An official nod to B.C. film-production efforts
Victoria’s film commission and a Vancouver-based production company that has filmed many of its projects in the capital region were recognized for their contributions to B.C.’s film industry this week.
While proclaiming Sept. 21 as Screen in B.C. Day, Richard T. Lee, MLA for Burnaby North, praised Vancouver Island South Film and Media Commission and Front Street Pictures “for your dedication to B.C.’s creative industries.” He made the proclamation after visiting the set of Rose Parade, the Hallmark Channel movie starring Rachel Boston and Marc Bendavid that is filming here.
“I look forward to seeing the movie,” said Lee during an interview at the “circus” — the production company’s assemblage of equipment trucks and trailers — on the Oak Bay waterfront.
“We’d like to see more of this creative business. We want to diversify our economy. We’re doing well, but not only in the resource sector. I’m really pleased to see how the movie industry is growing in B.C.”
B.C.’s film and television production industry supports about 25,000 jobs, including 500 currently working on Front Street Pictures projects alone, Lee said.
Events marking the second annual Screen in B.C. Day were held in Vancouver, Kelowna and Victoria. The first event was marked here on July 27 with visits by MLA Greg Kyllo, parliamentary secretary to Shirley Bond, minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training, to the set of the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie Just in Time for Christmas and a tour of local post-production studio Foley 1010.
Lee was joined here Wednesday afternoon by Victoria film commissioner Kathleen Gilbert and Allen Lewis, vice-president of production for Front Street Pictures.
The company employs 15 fulltime staff and crews as required for a steady stream of screen content, with a focus on TV movies such as Hallmark’s Signed Sealed Delivered and The Gourmet Detective franchises.
Lewis, the Metchosin-based producer who has brought several shows here over the years, said his company prides itself on providing the first practical “on-set” experience for young filmmakers.
“It’s great to be able to come back and see my dogs and my family on the weekend,” said Lewis, who is currently juggling two productions in Vancouver, and prepping two others there in addition to his slate here.
When Rose Parade wraps at the end of the month, his local crews will start shooting Fixer Upper, a Hallmark murder mystery starring Jewel that could become “a recurring set of movies.”
He said one of the hardest things about shooting in Vancouver, where there are more than 60 projects in various stages of production, is trying to find enough qualified crew.
“It’s one of the biggest challenges in Vancouver, even though we’re training filmmakers every day,” he said. “I’ve had to bring people in from as far away as St. John’s, N.L.”
Lewis said he hopes to continue building on the local crew base established in Victoria to shoot more pictures here, including one that would immediately follow Fixer Upper.
While Gilbert said she appreciated being recognized for “all the effort we’ve put toward building this industry” and having Victoria recognized as one of B.C.’s main production centres, she expressed some gratitude of her own.
“We love Front Street Pictures,” she said. “They continually come back, and we’re happy to have them.”