Creative BC Taking Action in Four Key Ways

A MESSAGE FROM THE PROVINCIAL FILM COMMISSION AT CREATIVE BC

April 27, 2020 – Creative BC’s provincial film commission first seeks to acknowledge the unprecedented distress, pressure and concern that this necessary pause to all physical production in the province has placed on our film industry as it stays home to stop the spread of COVID-19.

This is a global issue, translating to real and recognized vulnerability during this pause for the lives, livelihoods and families of more than 70,000 people that work in physical production, animation, VFX and post-production in B.C. We understand the business of content production, and we know how many industry-related companies are also experiencing unprecedented financial duress at this time. This includes film studios, supply and production companies, local businesses that depend on productions for revenue, all of their employees and many more.

Adding to these challenges in live production, are the immediate and anticipated strains felt by the inter-related segments of the industry that make B.C. a full-service, world-class production hub. Well over 100 Animation, VFX and post-production companies of all sizes have moved to work-from-home measures but with significant investments to tech and associated supports. Organizations have done this to service and deliver where possible, while also facing disruptions to supply and value chains as these emerge and unfold.

CREATIVE BC IS ACTING NOW IN FOUR KEY WAYS

We honour the courage it has taken to cease activity, and we know this industry is anxious to return to work. You are creative problem-solvers for whom it is unfamiliar to stand by and “wait” within a context of unknowns.

This is why Creative BC is publicly sharing our current and intended activities for the industry here. It is more important than ever to all of us at Creative BC to serve you well, and to unite and champion the return and recovery of this important segment of B.C.’s diversified economy. It is an economic engine that is capable of contributing more than $3.4B to the province annually.

The following are four ways in which Creative BC, together with leaders of B.C.’s motion picture industry, are communicating, coordinating and working to respond to, and connect with, government leadership in the design process and preparations for a responsible return: 

1. LOCAL COMPLIANCE: Industry continues to comply with regulatory measures that have been put in place at the federal and provincial levels to prevent the spread of COVID-19—this protects all citizens of our province and contributes to shorten our road to a return. 
    
2. PROVINCIAL LEADERSHIP: Creative BC’s CEO, Prem Gill, is a member of the Premier's Economic Recovery Task Force. 
    
3. INDUSTRY PLANNING: In response to government request, Creative BC, together with its partners at MPA and MPPIA members, (representing the unions and guilds, CMPA BC Producers’ Branch, AMPTP, Actsafe, Animation and VFX Alliance, Stages, Vendors and Suppliers), and CPAWC, have engaged to prepare a well-informed blueprint for a responsible return, including:
   1. chain of authority for easement of restrictions;
   2. collective approach to provincially-approved industry-wide return to work; and
   3. scenario-planning, health and safety procedures and other relevant factors as industry gradually returns to work through established government/industry collaborations including the Actsafe Motion Picture Standing Committee, the body that is comprised of B.C.'s industry stakeholders, including representatives of the major studio employers, AMPTP, CMPA, and unions and guilds.
       
4. NATIONAL COLLABORATION: Creative BC is a member of the National Production Industry Task Force, focused on ensuring federal visibility and understanding of the needs of the film industry and in particular, the domestic sector. 

PROVIDE INPUT, STAY CONNECTED AND INFORMED

We want to stay connected and there are a number of ways to do so for each individual in the industry:

1. You can sign up to receive our bulletins (April 11, 2020 and March 19, 2020 archives)
    
2. The creative industries’ COVID-19 resource page and Motion Picture sub-page are kept up to date and contain important information about federal and provincial resources as soon as they become available, as well as other tools for small businesses and individuals.
    
3. If you have input, ideas or concerns, we want to hear from you. Please email us at communityaffairs@creativebc.com