The North Shore Studios has seen little in the way of lights, cameras and action lately.
But on January 22, more than 2,000 out-of-work filmmakers and their supporters (some reports go as high as 4,500 in attendance) stepped in front of the cameras once again at the production lots Stage 7 to protest the provincial governments decision to call cut! on competitive tax credits for the industry.
It was the culmination of the Save BC Film campaign, a social media-driven public relations initiative that, before the rally even began, had garnered more than 25,000 signatures to a petition calling on Premier Christy Clark to increase tax incentives and stem the eastward migration of film and television productions to Ontario and Quebec.
Theres nobody shooting right now at either facility, said Peter Leitch, president of both North Shore Studios in North Vancouver and Mammoth Studios in Burnaby. I cant remember ever having nobody shooting and thats over 20 years.
Leitch also serves as chairman of the Motion Picture Production Industry Association of B.C., a role that affords him a certain big-picture perspective on the industry as a whole.
We saw a real tailing off in 2012 it was certainly quieter on the feature film front and now were seeing a continuation of that, Leitch says. So 2013 is looking very quiet and were concerned about it.
The problem, his would-be customers tell him, is higher tax credits in Ontario, Quebec and elsewhere in the U.S.
The differential between Ontario, Quebec and Vancouver, British Columbia is just too great, he said.
In those eastern provinces, film and television productions get a tax break of around 25 per cent off the top, while in BC, they get a 33 per cent break on BC labour alone.
That works out to about a 10 per cent differential overall, Leitch said, tilting the industrys favour eastward.
Leitch and other insiders arent calling for the province to match those competitive tax rates, but just to get a little closer.. BCs natural landscape, its shared time zone with Hollywood, and the film infrastructure and personnel already in place here will do the rest to lure the productions back, he added.
It was a sentiment echoed at the rally by veteran Beachcombers actor and industry booster, Jackson Davies.
Even though my studios were boats and cop cars and cafés, we did have the most beautiful back-lot set in the world; youve probably heard about it British Columbia, Davies said, to wild applause.
Local film producer Wayne Bennett said BCs investment in film education, coupled with non-competitive tax incentives for employers, sends, at best, a mixed message to the industry.
Whats the point of educating people at these 24 facilities in this province if theyve got to go to Ontario, Quebec and other places around the world to actually earn a living?
But last week Premier Clark told reporters her government would not raise tax incentives in an effort to return the provinces film industry to its former prominence.
I understand the pressure, the race to the bottom that weve seen in economies that are really struggling, Clark said, referring to Ontario and Quebec. I understand the pressure that thats creating. But here in British Columbia we offer a pretty good deal for filmmakers and we do it for the right reasons because its an important industry for us.
Today, only about one-tenth of the B.C. film and television industrys estimated 25,000 employees are working. And while January is naturally a down time for the business, that 10 per cent mark is a low point historically, Leitch said.
Were still about 40 per cent down from where we were last year at this same time, he estimated, noting 2012 was still a reasonable year for the business.
Part protest, part celebration, Tuesdays rally was a slickly produced spectacle few industries can rival. And that flair, Leitch said, is what the film and television industrys grumblings had lacked, until now.
One of the things I think we hadnt done as well as we could is not only tell the government but tell the public about all the benefits of the industry the type of employment it generates and economic benefits and I dont think weve voiced that as well as we could have.
