This group is open to brokers, lenders, bankers, potential: entrepreneur & film enthusiast investors / executive producers, film sponsors (product / service placement). Our mission is simply to explore viable and profitable film projects for production considerations in British Columbia (a.k.a. "Hollywood North").

As Film producers & film funders know, several things can make producing a film a relatively low risk enterprise. The federal and provincial governments offer subsidies / tax credits up to 58% of the production cost of a film. A good connection to a specific target market can ensure many ticket and/or DVD sales. For some films, very little of a film's cost recovery depends on the sale of distribution rights.

Films have a turnaround time of under five years but they can generate the kind of profits usually only found in a Facebook-style startup. The film "Little Miss Sunshine had an $8M production budget that returned $100M+ in theatrical release revenues alone.

The small budget film "Juno" (shot in Vancouver, BC) had a $7.5M film production budget that returned $231M+ in theatrical release revenues alone. These very low-risk, very high-value films are the exception and not the rule, but their underlying business model delivers hundreds of profitable films year in and year out.

A well targeted film can be produced for under $2M and it can earn much more. A solid SAG Film with name talent "sponsored" by the right business can yield great return on investment (ROI). New promising distribution opportunities offer bigger profits, like the growing int’l markets (Russia, India, China, etc.), internet & Mobile markets .

Film funding comes in a variety of forms. It could be gap financing, finishing funds, pre-fund rebates, may make up to a total of 17-25% ROI and those who directly invest in a film may make a 35%-40% ROI over the 4-5 year period.

If you have read to this point you will understand that this group is about the brass tacks of producing and funding profitable films. British Columbia earned the name "Hollywood North" by the vast number of successful TV and film productions that have taken place here over the years by US ownership. In 2005, more than 200 productions were completed in B.C.: 63 feature films, 31 television series, 37 movies-of-the-week, 15 television pilots, 5 miniseries, 20 documentaries, 16 short films and 24 animation projects. In 2006, spending on film and TV production in B.C. was $1.228 billion. In March 2008, the B.C. film industry spending was $1.2 billion, with foreign-film production increasing 146 percent and domestic animation by 79 percent. In total, 86 foreign productions including 40 feature length films, were completed in 2008. Here are a few famous films shot in BC with the help of the many of BC’s talented cast and crew. "Night at the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian"; & "Twilight: New Moon" (2009); and "Eclipse" (2010)"; & "Juno" (2007); and "X-Men: The Last Stand".

FYI: Vancouver is North America's 3rd largest film centre, just after Los Angeles and New York City. It is 2nd to Los Angeles in television production in the world. Lions Gate Studios and Vancouver Film Studios are among the two largest special effects stages in Canada. VFS being the largest production facility outside of Los Angeles; Bridge Studios, in Burnaby, British Columbia, has one of the largest special effects stages in North America. Mammoth Studios, a subsidiary of North Shore studios holds the largest film stages in the world, their largest at 123,883 sq feet (approximately 11,508 sq meters).

The only difference between Hollywood and Hollywood North is no longer a better work force in the film business, it's all about funding. My vision is to make better use of the rich talent of film professionals BC has to offer by enabling those who can to join forces and fund viable and highly marketable film projects for profit. That way we empower ourselves through ownership, make substantial profit, strengthen our local economy and cause a rippling effect for a stronger and highly profitable business model.

If these are the kind of topics that interest you, we are probably the only meetup networking group in Canada where you'll get to talk about what you care most about for hours on end :)

FINALLY: All who join are encouraged to keep group meetings friendly, productive and growing. Members are actively encouraged to talk about projects and events at these meetings. This is a business networking club. Just make sure you remain friendly, professional, courteous and supportive to all members.

Let's join this team together to build a viable and highly productive films that profit British Columbians for a change. BC has a great pool of professional and emerging talent such as actors, directors, producers, etc. Why not take advantage of that talent.....