If you’re looking for work on Vancouver Island, this could be your chance to get a big break: the film industry is booming and looking to fill jobs locally.
In downtown Victoria, many unsuspecting passersby have been finding themselves coming across a film set.
A movie called The Christmas Calendar, which executive producer Cynde Harmon calls ‘low budget’, is currently being filmed in the capital city.
“We try to go to local people and if they’re here we use them, otherwise we have to bring them in,” Harmon said.
“This time around unfortunately a lot of the crew were working in Vancouver because there’s a lot of large productions coming from the United States.”
2017 is on track to be the busiest year for TV and movie production in the Capital Region (CRD) since 2015, when 24 projects generated $18-million in direct spending, according to Andrea Rodgers with the Vancouver Island Film and Media Commission.
“We’re expecting to have a really busy spring here too in the CRD with filming and so we are very grateful for that and for all of the productions that are here,” Rodgers said.
That’s why film commission staff are busy organizing a job fair for this Saturday to help fill the need for local talent.
Thirty industry professionals are set to be on hand to answer questions, and Rodgers said they’re hoping to attract upwards of 500 people.
And if you’ve got zero experience in film, this may be the opportunity for you.
“We’re really focusing on transferable skills right now. So accountants, hair dressers, landscaping, construction, driving – there’s all these skills that we know people in the Capital Regional District have, so we’re trying to help them learn how to apply them directly to the film industry,” Rodgers said.
The job fair runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Pacific Fleet Club in Esquimalt.
“If you’re at all thinking of working in the film industry, please, get to that job fair,” Harmon said.
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