Along with a host of other Alberta locales, Calgary played a significant role in the production of Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
Calgary at a Glance
- Population 1,361,852
- Median Family Income $105,060
- Unemployment Rate 9.5%
- Residential Vacancy Rate 6.3%
- Life Stress 20.9%
- Sense of Belonging 63.3%
Statistics source: Government of Alberta
It’s just one of the recent film and television projects to choose Alberta’s largest city as its staging ground, contributing to a legacy of notable local, national and international productions that have included Oscar-winning films like Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven and Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain, and major television series, like Fargo.
As Canada’s fourth-largest production jurisdiction, Calgary holds a prominent place in North America’s film and television industry. In addition to award-winning talent and crews, the city boasts competitive production incentives, impressive, adaptable locations and state-of-the-art studios and post-production facilities.
The Calgary Film Centre is one of North America’s top film production facilities with 50,000 square feet of studio space. Luke Azevedo, vice president of creative industries and film commissioner at Calgary Economic Development, notes that this amount of infrastructure is of huge benefit, as film companies need to know there is adequate space and equipment, in addition to knowledgeable and experienced crews. Canada’s oldest and largest production services company, William F. White International, also recently completed renovations on its Fortress Studio near the Calgary Film Centre, which features over 95,000 square feet of stage space. As Doug Schweitzer, Alberta’s Minister of Jobs, Economy and Innovation observes: “It will help create jobs, diversify our economy and bring in millions of investments across Alberta.”
“Alberta and in particular Calgary are fast becoming a destination for the world’s largest media companies,” enthuses Damian Petti, president of Alberta’s chapter of the entertainment labour union, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. In 2020 the film and television sector contributed $90 million and 2,474 jobs. And with a rapidly expanding production slate, the boom isn’t showing any signs of slowing-down.
