Lights, camera, action! British Columbia is rolling out the red carpet to celebrate the wide range of screen based entertainment that is created in the Province by proclaiming Monday, July 27, 2015, as “Screen in BC Day”.

Today, the Province also delivered on a promise to open a B.C. Film and Television Office in Los Angeles California to further enhance the B.C. industry’s market presence in the region. This new office will support industry wide marketing activities and facilitate new north-south opportunities for B.C.-based producers.

This includes the appointment of Dr. Steven Funk as the Special Envoy, Film and Digital Arts to California. Funk, will work on behalf of the province in California with the film, television, animation and visual effects industries.

As part of the celebrations, local industry is hosting a tour that includes North Shore Studios, Encore/Deluxe Post Production studio and the Vancouver Film School. To further highlight the strength of B.C.’s industry, regional film commissions also are hosting tours with local representatives in Victoria, Campbell River and Kelowna.

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. 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, B.C. is one of the top centres for screen-production excellence in North America.

https://www.facebook.com/BCJobsPlan/posts/10153287444168241

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 advanced industry infrastructure, a rich 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 LosAngeles market with strategic resources and competitive tax policy – ensuring that B.C.’s screen production industries continue to create new opportunities for future generations.”

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 companies which has given us a competitive advantage as a global full-service production centre capable of performing the complete spectrum of services required for major productions.”

Peter Leitch, president, North Shore Studios –

“We want to thank Premier Clark, Minister Bond and the Government of British Columbia for their approach to industry competitiveness and job growth in the Province. We look forward to working closely with government to leverage industry’s investment in B.C. as a world centre for screen production. Together we have a strong public-private strategy that ensures our screen based industries play a leading role in the future of British Columbia’s creative economy.”

Suzanne Thompson, vice-president, sales, Encore Deluxe –

“The British Columbia government’s recent measures to enhance the B.C. screen production industries’ competitive position enable a multi-sector approach to industry growth, thereby closing the loop on our competitive position and defining B.C. as a true global digital centre. We are now in a strong position to attract new digital content business and stimulate new knowledge-based jobs – an exciting development for our vibrant creative economy.

James Griffin, president and co-founder, Vancouver Film School –

“Thirty years ago the B.C. film and entertainment industry was a somewhat precarious production centre, operating in analogue and dependent on a cheaper Canadian dollar and the good fortune of being in the Hollywood time zone. The creative industries in B.C. are no longer precarious and in fact boast a deep, sophisticated and diverse talent base that is a strong foundation from which to grow content ownership - our next step. Having been at the training forefront over those thirty years, I have never seen B.C. better positioned than at this very moment. Congratulations to our fiercely passionate creatives and to the future they represent.”

Quick Facts:

• B.C. production expenditures reached an estimated $2 billion in fiscal year 2014-15 compared to $1.45 billion in fiscal 2013-14.
• Tax credit certifications were issued for 136 productions under the Film Incentive BC Tax Credit Program for Canadian owned and controlled productions and for 151 productions under the Production Services Tax Credit Program for international productions in fiscal year 2014-15.
• 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.

Regional Film Offices:

Regional Film Offices receive operational funding from Creative BC through the Regional Film Funding Program. For the current fiscal year, Creative BC will be contributing $213,000 toward supporting the Regional Film Offices through this program.

Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association: http://www.landwithoutlimits.com/

Vancouver Island South Film & Media Commission:http://www.filmvictoria.com/

Columbia Shuswap Film Commission:http://www.filmcolumbiashuswap.com/

Thompson-Nicola Film Commission http://www.filmthompsonnicola.com/home

Okanagan Film Commission: http://www.okanaganfilm.com/

Film Northern British Columbia: http://www.filmnorthernbc.com/

Vancouver Island North Film Commission: http://www.infilm.ca/

Kootenay Columbia Film Commission: http://www.kcfilm.ca/

Chilliwack Film Commission: http://www.chilliwackfilmcommission.com/

Learn More:

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

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

To learn more about North Shore Studios, visit: http://nsstudios.ca/

To learn more about Encore Deluxe, visit: http://www.encorepost.com/

To learn more about Vancouver Film School, visit: https://vfs.edu/

To learn more about the Motion Picture Production Industry Association of BC, visit: http://mppia.com/