Calgary ranked one of the best cities to live and work in the film industry

Jan 26 2022, 7:57 pm

If you want a career in the film industry but don’t want to move to Hollywood, then Calgary may be the place for you, according to MovieMaker’s 2022 list of the best places to live and work in film.

MovieMaker.com has released its 2022 ranking of the best cities to live and work in as a moviemaker, and Calgary took the number 10 spot.

With productions bringing $200 million to Calgary in 2020 and a whopping $500 million last year, it comes as no surprise that it made the list of hot filming locations.

“Calgary … offers an incredibly diverse landscape that makes it so storytellers have choices,” Ron E. Scott, founder of independent production company Prairie Dog Film + Television, told MovieMaker. “You can go from a busy big city downtown to gorgeous mountain views or sprawling prairies within 30 minutes.”

Calgary nabbed 10th place on MovieMaker’s list in 2021 as well, and the organization declared that the future of this western Canadian city looked bright. “Calgary is a young city, with an average age of 37 years,” reads the ranking report, “and merges sleek modernism with magnificent nature nearby, including the Rocky Mountains, prairies, and badlands.”

Calgary “isn’t just a city to make a good living; it’s also a city to make a great life,” Luke Azevedo, film commissioner for Calgary Economic Development, told MovieMaker.

Our sunny city is a popular spot for outdoor enthusiasts, who can appreciate Calgary’s trails and proximity to the mountains, and for culture lovers, who will find six independent movie theatres, more than a dozen museums, countless live music venues, and an ever-expanding roster of film festivals.

“We offer an unparalleled variety of locations with the Rocky Mountains, prairies, and badlands at the doorstep of a thriving, inclusive, and safe urban municipality,” said Azevedo. He also hopes to continue fostering equity, diversity, and inclusion within the film scene, through collaborations with the Calgary Black Film Festival and Being Black in Calgary, along with the region’s Indigenous partners.

HBO’s The Last of Us, an adaptation of a post-apocalyptic video game by the same name, has been spotted shooting in Calgary and area since October 2021, starring Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian, Wonder Woman 1984, Game of Thrones) and Bella Ramsay (Game of Thrones, Requiem, Holmes & Watson).

Andrew Garfield was also in Calgary recently to film upcoming HBO series Under The Banner of Heaven, of which Jason Bateman is an executive producer. Plus, Predator offshoot Skulls was shot in the region last spring.

Keep your eyes peeled for celebrities on the city’s streets and for the city’s streets in the background of movies and TV shows as the Calgary film industry keeps booming.

With files from Brooke Taylor

Elle McLeanElle McLean

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