B.C. film industry enjoys boom as COVID-19 border rules loosen

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — The doors to Hollywood North are opening wider, as more people in the film industry are coming to B.C. amid easing COVID-19 restrictions.

Prem Gill, CEO of Creative B.C., says TV and film sets are enjoying fewer restrictions under a more permeable border, and adds the multi-billion dollar industry is seeing a sizable number of projects in the works — even higher than pre-pandemic levels.

Gill says there’s already over thirty TV and film projects currently in production in the province.

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“Right now, we sort of anticipate that may gear up to possibly 50-plus going later into this year, and that certainly, for B.C. and Metro Vancouver, that’s a very strong number.”

The film industry employs roughly 35,000 people and adds billions of dollars to B.C.’s economy each year and says the border re-opening is a step to returning the industry to a more normal state.

“I think it’s great for ease of movement, for a lot of talent that does traditionally go back and forth between maybe Los Angeles or New York, but really, we have always been a really great place for film and television production, because we have such a strong talent base here.”

She says this is great for local jobs since people working behind the scenes aren’t all American — most of them are right in our own backyard.

“Business comes here to B.C. That leverages B.C. talent, and the B.C. talent is really behind the scenes on so many film and television productions and movies of the week. In fact, 97 per cent of the below the line workers in physical production are B.C. residents.”

– With files from Nikitha Martins