If you live in Vancouver, BC, the film industry is always on your lips. Either you brag about being an extra standing not three feet from George Clooney(!) on set, or you’re like my niece, who chased vampires all over town when they were filming the “Twilight” series. Movie fame? It’s just a hotel lobby away.

True, Vancouver and BC are North America’s third-largest production centre for film, video and TV—a $1.3 billion industry, according to the BC Film Commission. But the whole country is in on the Action! Cut! Print! Ontario and Quebec are also major players in film and TV, to the tune of an estimated $946 million and $65 million respectively. These provinces boast some of the most extensive and versatile production facilities in North America. Five minutes from downtown Montréal, QC, you’ll find Canada’s largest film production facility (La Cité du Cinéma); it’s Hollywood-blockbuster big with 39 multi-function stages. Toronto’s Pinewood Studios is Canada’s largest film, TV, commercial production and post-production complex.

Of course, where there’s film, there’s glamour. And cool cash. So what’s the industry worth in Canada? Take George Clooney’s salary for “Ocean’s Thirteen” and multiply it by 333. Film, TV, Canadian theatrical and foreign productions are a $5 billion industry in Canada, according to the Canadian Film and Television Production Association. In the last year, Canada has raked in an estimated $1.4 billion hosting foreign films shot or produced here. The BC Film Commission notes that some 239 motion picture projects (both foreign and domestic) were shot in BC in 2009.

Canada comes of age on screen
Why are US-based productions flocking north? With tax incentives and historically lower exchange rates, it’s often cheaper to film in Canada. Even with the strong Canadian dollar, increased tax breaks are helping create a “package of incentives” according to Karen Thorne-Stone, head of the Ontario provincial government’s film development group. Think talent, tax credits, great infrastructure and incredibly diverse locations.

That’s right. We’re also good body doubles. Location scouts find that Vancouver easily passes for the US Midwest; Toronto, ON, is a dead ringer for New York City; and Calgary, AB, can transport audiences to the American West. Québec City, QC, recalls the Old World splendour of Paris, London or Vienna. In Brad Pitt’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Old Montréal doubled for 1940s Paris in summer and Moscow in winter.
 
So look closely the next time you watch the “X-Men” trilogy, “Juno,” “Mean Girls” “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus,” or Oscar-winners “Brokeback Mountain,” “Unforgiven” and “Capote.” Yep, all shot in Canada. We also produce plenty of MOWs (movies of the week), TV series and documentaries, and we’re increasingly known for our animation and computer-generated imagery (CGI). Canadian studios created some visual effects (VFX) for such big-screen extravaganzas as “Angels and Demons” and “The Incredible Hulk”; the Oscar-nominated VFX in 2009’s “District 9” were created by Vancouver’s Imagine Engine. Rumour has it that Pixar, makers of the 2010 Oscar-winning animated feature “Up”, will soon open a satellite studio in Vancouver.

Even if we do export some of our award-winning Canadian filmmaking talent like hottie actors Ryan Gosling and Ryan Reynolds or directors James Cameron (of “Titanic,” partially shot in Halifax, NS, and Vancouver, BC, and “Avatar,” the highest grossing two films of all time) and fellow Oscar-nominee Jason Reitman, sooner or later, everyone returns to make movies in Canada. They probably ask for bigger trailers, though.

Current films or soon-to-be-released films shot in Canada:
“New Moon” (also known as “The Twilight Saga: New Moon”)
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner
Synopsis: “Twilight’s” sequel, “New Moon” continues the story of Bella Swan and her teen-vampire-Romeo Edward.

“Hot Tub Time Machine”
Starring: Lizzy Caplan, John Cusack, Chevy Chase
Synopsis: After a night of drinking Red Bull-and-vodkas, a group of guys travel back in time to when they were younger cads.” (IMDB)

“The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” (June 30, 2010)
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner

“The A-Team” (June 2010)
Starring: Bradley Coooper, Liam Neeson
Synopsis:  “A group of men look to clear their name with the U.S. military, which suspects them of committing a crime for which they were framed.” (IMDB)

“Casino Jack” (October 2010)
Starring: Kevin Spacey, Kelly Preston
Synopsis: “Washington DC lobbyist and his protégé go down hard as their schemes to peddle influence lead to corruption and murder.” (IMDB)

“Saw VII” (October 2010)
Starring: Tobin Bell, Gina Holden, Costas Mandylor, Betsy Russell
Synopsis: A scary sequel in the popular Saw film series of horror films.

“TRON Legacy” (December 2010)
Starring: Michael Sheen, Jeff Bridges, Olivia Wilde  
Synopsis: A 3-D high-tech adventure set in a digital world. “A tech-savvy son ventures into a fierce gladiatorial-games world to find his father.” (IMDB)

“UNTITLED COMEDY” (Unofficial title: “I’m With Cancer”)” (2011)
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard, Anjelica Huston, Phillip Baker Hall
Synopsis: A comedic take on a 20-something-year-old’s cancer diagnosis and struggle to overcome the disease.

“The Gunslinger” (2011)
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Anna Anisimova
Synopsis: Two brothers set out to kill the gang who killed their parents in a post-apocalyptic future.

Film festivals in Canada:
Canadian Film Festivals
Toronto International Film Festival
Considered second only to France’s Cannes in terms of influence. The Oscar buzz begins here.

Festival des Films du Monde de Montréal  (World Film Festival of Montréal)

Vancouver International Film Festival

Atlantic Film Festival

Calgary International Film Festival

Canada International Film Festival
 
 Film industry associations, guides and magazines:
Canadian Film & Television Production Association

ACTRA

IATSE

Directors Guild of Canada

Writers Guild of Canada

National Film Board of Canada/L’Office national du film du Canada

Playback
“Canada’s production, broadcasting and interactive media destination, offering an intimate view of industry events, trends and innovations through a daily online newsletter, a feature-packed website and a magazine published every two weeks.”

Reel West
A database for film, television, video and multimedia production in Western Canada.
 
Click here for a complete list of film commissions by province.