Mayor Jyoti Gondek, Calgary Economic Development and some big hitters from Alberta’s film industry are heading to Los Angeles to sell the city and region to film and television producers.
The two-day film and television trade mission will see the Calgary delegation meet with film, television and streaming studios.
Gondek is scheduled to speak Wednesday at a film and television industry night at the Canada House, where upwards of 80 industry executives will be in attendance. The goal is to continue to sell Calgary and Alberta as a great place for their next production.
Calgary’s film and television industry is hot right now, with recent productions Ghostbusters, After Life and the upcoming HBO series The Last of Us filming in the region. The mayor and Calgary Economic Development want to keep that momentum going.
“Most Calgarians won’t appreciate the fact that we are fourth in the country in terms of film and TV. We made it onto movie makers’ lists of Top 10 locations to be if that’s your sector. So I think once again, the more we profile what’s being done locally, the more people will appreciate that we’re already there,” Gondek said ahead of Wednesday’s trip to California.
“They see Calgary as a metropolitan location at this point,” said Luke Azevedo, a film commissioner with Calgary Economic Development. “They see the region around us — all of the small towns within the jurisdiction, all the area and the great backdrops — as an opportunity. We want to make sure that as many parts of Alberta are successful with film and television as we possibly can.”
On Thursday, the city’s delegation will meet with independent studios before attending pre-Emmy Awards Canadian talent celebrations at the Canada House.
The Calgary Film Centre is currently booked with back-to-back productions.
With files from Craig Momney, Global News.