A new awards ceremony that honours B.C. actors and aims to raise the profile of the province’s talent was held in Vancouver on the weekend amid much fanfare and glitzy red-carpet glamour.
The Union of B.C. Performers (UBCP), a branch of the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) presented the first UBCP/ACTRA awards at Vancouver’s CBC studios on Nov. 24.
The inaugural event was attended by over 350 industry professionals.
“It’s a little tricky for us as B.C. performers, because those tax credits only apply to Ontario residents, so we can’t even audition for the work there,” says Harvie. “A lot of us are moving to Toronto—I’ve considered that as well.”
“I really hope that the government does something to be at least competitive with Ontario, so that we don’t lose our industry completely,” she adds.
“We’ve certainly lost a lot of the gaming industry, a lot of productions companies, and a lot of our actors to the Ontario tax credit.”
Pete Mitchell, a former BC Film Commissioner who heads up Vancouver Film Studios, has also warned that B.C.’s movie industry is having trouble competing with other regions that offer better tax incentives.
“There’s no real focus on the industry here right now and people in Ontario, Quebec, London, southern U.S., Australia are doing very well off what used to be our business,” Mitchell told CKNW.
Good Reputation
However, Harvie says it is possible to find success as an actor in B.C., and adds that Canadian actors in general have a good reputation because in order to compete in so-called Hollywood North, they often have to be extremely versatile.
