Cultural clusters, global-local linkages and spillovers : Theoretical and empirical insights from an exploratory study of Toronto's film cluster

This paper discusses the importance of global-local linkages for the development of indigenous production in cultural clusters by analyzing the interplay between the indigenous film production cluster in Toronto, Canada, and Hollywood's runaway productions. Global-local linkages are at the forefront of the current debate in cluster studies, the discussion has so far had only a limited impact on the research on cultural clusters. The paper identifies the limitations to the dominant cluster models to explain the difficulties for Toronto to develop its indigenous cultural cluster. The inclusion of the global linkages in the analysis of the Toronto film cluster provides a new insight into the current development potentials and barriers faced by the indigenous film industry