The Thompson-Nicola Regional District Film Commission has been having a great 2020 and that momentum looks to carry through much of the year.

Commissioner Vicci Weller says there are a number of reasons as to why some noteworthy projects have chosen the Interior as a place to shoot. “We have great tax credits. So that’s always helpful in attracting production to BC. British Columbia is at an all-time high and so British Columbia is attracting more attention as a whole. We’re also seeing an increase in Hallmark pictures as well. So we are very, very active.”

“It always comes down to it’s on the script. If it is in the script and we have been very lucky that there’s been some big projects that our locations have been very attractive and attracted so much attention. So we’re very lucky that way.”

Vice-President of the BC Business Council Ken Peacock says for a long time BC has been a great place to film with an excellent workforce and facilities to film in. “Being in the same timezone as Hollywood is apparently a very important factor in making it easier to do business. The dollar is an important factor as the Canadian dollar sits around 74 cents which means US productions up here see a 25% discount. There is also a film tax credit. Companies get a tax credit on their labour input into film productions.”

Peacock and Weller both credit streaming services as a reason for the up-tick as there is just so much more content being produced. “We’re seeing this increase in demand for content and they also have a little bit more money than in previous years when the networks just didn’t have much money to go anywhere and these ones do” Weller said.

Ashcroft just had TV crews in for “The Twilight Zone“, “Jurassic World 3” is reportedly about to do some work in Merritt this month and there are a number of other projects making their way to the area this year.

You can listen to Weller’s entire interview on The Jeff Andreas Show below.

https://soundcloud.com/user-965676831/jeff-andreas-show-vicci-weller-feb-10