Film and television activities are popping up throughout the Cowichan this summer and fall, giving renewed attention to the region as a film production destination.
Over the past decade, more than $26 million in film activity has taken place in Cowichan, creating positive spin-offs for accommodation providers and other businesses in the region, along with extensive media exposure. During this period, Film Cowichan, the film assistance arm of Economic Development Cowichan, has worked collaboratively with local government, the Island North Film Commission and the South Island Film Commission and to ensure that potential film producers have the support and information they need to bring their productions here.
In February 2018, the motion picture “Light of My Life” was shot at Elkington House in North Cowichan, and since then, documentaries, commercials, and even a recent segment of the “Amazing Race” television series have used Cowichan as a backdrop. This fall, a major Hollywood film is slated for a week-long shoot in Ladysmith, and smaller television mini-series productions will be filming in the Shawnigan Lake area.
Attracting films to the region again involves liaising with local film commission offices and ensuring that the Reel Scout photo library of film locations in Cowichan is kept up to date on the provincial Creative BC website. In the past year, dozens of new locations across the region have been added to the online library. The site showcases downtown streetscapes, commercial, heritage and waterfront buildings, schools, marinas, wineries, personal homes and other iconic Cowichan places. Reel Scout is the “go to” source worldwide for productions looking for locations
“Film Cowichan is grateful for the support and cooperation we receive from local municipalities and business owners in accommodating the film community,” says Film Cowichan Coordinator Laura Leppard. “Without this level of collaboration, we wouldn’t be able to sustain film activity in a region that is extremely attractive to the film industry.”
For more information on Film Cowichan, visit the Economic Development Cowichan website at www.ecdevcowichan.com or contact Amy Melmock at amelmock@cvrd.bc.ca