Film activity — and revenue from city permits — continued to be strong in the Tri-Cities last year, with Riverview Hospital in Coquitlam one of the most sought-after destinations in North America for movie and TV productions.
According to figures obtained by The Tri-City News last week, film permits brought in about a quarter of a million dollars for Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody city halls, with 48 more permits issued in Coquitlam in 2019 than in the previous year.
Coquitlam film liaison Amanda Gleave said the municipality collected $171,000 last year from its 186 permits to film scenes for such television series as: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, The InBetween, Batwoman, Love It or List It, Nancy Drew, Omen and Supernatural.
Riverview Hospital was the most popular location, with up to six productions being filmed on the grounds at the same time, she said. Other filming sites in Coquitlam were Town Centre Park, Burke Mountain and Como Lake Park.
“Overall, we have seen the demand for filming in Coquitlam increase year-over-year particularly as it relates to film inquiries, permits and revenues,” said David Munro, the city’s economic development manager.
Coquitlam is in its fourth year of its 2017-’22 film strategy, aimed at marketing the area as a film destination.
In Port Coquitlam, the numbers also grew over the year, with $36,709 generated by film permits.
PoCo's property use co-ordinator, Davin Gable, said 13 productions — most of them TV series and a major mini-series episode — took place in the downtown core, in and around city hall and along Shaughnessy Street. Those productions were: Scales of Justice, Siren, Virgin Road, Upload, Bushy Tail, We See Design, Nancy Drew, Radio Nowhere, Away, Supergirl, DC's Legends of Tomorrow and Charmed.
And in Port Moody, filming mostly took place at private homes and businesses in Moody Centre and Glenayre as well as at the shuttered College Park elementary, Heritage Woods secondary, Ioco, NewPort Village, Sasamat Lake, Rocky Point Park and the recreation complex.
Film permits yielded about $30,000 for Moody, up about $9,000 from the previous year, with crews taping commercials for El Jimador, Bootlegger and Nintendo; scenes for the TV shows Siren, Supernatural, Supergirl and 50 States of Fright; and the feature films Flora and Ulysses and Playing With Fire.
City spokesperson Rosemary Lodge said staff are currently updating the filming guidelines for council consideration later this year.
