The City of Richmond had a record breaking year in 2016 for both the number of filming days and the amount of revenue generated.
Production of major motion pictures, War for the Planet of the Apes and Power Rangers, along with the continued success of ABC’s popular series Once Upon A Time helped ensure that Richmond will continue to be featured on both the small and big screens in 2017.
“The film industry provides good, well-paying jobs for local people, boosts economic activity within the community and even brings more tourists to Richmond,” said Mayor Malcolm Brodie.
“The Richmond Film Office has worked closely with local residents and businesses to establish our reputation as a film-friendly community and we are seeing the results of that collaborative approach.”
The Richmond Film Office presented its annual report this week to city council’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Committee.
In all, eight feature films, 12 TV series and six commercials shot on location in Richmond in 2016. The filming generated about $500,000 in service and location charges for the city, a new record amount.
Filming took place in the city three out of every four days last year, for a total of 276 filming days — compared the previous record of 189.
Productions, according to the city, are attracted to Richmond by a diverse inventory of attractive filming locations, the one-stop Richmond Film Office and the film-friendly community environment.
In addition to direct spending from filming in Richmond, the industry is also a major employer in the city with over $24 million dollars in wages earned by residents employed in 2015 (which was the last year of available data).
Film tourism continued in 2016 with Tourism Richmond reporting an 8.9 per cent increase in visits to its Steveston Visitor’s Centre and noting that 64 per cent of visitors were there because of Once Upon a Time.
