David Shepheard Appointed As Vancouver's First Film Commissioner

DAVID SHEPHEARD
IMAGE: CBC

The Vancouver Economic Commission announced David Shepheard for the newly created position of film commissioner on October 18, 2016, after two consecutive record years of activity in the film and television industry.

Shepheard has previously worked in the film industries in London and Abu Dhabi. Although based in Vancouver, Shepheard said he will work with other municipalities in advancing the goals of the city's film and television industry, and promote Vancouver as a film hub abroad - not simply for its tax credits, which make filming more affordable, but for its infrastructure: “It’s about the quality of the crews. It’s about the infrastructure. It’s about the services that you get for the money that you spend. It’s about so much more, and I think that Vancouver has this as well."

In 2015, the City issued nearly 5,000 permits for 353 productions filmed in Vancouver. Provisional data for 2016 from the City of Vancouver's film office suggests that this year's numbers will be even higher.