Kamloops resident Terri Hadwin is the Thompson-Nicola Film Commissioner for the Thompson Nicola Regional District.

(SHANNON AINSLIE / iNFOnews.ca)

Terri Hadwin has been the film commissioner for the Thompson-Nicola Regional District for just over two years and never has a shortage of work as she draws film productions into the area from near and far.

Scenes from the region can be seen in notable films including Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (2023) with Kurt Russell, Jurassic World: Dominion with Chris Pratt (2022), Hammer with Reba McEntire (2023), Power Rangers (2017), and Tracker, a popular television series that premiered in 2024.

“We’re trying to make as much film production happen in our area that we possibly can by marketing ourselves and providing services to production so they want to land here,” Hadwin said.

The commission supports television series, small budget independent film productions, and big budget blockbusters. It’s a big economic driver for the region with an expanding inventory of services for potential productions. 

“Tracker did their pilot episode here, the opening scene was shot in our area,” Hadwin said. “Most of Power Rangers was shot in Kamloops and the background is so recognizable.

“We’re well known for how film friendly we are, producers know they’re welcome here, and we try to support local productions as best we can, knowing they’re often working with smaller budgets.”

Hadwin said the industry is expanding in the region, alongside the Okanagan as more medium-sized productions are looking to regions outside of Vancouver that fit their budgets and offer better tax credits that help compensate for travel and accommodation costs. 

The Kamloops film industry has a friendly rivalry with the Okanagan film industry. 

“There are more productions happening in the Okanagan and it's always kind of been that way,” she said. “How I look at the Okanagan, it’s almost like sibling rivalry, we want them to succeed and do well, we just want to do better and have mom and dad love us a little bit more.

“We celebrate all productions in the province, we’re always trying stimulate economic drivers to BC.” 

Filming of power rangers on 4 Avenue, Seymour and Victoria Streets in Kamloops.

(GLYNN BROTHEN / iNFOnews.ca)

The Thompson Nicola Regional District is large, covering an area of roughly 45,000 kilometres, which not only keeps Hadwin busy, but offers a large diversity of film settings from forests and waterfalls to western looking types of topography.

“We have the best of everything and have doubled as different locations like Arizona and Afghanistan.”

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Not only is it exciting for residents in the region to see parts of their hometowns in movies, it is a big economic boost for local businesses when production companies roll through.

“It’s a big boost for anyone in the hospitality industry like restaurants and hotels, but also for places like equipment rental companies.”

The commission continues to grow its database of local cast and crew members, and available set locations at homes and businesses.

“When a production comes into the area, one of the first things they do is look at the cast and crew lists, who they can bring onto their projects so they’re not having to pay for accommodations and can give someone local some experience.”

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Having a large inventory of available film locations in the area helps to draw in productions.

“Commercial industries want that information there, loaded up and ready, and it helps us get discovered through internet searches when we have a lot of locations to offer.

“Even if you think, ‘oh, I’m just a bowling alley,’ you never know when someone needs a specific bowling alley for their script.”

A scene from the TV series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters that was filmed near Kamloops.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ TNFC

It is easy for residents and business owners to add their locations to the list and when that location is chosen for a production, it has some perks.

“It’s a great way for homeowners and businesses to earn a secondary source of income. If a production uses your home for a week, you’ll probably earn enough to spend that week on vacation.

“In some cases, your house is perfect, but maybe the kitchen isn’t right so it has to be renovated. You get compensated and you’re able to put in a new kitchen you didn’t know you could have.”

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She said on the contrary, some locations have been listed for years but are not chosen, which can be disappointing for homeowners. 

This year the commission is starting to build an inventory for incoming productions to borrow including locations kits and green generators.

Having a film studio in Kamloops for productions to utilize would be a big factor in growing the industry.

“If we had a studio, productions would stay longer. Tracker came here and did their opening scene then went back to Vancouver to film supplementary stuff. If they had a place to do inhouse filming that would spur us further forward.”

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Hadwin will be attending an expo in Las Vegas this fall for location managers from around the world, where she will be showcasing what the region has to offer.

Last week she had an inquiry from a producer in the UK, and next week a project is filming in Cache Creek under a writer and director from New York. 

Part of Hadwin’s job is to know when to share details of upcoming movie productions, and she often has to keep quiet about information despite the curious questions she receives.

“We’re protecting the safety of the actors and supporting the needs of the productions,” she said. “It’s exciting so people ask questions and a lot of the time I look like an idiot saying ‘I don’t know’ but gosh darn it, of course I know, but you have to do what the production wants you to do.”

Hadwin has a background in tourism and funding development.

“I take the funding we get from the tax requisition from the district, which costs the average household 47 cents per year, and turn that into millions of dollars by taking the base funding and applying for grants after grants to grow it.”

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She loves her job and its many challenges, the most recent one being the introduction of AI.

“The AI conversation is so intriguing, it’s such a cool thing that we have at our fingertips but it’s always frightening about how its going to stifle creative development going forward. AI is going to steal it and rip it all off.

“There’s always going to be something to learn, this industry is always moving and evolving and changing.”

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