Vancouver: Once all the number crunching was done, 2003 turned out to be a big year for the British Columbia film and television industry, according to year-end data recently released by B.C. Film.

Buoyed by big-budget American features like I, Robot, Paycheck, Cat Woman and The Chronicles of Riddick, the 2003 tally jumped an impressive 41% to $1.4 billion in direct spending in the local economy, a new record. In 2003, there were 25 feature films spending $821 million, which is almost double the previous year’s total of $414 million generated by 15 productions.

‘We started off with a bang last year with a number of large effects-heavy features,’ says B.C. film commissioner Susan Croome, ‘and then we got some more features.’

She says early ratification of local labor pacts in 2002 helped make B.C. competitive and attract the feature projects. At the beginning of 2003, features worth $500 million had booked locations, compared to about $100 million at the beginning of 2004.

The provincial government’s new 6% regional tax credit sparked production outside the Lower Mainland, including An Unfinished Life in the Kamloops region, the Charlie’s Angels Story in Victoria and Scary Movie 3 in northern Vancouver Island communities.

The number of foreign television series, such as Smallville, Dead Like Me and Tru Calling, improved in 2003 by three series (up to a total of 15) and generated $309 million in spending, up 27% from the year before. In 2003, four foreign animated productions spent almost $14 million, compared to six animated productions that spent $7 million in ’02.

TV movies, miniseries and pilots declined, with 25 productions spending $92 million, compared to 32 productions and $166 million in 2002.

Overall, 69 foreign productions generated direct spending of $1.2 billion in 2003, compared to the 65 that spent $830 million the year before.

On the domestic front, year-over-year production volumes were marginally improved in 2003 in dollar value, but down in number of productions.

‘It’s an encouraging sign that after a decline in 2000 and 2001, the level of domestic activity has stabilized,’ says Rob Egan, president and CEO of B.C. Film. ‘Those levels are sustained by the provincial tax-credit program and B.C. Film through development and marketing support.’ Egan says he hopes to maintain stability in 2004 through new programs reflecting B.C. Film’s more modest budget, to be finalized by the end of June.

In 2003, 100 domestic productions spent $169 million, compared to 140 shoots worth $164 million in 2002.

The domestic volumes were driven by a resurgence of television production. In 2003, domestic television series including The Collector and Da Vinci’s Inquest numbered 22 with $89 million in direct spending, up from seven titles and $51 million in 2002. Local feature films held steady at 22 titles generating $42 million in spending, down 12% in value from 2002. Domestic animation was in sharp decline, off 61% in 2003, with two productions spending $8 million, compared to 14 productions spending $22 million in 2002.

The previous industry high in B.C. was almost $1.2 billion in direct spending in 2000. In 2002, 205 domestic and foreign productions spent $994 million.

-www.bcfilm.bc.ca