Vancouver: Terminal City, a $12.5-million miniseries in production in Victoria until mid-February, may be about the ravages of breast cancer, but it proves the B.C. capital has a lot of life yet as a television Mecca – especially as the loonie rises against the U.S. greenback.

In the edgy, cable-style program, produced by Vancouver’s Crescent Entertainment and Big Dog Productions for CHUM, The Movie Network and Movie Central, a woman with cancer becomes the subject of a reality TV show.

At press time, writer and executive producer Angus Fraser (The Love Crimes of Gillian Guess) hadn’t decided whether the lead character, played by Maria Del Mar (The Pentagon Papers) would live or die at the end – the cynics say he’s waiting for a series pickup – but he was more certain about the unexpected costar, B.C.’s capital city.

‘We love Victoria,’ says the Vancouver resident. ‘I thought I’d hate it. [But] it’s not over-shot. The crews are good. The people are polite and not jaded. Dealing with the police department has been fantastic. The city is beautiful. There are the huge groves of Gary Oaks and the ocean is always around the corner. It’s really the jewel at the end of the Earth.’

For domestic producers, B.C. offers a base incentive tax credit of 20% of eligible labor costs, plus a 12.5% bonus to shoot outside the Vancouver core. For foreign producers, the base production services tax credit is 11% and the regional bonus is another 6%.

After that, location costs are half the price compared to shooting in Vancouver, says Fraser.

Terminal City, costarring Gil Bellows (Ally McBeal), Paul Soles (The Score), Jane Mclean (Supervolcano), Katie Boland (Shania) and Adam Butcher (St. Ralph), is shooting all over Victoria, he adds, including stately old neighborhoods and the SARS wing at Royal Jubilee Hospital.

Fraser says recent production volume, kick-started by CHUM and Vancouver’s Brightlight Pictures and their six-picture order for CHUM’s The New VI in Victoria, has primed the production service pump. Brightlight’s CHUM MOWs include Pink Ludoos, Cable Beach and Johnny Tootall.

‘Brightlight made a big impact,’ says Fraser. ‘A lot of staff came from Vancouver, fell in love with the place, bought homes [in Victoria], and now may be getting more work than they would in Vancouver.’

In 2004, Victoria has hosted about 19 long-form productions, including features such as Fierce People and White Chicks. Conservative volume estimates peg production at about $20 million in value in 2004, down about 15% from Victoria’s record $23.7 million in 2003, says interim Greater Victoria film commissioner Barry Dodd. (Production volumes were $9.7 million in 2001 and $14.4 million in 2002.)

Despite the 2004 downturn, Victoria is faring relatively better than Vancouver in overall production volume trends.

‘People are interested,’ says Dodd. ‘Location requests are way up this year, with 180 compared to 140 in 2003. It’s word of mouth – this is a small industry and folks talk. The regional tax credit helps, and Victoria is still less expensive as a location. When you get to $4-million and $5-million MOWs, that becomes attractive.’

Dodd says the downturn can also be attributed to the rising value of the Canadian dollar and increased competition from U.S. states such as Louisiana, Utah and New Mexico that now offer rich incentives.

‘That definitely impacts traveling production,’ he says. However, the regional tax credits offer a modest antidote to the economic impact of the rising loonie.

The recent influx of production, meanwhile, has helped build momentum for Victoria’s infrastructure. According to Dodd, Victoria can field two full production crews at a time (compared to Vancouver, where the estimate is 40 to 45 full crews at one time). Support industries like catering are already in place, while equipment rentals have yet to set up shop, opting at this point to backfill Victoria production with idle Vancouver gear just a ferry ride away.

A new labor study will help define the Victoria production workforce, says Dodd, who was the founding director of programming and independent production at The New VI until he was laid off with 28 others in July.

Dodd says the Greater Victoria Film Commission’s perennial struggle for funding continues. While he says the community support is there, confirmed funding for the production booster is not yet in place for the next fiscal year, which begins April 1, 2005.

Terminal City, helmed by Canadian directors including Rachel Talalay (Touching Evil), Lynne Stopkewich (Kissed), Kari Skogland (Liberty Stands Still) and Scott Smith (Falling Angels), could air as early as fall 2005.

-www.filmvictoria.com