Remember #SaveBCfilm? It wasn’t that long ago that our local film and television industry was gripped by a paralyzing slowdown. Studios sat empty and unused; cast and crew wrestled with unemployment.
But judging by the number of film and television press releases flooding into my email inbox each day – not to mention the fact that the Georgia Viaduct has been closed for filming by the Deadpool crew, and some pretty big film and TV franchises are coming to town (including The X-Files, Star Trek, and Steven Spielberg’s big-screen adaptation of Roald Dahl’s BFG) – the industry has bounced back, and then some.
It’s good for the local economy, good for the industry, good for star-watchers, and good for audiences.
Here’s a rundown of some of the goings-on and happenings in the Vancouver screen scene:
• Production is under way on the fourth and final season of Continuum. After months of uncertainty, the time travel crime procedural – about a cop from 2077 Vancouver (portrayed by Rachel Nichols) who pursues a group of terrorists back in time to present-day Vancouver, and subsequently finds herself stuck here – was cancelled by Showcase earlier this year, and given six episodes in which to wrap up the story. Guest stars for the final six episodes include Kyra Zagorsky (Helix), Michael Eklund (Bates Motel), Ty Olsson (The 100), Aleks Paunovic (Arctic Air), Lisa Berry (Xlll: The Series) and Garfield Wilson (Almost Human). The final episodes will begin airing on July 26 on Showcase.
• Shaw TV is adding a new talk show to its stable of local programming. That particular talk show is called, well, That Talk Show. Hosts Bianca Solterbeck and Peter Verge – best known for helming the Shaw TV real estate series Dream Homes – host the half-hour chat fest, which will shine the spotlight on local celebrities and ordinary Vancouverites doing extraordinary things. There will also be field trips into the homes of celebs (including Entertainment Tonight Canada’s Erin Cebula and soccer superstar Jay DeMerit), and a segment called The Try Out, where Peter auditions for everything from local sports team to Ballet BC. That Talk Show premieres at 6:30pm on April 30.
• DOXA Documentary Film Festival returns later this month with its 14th edition. The jam-packed, 11-day fest opens with How to Change the World, about the founders of Greenpeace; the film won the World Doc Special Jury Award for Editing at Sundance. There’s also The Yes Men Are Revolting, a (according to the DOXA press release) “fitting summation of the careers of Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno (The Men, themselves),” a couple of comedians who stage phony events and press releases to raise awareness for environmental dangers. As a tribute to the legendary documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles, DOXA presents his final film, Iris, as its festival closer. Iris Apfel came to fame first as an interior designer, but it was a 2005 MoMa exhibit that celebrated her personal style and vaulted her to international fame. There are also special events, DOXA signature programs (including Justice Forum and Rated Y for Youth), and two new curated programs this year: French French and Wild Grass: New Chinese Images. DOXA runs April 30-May 10. Details at DOXAFestival.ca.
• What An Idiot – the sideways romantic comedy by married Vancouver filmmakers Peter and Julia Benson that premiered at last year's Whistler Film Festival – will screen at the LA Comedy Fest on April 27.
• Two prolific Vancouver actresses are the recipients of UBCP/ACTRA’s Sam Payne Awards for 2014. Gabrielle Rose (The Sweet Hereafter; Sisters & Brothers) is the recipient of the Sam Payne Lifetime Achievement Award for 2014, while Veena Sood (In The Company of Women) won the Sam Payne Award. The awards are named for actor Sam Payne, who, according to the UBCP/ACTRA press release, “is remembered not only for his contribution to Canadian theatre, film, radio and television, but also for his personal attributes, which included humanity, artistic integrity and encouragement of new talent.” The awards recognize artists whose personal attributes mirror those of Sam Payne.
• Visitors to France's prestigious Festival de Cannes will be able to enjoy a couple of locally produced short films. Becoming Sophie (Crystal Lowe’s directorial debut, not to mention this columnist’s debut as a background performer) and Crazy 8s film The Twisted Slipper (a reimagining of Cinderella in which Cinderella is a fella who longs to be a drag queen) will screen as part of Cannes Short Film Corner. The Festival de Cannes runs May 13-24, 2015.
• TELUS awarded two grants of $50,000 each to two web series teams as part of its Storyhive competition. Winners were selected via a community voting process that ran for a couple of weeks in March. The winning pilots were Coded (about a new teacher tasked with teaching students who have been coded by the school system for their severe emotional and cognitive disorders), and the film noir-flavoured comedy Night Owl High. The winning pilots receive full season funding and guaranteed distribution on TELUS’ Optik network.
