North Star
With a variety of strong advantages in its favour, B.C.'S film and television industry is an ongoing boon for the province
Fuelled by a deep talent pool, favourable tax credits and its proximity to Hollywood, B.C.'S film and television industry continues to thrive. Add to that a steady supply of original content created for streaming powerhouses Netflix, Amazon and Hulu, and it's no surprise B.C. is the third largest film and television production centre in North America.
“The growth has been tremendous. We have gone from four projects in 1978 to 350-plus in 2015,” says Prem Gill, CEO of Creative BC, the provincial non-profit agency that works with creative sectors. “The province is renowned for its ability to handle major productions, which is why we are seeing so many companies setting up headquarters here, including Industrial Light and Magic and Sony Pictures Imageworks.”
The sector employs more than 42,000 members based in B.C. They include everyone from set designers to hairdressers, actors and electricians, as well as costume coordinators, visual effects professionals and more.
According to Gill, 2015 was a recordbreaking year, due in part to several large-scale movie productions, such as 20th Century Fox's Deadpool and Paramount Pictures' Star Trek Beyond, and hit television series like ABC'S Once Upon a Time, Netflix's Riverdale and CTV'S DC'S Legends of Tomorrow.
Pete Mitchell is president and COO of Vancouver Film Studio, and at any given time VFS alone has between six to 13 productions on the go, including highly successful shows like Bates Motel, Arrow
and The Flash.
“Statistics Canada recently stated that film is one of the big contributors to our province's prospering economy,” he explains. He states that B.C. has a number of attractive qualities that keep business booming.
One key driver “is the willingness of investors to put up risk capital,” he explains. “We have four major state-ofthe-art studios and several secondary ones, which stands in stark contrast to Toronto, which only has one facility. These studios are purpose-built buildings, further differentiating us and making us very appealing to film and television executives because they aren't handcuffed to one facility.”
Moreover, he cites B.C.'S world-class visual effects and animation production for further creating an extremely appealing climate.
“We are leaders in the world of visual effects with lots of action, explosions, sci-fi and digital animation,” says Mitchell. Adding to benefits is the “green” commitment, with the city leading the world in sustainable film production.
“There is a strong movement to keep sets greener,” says Gill, citing as a prime example of a sustainable production. “Being eco-friendly is increasingly important in the industry and it's another way B.C. is setting itself apart.”
All of these factors point to continued success, with both Gill and Mitchell saying the outlook is bright, with a steady influx of projects coming to B.C.
“I have the utmost confidence that it won't slow down anytime soon,” says Mitchell.
“I don't have a crystal ball, but at this point, I'm certain that we will continue to remain a global leader in innovation and creativity in the film and television industry,” adds Gill.