British Columbia is rolling out the red carpet to celebrate the wide range of screen-based entertainment, which is created throughout the province, by proclaiming Monday, July 27, 2015, as “Screen in BC Day”.

As part of Screen in BC Day, the Vancouver Island South Film and Media Commission hosted a tour which consisted of a visit to the set of Hallmark Hall of Fame “Just in Time for Christmas”, which is shooting in downtown Victoria, and a tour of the 1010 Audio Studio.

The Capital Regional District continues to enjoy a strong production roster in 2015, with feature films including Girl in the Photograph, Monkey Up, The Boy, and Devout all filmed on location. In addition, several reality shows including Unreal, The Great Canadian Cookbook and The Liquidator were filmed in the Victoria area.

Regional film offices receive operational funding from the Province of B.C., through Creative BC’s Regional Film Funding Program, which helps support the growth of the film and television industry throughout B.C. For the current fiscal year, Creative BC will be contributing $213,000 toward supporting the Regional Film Offices, which includes $40,000 to the Vancouver Island South Film and Media Commission’s budget. This funding is used toward promoting Capital Regional District locations, scouting locations, creating a comprehensive digital photo library and contributing to its website.

Known for excellence in physical production, post production, VFX and animation, interactive games as well as original content by B.C.-based production companies for world markets, British Columbia is one of the top centres for screen production excellence in North America. British Columbia’s motion-picture industry supports approximately 20,000 direct and indirect quality jobs that make up a talented, highly experienced and knowledge-driven workforce.

Quotes:

Shirley Bond, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour –

“British Columbia has earned its reputation as one of the North America’s busiest centres for screen entertainment production. Once known best for our diverse and scenic locations, today B.C. has built an enviable value proposition based on sophisticated industry infrastructure, a deep talent pool, and capacities across the screen production sub-sectors of the highest industry standards. B.C. is poised to take our strong competitive position to new heights in the Los Angeles market with strategic resources and competitive tax policy – ensuring that B.C.’s screen-production industries continue to create new opportunities for future generations.”

Greg Kyllo, parliamentary secretary for the BC Jobs Plan –

“B.C.’s dynamic creative sector is a key contributor to our diverse, strong and growing economy and represents a remarkable opportunity for British Columbia to succeed on the global stage and to participate in a rapidly growing sophisticated, knowledge based industry. We’re seeing a lot of activity in the creative industries in B.C and this is just the beginning. We have our sights set on a bright and strong future.”

Kathleen Gilbert, Vancouver Island South Film & Media Commission –

“This year has been a banner year for the CRD. Our best year on record was 2006 when we had 12 visiting productions that year. Already this year we have been fortunate enough to land 18 productions and it does not appear to be slowing. We want to once again thank Minister Shirley Bond and the Provincial Government for making the changes to the Distant Location Tax Credit that resulted in this amazing resurgence of the industry in the CRD.”

Robert Wong, interim CEO and acting film commissioner, Creative BC –

“B.C. has become one of North America’s leading creative hubs for screen-based entertainment with a talented group of B.C. companies who are creating and selling their content to audiences around the world. At the same time, we have grown to become of the world’s largest cluster for visual effects and digital animation which has given us a competitive advantage as a global centre capable of performing the complete spectrum of services required for major productions.”

Quick Facts:

• 1010 Audio is a dedicated foley facility which has completed a variety of projects for film and television, video games and more. Selected credits include Strange Empire, Gracepoint, Motive and Dead Point 3. The company chose to locate in Victoria because of the world-class technical community, proximity to Vancouver, Seattle and Los Angeles and lower overheads. All these allow the provision of cost-competitive services in a competitive market.
• B.C. production expenditures reached an estimated $2 billion compared to $1.45 billion in fiscal 2013-14.
• Budget 2014 extended the Distant Location Tax Credit to Capital Regional District.
• Budget 2015 also expanded the Digital Animation or Visual Effects (DAVE) tax credit to include post-production activities.
• Tax credits are only one factor that the industry uses to decide where to base its productions.
• Production companies come to B.C. because it offers a wide range of outstanding locations and full service infrastructure, leading-edge post-production and visual effects facilities and a highly experienced, capable and committed workforce that has earned a reputation for consistently delivering a high-quality product on time and on budget.

Learn More:

To learn more about the Vancouver Island Film & Media Commission visit: www.filmvictoria.com

To learn more about Creative BC, visit: http://www.creativebc.com/

To learn more about BC Creates, visit: http://bccreates.com/