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Kamloops News

Local film industry 10 times stronger in 2014

Crews filmed for the upcoming movie Monster Trucks at the Kamloops Airport in 2014.

KAMLOOPS - About $3 million was brought into the Thompson-Nicola region thanks to the film industry in 2014 and according to the local film commissioner the financial impacts realized could be as much as $9 million.

More than 100 project enquiries came through the office in 2014 and that resulted in some big films being shot here. Among the ones that came through the region were Night at the Museum 3, currently in theatres, and Monster Trucks, set to hit theatres in May, as well as many smaller local, national and international projects.

“We really had a wide variety of films in our region, we had a whole gamut,” she points out, adding Shana: The Wolf’s Music, which was shot in the Lower Nicola area, has already been featured in film festivals all over the world and will be in the Kamloops Film Festival this year as well.

All told 2014 was a much stronger year than 2013; about 10 times better economically according to Weller.

“We estimate it at about $3 million cash into our economy,” Victoria Weller notes. “It all goes to small communities, so the financial impact is substantial. It can be up to $9 million.”

She hopes 2015 will be just as strong and there are already two feature films interested in filming here.

“They’re looking at spring, but we’re not sure yet. They do look like they will happen, but until they show up with the cameras… we can’t know for sure,” she says, adding the appeal of our region is the different terrain. “They want looks they can’t normally get in the Lower Mainland. There’s no guarantee though, that’s for darn sure.”

On Friday Mountain Dew is also filming a commercial at Sun Peaks. Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc posted a notice earlier this week asking for youth members of the band (aged 18-30) to be in the commercial as part of the crowd in a snowboard event scene.

For Weller the highlights of 2014 included:
 - A Canadian horror-suspense production, Wrecker, that was all shot in the region
 - We were used for the Egyptian scenes for Night at the Museum 3
 - Monster Trucks shot at several locations in and around Kamloops
 - A Samsung commercial was shot here
 - The CBC TV series Of All Places filmed an episode in Lytton and will look at the quirkiness of the town
 - Namaste, a yoga series that features serene places all over the world, shot at Nicola Ranch
 - Revelstoke: A Kiss in the Wind, a documentary film by an Italian producer, came through the area
 - Cache Creek will be seen throughout The Whispers, a TV series co-produced by Steven Spielberg
 - Completed eight vignettes in-house for local economic and tourism ventures

To contact a reporter for this story, email Jennifer Stahn at jstahn@infonews.ca or call 250-819-3723. To contact an editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

News from © iNFOnews, 2015
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