Calgary’s film and television industry has another win to celebrate.
After a banner year in productions that included marquee projects like HBO’s The Last of Us, the Fraggle Rock reboot and the 17th season of CBC’s Heartland, a trio of standing sets won the Location of the Year Award at the Global Production Awards in Cannes, France.
Calgary Film commissioner Luke Azevedo said the award continues the momentum in the region’s film and television production industry while also putting the city on the world map.
“This is a totally different festival. It’s a global festival, and I think it really did put us on the map here, which we haven’t had before,” he said.
CL Ranch near Aldersyde, Alta., Albertina Farms near Okotoks, Alta., and John Scott Ranch near Longview, Alta., were the collection of standing sets that won the international award.
Standing sets refer to permanent sets, usually on a soundstage or backlot, that are repeatedly used in productions. The award recognizes a location’s work done across one or multiple film and television productions.
Those locations have hosted productions like The Revenant, Wynonna Earp, Fargo, Night at the Museum 3, in addition to The Last of Us and Heartland.
Azevedo credited the landowners of those standing sets for the years of work and upkeep they’ve put into them.
“Those folks that are managing that land and ensuring that it stays as good or better than it was found, and continue to do the work that they do to enable us to be there on those sets is incredible and we’re forever grateful to them,” Azevedo said. “This award is going towards them and the amount of work that they’ve done for us.”
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Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said people in the area already knew about the up-and-coming status of the city’s screen entertainment sector.
“With this award and nomination, now the whole world knows it, too,” Gondek said in a statement.
“Film-friendly municipal policies, along with economic development initiatives, and an incredible talent pool will continue to cement Calgary as the location of choice for productions.”
According to Screen Daily, one judge said the Calgary-area locations “provided decades of filmmakers with a rock-solid filmmaking venue, bringing a high level of production support in a stunning natural setting.”
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Albertina Farms and John Scott Ranch sit in Foothills County, south of Calgary. That county’s reeve was “very proud” to hear of the international recognition the trio of sites received.
“Knowing John Scott on a personal level, I’m really pleased that he was recognized,” Reeve Delilah Miller said. “He is instrumental in bringing economic development with regard to the movie industry to Alberta. He works at it continually and has over his 50-plus year career, so I’m very, very excited for him.
“It’s certainly a feather in Alberta’s cap and Calgary and Foothills County.”
Azevedo said the Alberta contingent immediately got interest from a cohort of producers and executives who aren’t usually found in Los Angeles or New York.
“The second that we got off that stage, we had people handing us cards, asking for visuals and asking us for digital photo packages, because they’ve got projects that could potentially fit.”
Calgary was also nominated for the City of Film award, recognizing a city that has “helped deliver for TV and filmmakers, and at the same time helped develop local skills and expertise whilst boosting the local economy.” That award went to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Azevedo said the win wouldn’t be possible without the efforts of the entire film industry in the area.
“It takes the people, it takes the locations, it takes the film-friendliness of the city. It takes all of those aspects for us to be able to be considered a global player. And I think we really did show what Alberta can do tonight.”
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