sustainable film production
Cynthia Burke is a sustainability trailblazer in Manitoba's film scene.
She's the industry's first certified environmental manager and last year worked as the eco-specialist on Love Hurts, the first local production to employ a dedicated sustainability department.
On Monday, the action comedy starring Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan was named the year's most sustainable film production at the 2025 Global Production Awards in Cannes, France, beating out the likes of Wicked and Mean Girls.
The international accolade — awarded annually to a production engaged in meaningful green filmmaking practices — is thanks in no small part to Burke's efforts to help reduce waste and emissions on set in Winnipeg.
But she isn't one to hog the spotlight.
'I'm a liaison and a cheerleader, but my job is insignificant. The work that's done to create a sustainable film production is the crew's participation and buy-in — without that commitment, none of it is possible,' she says.
Burke spent decades working as a teacher, but stepped away from the classroom because of stress and burnout. She's been working in film and television since 2012 after getting a degree in theatre and film and has spent most of her second career as a production assistant, with experience in set decoration, props and location services.
Becoming an eco-friendly film production facilitator was not on her bingo card.
The opportunity arose during pre-production for Love Hurts. A sustainability department was required to meet the corporate environmental standards of NBCUniversal and 87North Productions, but at the time nobody in town had the proper credentials.
Burke interviewed, got the job and spent months training with Green Spark Group, an environmental consulting firm specializing in the film industry. She's since furthered her education with a Sustainable Production for Entertainment Certification (SPEC) from the U.S. Green Building Council California.
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS
Cynthia Burke is the first certified environmental manager in Manitoba's film industry.
Burke describes the role of an eco-specialist or environmental manager as 'a huge octopus of tasks.'
'It isn't just taking out the garbage, it's really intensive data collection to see what our carbon footprint is, to see where our emissions are coming from to understand where the gaps are and how to fix them,' she says.
It's also about education.
Between asking vendors for detailed waste and energy reports, Burke spent time on the Love Hurts set encouraging the cast and crew to use the garbage, recycling and compost bins correctly (which resulted in 4,000 kilograms of compost being diverted from the landfill), celebrating weekly achievements and doling out workplace and household sustainability tips.
'The things we do as teachers in terms of data collection, managing paperwork, teaching, communication skills — all of those things are really lovely parallels that are transferrable into this job,' she says.
Power is one of the biggest environmental concerns on a film set.
'The work that's done to create a sustainable film production is the crew's participation and buy-in — without that commitment, none of it is possible.'–Cynthia Burke
To cut down on emissions, NBCUniveral paid for electricity upgrades at Winnipeg's Big Sky Studios, which will benefit future productions; used mostly LED lighting; and sourced a hybrid electric generator instead of the usual gas-powered machines.
Electric and hybrid vehicles, as well as e-scooters and e-bikes, were used to transport equipment and people.
Burke is particularly proud of the new partnerships she helped establish with local organizations. Forty-five tonnes of usable construction and set-building materials were donated to Habitat for Humanity and more than 31 kg of edible prop food was sent to Harvest Manitoba.
The on-set caterer agreed to provide reusable and compostable plates and cutlery and reduce the amount of red meat served during the production. Aluminum water bottles were procured to cut down on single-use plastic.
One of Burke's biggest hurdles is convincing executives that sustainability initiatives are worth the extra effort and cost — especially with practices that aren't yet commonplace locally.
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'Making change is really difficult. When you have no baseline or past experience, it's hard to get your head around how it can save us money when it's costing us much more upfront. It's a really hard thing for people to understand the holistic aspects of a circular economy,' she says.
At the moment, sustainability isn't an official department recognized by local film unions. Burke hopes her work and Love Hurts' sustainability win will help move the industry forward.
Universal Pictures
Ke Huy Quan (left) and Rhys Darby in Love Hurts
'We need to keep training people,' she says. 'We could be the best example of sustainable film production because we're a small market. We know each other and our vendors want to support (this) because you can see the difference it makes in Winnipeg.'
eva.wasney@winnipegfreepress.com
X: @evawasney
How is the stage lit? Who hangs the paintings? What happens in the dish pit? Behind the Scenes is a recurring series highlighting the important and often invisible work happening at arts and culture venues across Winnipeg.
Eva WasneyReporter
Eva Wasney has been a reporter with the Free Press Arts & Life department since 2019. Read more about Eva.
Every piece of reporting Eva produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
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