(photo: Film crew at work, courtesy InFilm; Vancouver Island North Film Commission)
More US TV and film productions are being lured to Vancouver Island, thanks to the low Canadian dollar and tax incentives.
The Film Commissioner for Vancouver Island North (which also handles part of the Sunshine Coast) says their goal right now is to train a local film crew.
Joan Miller says that would help attract more production companies from south of the border. They could stay longer, because it would be cheaper than bringing a whole crew up from the US.
But Miller says most productions don’t stay long enough right now on the Island for them to fully train a crew, so it’s a Catch 22.
Miller says they’re trying to line up a series of productions that would give them time to train a group of trades people in the art of film-making.
Kathleen Gilbert, of the Vancouver Island South Film and Media Commission – which looks after the area from Nanaimo to Victoria – says they can offer the sort of locations US production companies need.
And Gilbert says looking like an American city helps, which is why places like Ladysmith, Chemainus and Duncan get so much interest.
Gilbert says they’re already on track to beat their best year for visiting productions. There were 12 in 2006. They’re expecting up to 18 this year.
