B . C . ' S F I L M A N D T E L E V I S I O N I N D U S T R Y
North Star
With a variety of strong advantages in its favour, B.C.'s lm
and television industry is an ongoing boon for the province
F
uelled by a deep talent pool,
favourable tax credits and its
proximity to Hollywood, B.C.'s lm
and television industry continues
to thrive. Add to that a steady
supply of original content created
for streaming powerhouses Net•ix,
Amazon and Hulu, and it's no surprise
B.C. is the third largest lm 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-prot
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 e˜ects
professionals and more.
According to Gill, 2015 was a record-
breaking year, due in part to several
large-scale movie productions, such
as 20th Century Fox'sšDeadpool and
Paramount Pictures'šStar Trek Beyond, and
hit television series like ABC's Once Upon
a Time, Net•ix'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
S P E C I A L F E A T U R E
Ryan Reynold's Deadpool (shot in
Vancouver) grossed $783 million
worldwide. Bottom: The CW's fan
favourite The Flash is currently in its
third successful season
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