COCHRANE - When Jean-François Brisson opened his theatre's doors to a group of unfamiliar visitors, he had no idea the impact their project would soon have on the small northern community.
The visitors were part of the production crew behind The Handmaid’s Tale. While they were operating under the code name “The Light” to keep things under wraps, Brisson — the owner and operator of the Empire Theatre — quickly realized this was no ordinary shoot.
Now, fans of the hit series might be surprised to learn that Cochrane and its surrounding landscapes are featured in the season premiere of the show's sixth and final season, which premiered on April 8.
“They were shooting here. Their production took them to where they were looking for railways,” said Brisson.
“I met their second unit. They were a fairly large crew. It was pretty obvious that it was a big production.”
To avoid spoilers, the crew worked in secrecy, and Brisson kept the secret safe until the show aired.
“They specifically asked not to make any social media posts about it,” he said.
“If anybody can be trusted with not wanting to spoil a storyline, it's a dude with a cinema, right?”
The scenes filmed in Cochrane were captured in September 2024 and include drone footage of a train travelling from Lillabelle Lake to Long Sault Road, the Abitibi River Bridge, and other surrounding areas like Glackmeyer Township.
Brisson surprised fans at The Empire by screening episode one and revealing that Cochrane had a cameo.
Before the show began, he even shared photos from the day he gave the crew a tour of the 70-year-old, one-screen theatre.
“They were on board to come just as die-hard fans, so when I told them scenes were shot here, they were completely shocked,” he said. “The crew got to know locals. They felt really welcomed.”
That spirit of community is something Brisson continues to foster at The Empire, a theatre his family has owned since 1998. He took over the business after his father passed away in 2023.
“My family bought this place in ’98. I used to love coming here and going to the movies,” said Brisson.
“He got into business with me, and we created the kind of environment that I wished was here when I was growing up.”
The Handmaid’s Tale, based on the dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood, imagines a totalitarian future in which women are stripped of their rights and forced into reproductive servitude.
The show’s themes hit close to home for Brisson in today’s political climate.
“Watching Donald Trump get re-elected, watching women’s reproductive rights under attack in the U.S. … the show couldn’t be more relevant,” he said.
“So to invite the crowd to this final season, episode one, and have that Cochrane connection, it made for an interesting soirée.”
As U.S. tariffs on arts and culture tighten, Brisson said he’s proud that The Empire has long prioritized Canadian content and inclusivity.
“My audience here is English, French, and First Nations. I try not to exclude anybody from those stories,” he said.
“We routinely play Canadian films. We played Night Raiders, which was written, directed, and starred Indigenous artists. We’re always about supporting Canadian arts, now we’re just turning it up to 11.”
With the spotlight shining on Cochrane, Brisson hopes this won’t be the last time a production team considers Northern Ontario as a filming location.
“I also let the production crew know that we were doing this event. Even though this is the final season of the series, who knows in the future what sort of continuation or spin-off,” he said.
“Cochrane and Northern Ontario are totally open to Hollywood. You don’t just get great scenery. You get treated well and welcomed by our little communities.”
