Vancouver Island film commissioner to retire in 2024

Film commissioner Kathleen Gilbert will retire in 2024 after more than a decade at the helm of the Vancouver Island South Film & Media Commission, it was announced Thursday.

Gilbert, the longest-serving commissioner in the non-profit organization’s 50-year history, will leave her post in the spring.

“I have enjoyed my position as Film Commissioner more than words could express,” she said in a statement. “I have been blessed with a devoted and loyal staff and a hardworking board of directors, all of whom have made my job so enjoyable. I look forward to continuing to support the growth of the film industry in Victoria and the commission in whatever ways that I can.”

A highly respected film industry veteran, with more than 30 years of film experience, she was a member of the Directors Guild of Canada for 13 years, prior to joining what was then known as the Victoria-Vancouver Island Film Commission in 2010.

The film commissioner is the first point of contact for outside film and television productions scouting the region as a potential fit, and Gilbert was instrumental in attracting and facilitating hundreds of projects, growing direct film- and television-related spending in the Capital Region from $6 million in 2010 to $60 million in 2022.

She shepherded high-profile productions, including the Emmy Award-winning Netflix series Maid, Fox’s 10-part mystery series Gracepoint and Disney’s young-adult Descendants franchise, shot in the Capital Region during her tenure.

A search is underway for her replacement. — Mike Devlin, TC