The municipality expects to see an application for filming with a Hallmark production crew eyeballing two locations in Oak Bay.
“I know they’re interested in filming a little short of a week in Oak Bay,” said mayor Nils Jensen.
“This kind of filming is important from an economic point of view to the region. We saw that with Gracepoint.”
That production injected between $10 and $15-million into the local economy when it filmed in Oak Bay and the greater region, wrapping up in spring 2014.
“This size of film will probably be less, but still around $1 million with payments to local staff, extras, hiring personnel and equipment,” Jensen said. “It’s a benefit to the economy overall. Plus it’s exciting to watch them work making a film.
“We’re grateful they’re considering Oak Bay and the CRD,” he said. “This has been a particularly good year for films I’m told by the film commissioner. She’s done a good job of attracting films.”
Hallmark is looking to film The Bridge, based on the Karen Kingsbury novel of the same name.
It’s the story of a woman who left her heart in Franklin, Tenn., with the man she walked away from in college. When she finds out that The Bridge, a beloved bookstore back in Franklin, is in jeopardy along with the bookstore’s owner, she returns to help, only to come face to face with her old flame.
“I expect the economic impact of that film would be around $1.5 million,” said Kathleen Gilbert of the South Island Film Commission.
The Capital Regional District continues to enjoy a strong production roster in 2015, with feature films including Girl in the Photograph, Monkey Up, The Boy and Devout all filmed on location.
In addition, several reality shows including Unreal, The Great Canadian Cookbook and The Liquidator were filmed in the Victoria area.
“We expect that 2015 will be a record year for the CRD with direct spending from visiting film production coming in at around $20 million,” Gilbert said. “Our best year on record was 2006 with 12 visiting film projects. This year we expect to have serviced 20.”
As for the potential of another local shoot, “I think the real attraction for Oak Bay is how beautiful our community is,” Jensen said.